I think I’ve lost count on how many American Idol contestants have been featured in Weekly Music Commentary. Most got a chance to showcase their talent before elimination. Well, this week I get an opportunity to feature another in the long line of American Idol competitors who have moved ahead to bigger things. This week I have the privilege of featuring the dynamic singer, songwriter, actor, director and choreographer Todrick Hall. You say you are not familiar with his work? Possibly. However, he has such a large list of accomplishments that you might be very well acquainted with some of his work. Well, allow me to tell his story and after I’m finished, you will know about Todrick Hall.
Todrick Hall was born in Plainview, Texas, on April 4, 1985. His family consists of his mother, father, one brother, and a stepfather. Very close to Lubbock, Texas, Plainview is a city with a little more than 20,000 population. There is a good amount of industry in the small metropolitan area, but it might be best known as the home of singer/actor Jimmy Dean.
He knew he was different, he liked playing with dolls. I can only imagine the concern in a small religious community in the state of Texas. Nevertheless, young Todrick continued to grow up.
Hall began studying ballet at nine-years-old, and later worked with Fantasia in The Color Purple. He also appeared in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and performed with Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Certainly the young performer was developing into a well-rounded entertainer.
Todrick Hall came out as gay to his family when he was fifteen, it took them a few years to accept. “We would watch Ricki Lake, and sometimes gay people would come on. My family would be like, ‘That’s disgusting,’” he recalls. “I didn’t know that I was gay, but I thought, ‘Will my family think I’m disgusting if I end up being one of those people?’” Hall struggled for years to reconcile his sexuality with his family’s Christian, conservative ideals. He would press onward into a show business life.
My initial introduction to Todrick Hall came by way of YouTube. Hall joined YouTube on May 27, 2006, and posted his first video to the site, a performance of “It’s Hard to Say Goodbye”, in 2008. In following years, his audience has grown considerably: as of June, 2019, Hall currently has 3.1 million subscribers on YouTube, and as of March 2018, his videos have been viewed 531.9 million times. Hall’s videos include several of his own original songs and music videos, choreographed flash mobs for Ariana Grande and Beyoncé performed in an actual Target store, (the latter of which Beyoncé personally recognized Hall for), musical collaborations with Pentatonix, and personal updates. As I looked at how well the videos were directed and produced, I though Todrick was an established star. However, that status was yet to come. Therefore, I made sure I followed his career moves.
On August 24, 2009, Hall auditioned to the ninth season of American Idol in Dallas, Texas. All four judges approved of his participation; he went into Hollywood week and eventually the semi-finals. In the Top 24, he sang Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and in the Top 20, he performed Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It”. He was eliminated in the Top 16 on March 11, 2010 after his rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love;” he was one of four contestants eliminated in that round, and thus ranked between 13th and 16th overall. Contestant Lee DeWyze went on to win the competition. It certainly would not be the last anyone heard of Todrick Hall.
It became apparent that Todrick Hall had the ability to create compelling videos. In May 2011, he released a video audition for the third season of Glee titled “I Wanna Be on Glee”, for possible inclusion in the show. Though the video was popular, Hall was not cast in the program. In November 2013, Virgin America produced a pop-music safety video directed by Jon M. Chu with music by Jean-Yves Decornet. Hall wrote the song and lyrics and starred in the video.
From April 1 to May 13, 2014, Hall released an eight episode web series on his YouTube channel called Pop Star High. The series takes place in a world where all of the most famous Pop Stars of our day all went to high school together. The series portrays and parodies pop stars like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, Kanye West, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Tyga, and draws on the tropes of high school comedy movies. The soundtrack for the series was released on April 1, 2014.
On October 22, 2014, MTV announced Todrick, a docuseries following Hall, would premiere in 2015. On December 20, 2014, Hall produced and appeared in a commercial for the series and featured other celebrities’ holiday wishes. Eight episodes of the docuseries were ordered and aired throughout 2015. The soundtrack for the show was released on October 13, 2015.
Basically, I have highlighted how Todrick Hall started his entertainment career. Since the docuseries Hall has successfully made his way to many television appearances, stage performances and recorded music. Noteworthy was Hall’s casting as Lola in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, and his role of Ogie Anhorn in the musical Waitress.
Of special interest to Weekly Music Commentary was his album Forbidden, released last year. It is a concept album and visual album that talks about a distant future in which black LGBT people rule the fictitious North-American city of Nacirema Falls, in the fictitious country Nacirema, promoting white racism and “straightphobia” as a critique to nowadays prejudice against the black and LGBT communities.
Todrick Hall seems to be everywhere these days. He is so busy I’m not sure when he sleeps. To be sure I have just highlighted a few of the things going on in the career of Hall. What will come next? Most likely everything. More Broadway, videos, television and definitely music. All I can say is at 34 years old, do it while you’re young.