# Madonna and Gandalf join Troye Sivan's new album

> The 31-year-old singer celebrates the women in his life on She's The Best, with help from unexpected collaborators.
- Title: Madonna and Gandalf join Troye Sivan's new album · Abc
- Summary: The 31-year-old singer celebrates the women in his life on She's The Best, with help from unexpected collaborators. Troye Sivan's fourth album She's The Best…
- Keywords: troye sivan, she's the best, madonna, ian mckellen, album release, music collaboration, news, politics, Gandalf, join, Troye, Sivan's
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-10-09/troye-sivan-interview-shes-the-best-with-madonna-ian-mckellen/107242332
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: troye sivan, she's the best, madonna, ian mckellen, album release, music collaboration, news, politics
## Troye Sivan celebrates his circle
The 31-year-old singer-songwriter's fourth album, She's The Best, honours the women who make him feel seen and safe. Sivan is now based in New York but still owns a home in Melbourne's Fitzroy.

> I feel so comfortable in the orbit of these people and just want to celebrate them and say thank you.
## Safety from the girls
Sivan says he has felt unsafe in spaces, including queer spaces, but found true safety always came from the women around him. He wanted the album to honour that support.

> Knowing that the true safety has always come from the girls. I wanted to honour that.
## A-list collaborators on board
She's The Best features collaborations with Nicole Kidman, Sir Ian McKellen and Lily-Rose Depp, plus an approved sample from Madonna's 2000 hit Music.
## Madonna sample finds its moment
Sivan produced the second single Party without Madonna's sample until collaborator Leland accidentally fused the two songs together. After seventeen versions, the sample clicked into place.

> It was really just chipping away at it and at one point Leland started singing Music. And I was like: 'Wait, yes.'
## A childhood dream realised
Going from dancing to Madonna in his living room as a child to having her music on his song was a full-circle moment. Sivan's brother Tyde is a producer on the track.

> As far as the process of actually getting her to do it, it was random … she made it very, very easy and was down.
## McKellen's Godot connection
Sivan's only prior connection with Sir Ian McKellen was working alongside him in Waiting For Godot in 2010, when teenage Sivan was deciding whether to come out as gay to his parents.

> I was like 'I think the first person that I come out to in the world might be Sir Ian McKellen'.
## Gandalf delivers the voiceover
More than fifteen years later, Sivan asked the 87-year-old McKellen to narrate the Party music video. McKellen sent back a video in full Gandalf garb, filmed using Lord of the Rings equipment in New Zealand.

> He sent me a video back, and it's him in full Gandalf garb. He's got a massive, long beard and in the beginning of the video he's also talking like Gandalf.
## Party video filmed at Berkeley Castle
Director Gordon von Steiner shot the Party music video at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, two hours out of London, exploring how letting loose would look in the Middle Ages.
## Album out now
Troye Sivan's fourth album She's The Best is out today, celebrating the people who have influenced him throughout his life with collaborations and samples from unexpected sources.
## Key takeaway

Troye Sivan's fourth album She's The Best features collaborations with Nicole Kidman, Sir Ian McKellen and Lily-Rose Depp, plus a Madonna sample, to honour the women who make him feel safe.