My Todrick Hall Top 10 Countdown

Todrick Hall might be the hardest working person in show business right now. Ever since his appearance on season 9 of American Idol, Todrick seems to be working non-stop. From MTV reality shows, appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, doing theater shows & Broadway musicals, co-producing music videos for others such a Taylor Swift, to being a judge on The Greatest Dancer, Todrick never seems to take a break unless he's going to Disney World. In between all this Todrick finds the time to release a lot of music, create a bunch of music videos and tour constantly all around the world. Todrick's drive and work ethic seems to have few peers. I'm exhausted just looking at this list of accomplishments and that's just scratching the surface of what Todrick has accomplished so far!

Yet, just like Greyson chance, Todrick Hall was not on my radar until 2019. While he was seemingly omnipresent throughout most of the 2010s I didn't know who he was until he started dropping the Haus Party EPs last year. Again as I have said before my main focus with music before Queer Pop was on Alternative Rock Radio with a pop diva here and there. I also don't watch reality TV either so I didn't discover him through American Idol or Drag Race because I never paid attention to those shows. Once volume 1 of Haus Party dropped though I started seeing all sorts of posts on Twitter about Todrick from video clips to blog reviews. He also started popping up on the Out Now Playlist and I was definitely warming up to this songs by that point.

Then I started watching the music videos and I LOVED THEM! Todrick's videos weren't just gay, they were fiercely gay on every single front. I also started paying attention to the lyrics and it was a mix of sexually charged homoerotic lyrics along with messages to love yourself and find your true community, especially on the song Amen, which I was hearing a lot thanks to its placement on the Out Now playlist.

Then came the Taylor Swift music video for "You Need to Calm Down." The video of course made a huge splash and featured Todrick, who helped co-produce the video with Taylor. Yet, my favorite part of their collaboration was when they won at the MTV Video Music Awards in the category Video for Good. Here Taylor ceded the stage to Todrick who gave the acceptance speech. In his speech he talked about how as a young boy he wanted to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid and how he tied his legs together and jumped in the pool to be a mermaid and nearly drowned as a result. He said it was the first time people told him no and what he could and couldn't do but it wouldn't be the last time either. He went on to address the Queer youth who might be watching the ceremony by saying:

"This is what we need to be doing. If you are a young child that's out there watching this show who is different, who feels misunderstood, we have never needed you more than now to share your art, share your stories, share your truth with the world no matter what you identify as, who you identify as, who you love — this is just such a beautiful place.”

I related to everything in this speech especially the Ariel reference because I too wanted to be the Little Mermaid as a child. It's hands down my favorite acceptance speech ever at the VMAS!

Like so many other queer pop stars I had discovered recently I fell in love with Todrick pretty quickly. When I saw he was coming to The Warner Theater in Washington DC in November I knew I had to get tickets. As it turned out this would be my 3rd Queer Pop concert in the span of a single week during early November. I would see Greyson Chance the previous Saturday and Myylo a few days later. God bless my husband for attending all 3 shows with me that week!

As I had mentioned in previous posts I was still managing my concussion relapse by the time the concert arrived but I was not gonna cancel by this point. When we arrived at the Warner Theater I could hear Heart to Break by Kim Petras playing and I knew I was with my people. The Warner Theater by the way is very nice but also very pricey too! Granted I didn't plan on buying anything, but unlike every other venue I went to, there was no hydration station. You had to buy water. They also wouldn't let you bring in water either. So my husband decided to get a beer and I got modest sized water bottle and it cost us 25 dollars!!! You better believe I savored every last drop of that water and sipped slowly from it for the rest of the night.

The ridiculous price of beverages aside I had no other complaints that night. Like all the queer pop shows I have attended the audience was a delight! It was a mix of people from different races, genders, sexual identities and more. I also got to talking to the woman sitting next to me who was so pumped to see Todrick Hall that night. She told me her daughter who was too young to attend, but that she was also a huge fan of Todrick's music, because she loves how sassy he is! Then she showed me a pic of her daughter dressed up for Halloween as a Sassy cat! The daughter made sure to emphasize she was not just any old cat but a sassy cat! It was adorable!

Like Greyson Chance, Todrick Hall had no opener and he came out before 8 pm so we didn't have to wait long honestly. I will admit I was a little nervous at first due to all the flashing lights on stage, but with my blue light glasses in hand I did OK and I sometimes looked down at the floor from time to time if I felt like my head might flare up. Needless to say Todrick puts on a hell of a show! The choreography, outfits, video monitors and more were impressive and on point! My husband was also really impressed too and every time this concert has come up since he always says "That was a good concert!"

In between sets Todrick had videos playing, including video clips for other Queer acts such as Leland, Kelechi and Kim Petras who got a lot of cheers. Then he played an old clip of a woman speaking to a white audience asking if they would like to be treated the same way black people are typically treated in society as opposed to whites and nobody in the audience in that video rose their hands. This prompted the speaker in the video to say that nobody raising their hands was an acknowledgment that there is a race problem in this country and deep down everyone knows it, but doesn't want to admit it. That video clip, which was probably from the 80s or 90s, prompted a lot of cheers from the audience at the concert as well.

It was another amazing Queer pop concert that was also unique, which is what I love about this scene right now. Queerness is the underlining factor for me, but the musicians are all so different from one another and put on very different shows. To me there's more variety going on here in the Queer pop scene than in modern rock radio or top 40 radio. At the very least I feel Queer pop has opened me up to more styles and genres of music, especially for modern music, then ever before and I like that.

