“Kiss me on the mouth / and set me free” is a pretty bold lyric with which to greet a crowd, and that’s just how 21-year-old actor-singer Troye Sivan opened his set at the Red Marquee Sunday afternoon. The young antipodean (born South African, raised in Australia) was massively energetic, hopping around to Flying Lotus type beats and delivering smooth R&B love songs. Slight of build, he also had the fresh, unstudied air of a bedroom musician, even though he has been appearing on mainstream singing television programs since he was around 11 years old. It makes one imagine that the would-be singer-songwriters of today are no longer strumming heartfelt guitar ballads in cafes, but rather sitting in bedrooms in Perth (or Williamsburg, Brooklyn, etc) composing R&B love songs on their laptops.

On stage, Sivan was flanked by a drummer and a keybaord player / DJ, but in a sense, it was really just him in the middle of the stage putting on the show all by himself.

As a singer, Sivan’s voice is more than credible, possessing a smooth, emotive delivery, though not exactly dripping with personality. The repertoire is commercial feeling R&B love songs. At moments the lyrics seemed smarter than average, at other times cheesy. If anything, Sivan sure seems to be enjoying his career as a young pop star. Though it was only early afternoon, he was definitely doing his utmost to bring the party.