It was written by Sivan, Bram Inscore, Brett McLaughlin (Leland), Alex Hope and Allie X, and produced by Bram Inscore, SLUMS and Alex JL Hiew.

[2] "Youth" won Sivan's first ever Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards in 2016 for Best Video and Song of the Year.

[3] Billboard ranked "Youth" at number 11 on their "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016" list.

The video was directed and produced by Scheme Engine and filmed in both Los Angeles and Seattle.

Later that month, the music video, directed by Malia James, premiered on his Vevo channel on YouTube.