Olly Alexander Meets His Match in Years & Years’ ‘Starstruck’ Video

Olly Alexander’s role in the HBO Max series It’s a Sin introduced the British pop star to a whole new audience, many of whom may not be as familiar with his musical output. Now his band, Years & Years, have released a new song, “Starstruck,” with a video that features Alexander (with bright red hair) frolicking with himself while dressed in cloud pajamas.

“Like most of us, I’ve spent the past year at home, and I wanted to create something super positive and fun for people (and myself) to bop along to… ‘Starstruck’ is about the rush you get when you’re with somebody you’re really into; it’s about holding onto a good feeling and not letting it go,” Alexander said in a statement. “Whatever we’re doing or wherever we are in life, I think we all deserve three minutes of interstellar ecstasy.”

It’s been a few years since the U.K. synth-pop trio’s 2018 sophomore album Palo Santo — and nearly a month since they announced that the band will now function as a “solo project” for Alexander, with bandmates Emre Turkmen and Mikey Goldsworthy taking a hiatus. “We all got into a new way of living our lives and working together quite separately, and then after the pandemic,” Alexander later explained. “I feel like we had all this time to really reflect on what was going on and it made sense that we kind of went our separate ways.”

In the Russell T. Davies’ (Queer as Folk and A Very English Scandal) limited series It’s a Sin — set in London at the beginning of the AIDS pandemic — Alexander plays Ritchie, an aspiring actor who enjoys his sexual liberation once he gets to college. The role inspired Alexander to want “to make a lot of upbeat, euphoric dance tunes.” The band also released a haunting cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ 1987 song, “It’s a Sin,” inspired by the show.