Todrick has released a lot of material compared to a lot of his Queer Pop peers so for this countdown I am gonna focus on his 2 EPs he released last year. A lot of Todrick's earlier material has some great bops like Dem Beats that I highly recommend as well, but the Haus Party EPs were my gateway into the Todrick Hall fandom and these 2 EPs also made up the majority of the set list of the concert I attended so that's why I have chosen to just focus on them. Again this is a not definitive ranking, but just a personal ranking of my favorite songs off The Haus Party EPs. I will warn you that many of the songs off the second EP are very sexually explicit and are heavy on curse words too. This is something Todrick himself admitted on social media before volume 2 dropped so I figured it warranted mentioning here as well.


10. Fag

Now this is a song that elicits a lot of strong emotions due the use of the word "fag" which is used multiple times throughout the song. This is definitely one of the most explicit songs I've heard recently, but it all seems to have a purpose here too. Todrick is addressing all the gay slurs that were thrown at him as a kid by people who thought he was less than other people due to his femininity and queerness. He talks about how these perceived weaknesses inside him as a child/teen are now his greatest strengths as an adult. By owning his identity as a queer person Todrick has achieved things his haters can only dream about now. For someone like myself who was taunted and ridiculed all the time for being too girly when I was growing up I do relate to the message of this personally. Still just be warned that this song is very explicit!

9. Y.A.S.

So this song is all about Todrick throwing as much shade as possible at one of his ex boyfriends. I actually love the opening lyrics to this song where Todrick sings:

"Yo, well it was real cute when I met you. It was everything

Real sweet when you gave me that promise ring

Then I Found out you suck and I thought you didn't give 2 f***s (WRONG!)

Sure as Todrick says at the end of the song while laughing "I'm so Petty!" but his pettiness is funny as hell on this track. Y.A.S. makes for a fun diss track that became one of the highlights of his concert where the song went into a full on megamix mode. Todrick and his dancers did different routines while the song was warped into country music, Michael Jackson's Thriller and more. Say what you want about Todrick but he is a showman in the classic sense because he is always going to give you a SHOW that pulls out all the stops.

8. Cake Pop

Cake Pop is basically a ridiculous dance song about twerking that is also ridiculously catchy! Cake Pop excels at being high camp from start to finish. This is especially true on the main chorus, which lifts its melody from Nancy Sinatra's 1966 hit These Boots Are Made For Walking"

"These cakes were made for twerking

And that's just what they'll do

One of these days these cakes are gonna twerk all over you."

Cake Pop is the kind of song that you can't help but sing and dance along because it's so darn fun and hard to resist.

7. Glitter

Glitter is a glamorous pop song about finding the right one. Here Todrick sings

"Just wrap me in your arms tonight
I wanna get lost in your eyes
I'm alright if I'm by your side
Dance on me, dance on me
Just wrap me in your arms tonight
I wanna get lost in your eyes
I'm alright if I'm by your side
Dance on me, dance on me

I don't know where you came from
But you've got me thinking
Maybe you could be the one (You could be the one)
And I don't know how the game of love is won
All I know is me and you we out here vibin'
So maybe we should dive in."

The song feels very influenced by late 70s disco and gay culture. My good friend Tim also loves this song and told me he was basically twirling around the track at his gym singing this song. If that's not living your best gay life then I don't know what is!

6. Chapstick

Chapstick is a song about owning your queerness and femininity as a badge of honor. It's also about how Queers usually set the pace for fashion. Todrick sings:

"All my girlfriends wanna know (Wanna know)
Where I get my fancy shoes, fancy clothes (Bitch, where?)
They say, "Who did your nails and your dress, 'cause mines is stale"
All I say is "Sorry no, gotta go"
Ah, we looking hella fresh, hella fly (Flyin')
All they want is Toddy cake, Trixie pie (Oh)
We late (Skurr), We know (Duh)
They'll wait (Yup), Let's go (Uh)
I hope they're ready for the show (You ready?)."

The Queer community is always on the cutting edge and it's afterwards that the mainstream usually adapts and waters down what we started. I also love the way Todrick sings in the chorus "It's just a little chapstick!" I remember as a young boy wanting to be pretty and wear makeup and dresses, but being dissuaded from doing so but I could wear chapstick! So I was all about chapstick during my early years in in elementary school, especially cherry because it was red! And I feel like that was my defense back when I was a kid that it was just a little chapstick!

Amen Todrick!

5. Attention

Attention is the perfect opener to The Haus Party EPs as it sets the tone and message of what Todrick Hall is all about. Attention is a high energy dance song that demands your attention from the start and presents Todrick as a fierce Queen who is going to tell like it is no matter what. On Attention Todrick is doing what he does best which is throwing lots of shade, this time at his ex boyfriend and his ex's new boyfriend.

"I was chilling in the club looking cute all by myself
I saw my ex looking a mess and pressed upon somebody else
So I strutted up to the dancefloor
And I took off my earrings
I did a kick into a split and showed him what he was missing like

Do I have your attention? (Hey)."
I was strutting in the gym looking like an effing 10
When I saw my ex again
His new bae was a 7
So I twirled up to those weights
Put these cakes in his face
I did a squat, my butt said "Femme"
And his new man said "Girl, goddam."

Attention is pretty good barometer for how much you will be into Todrick Hall and his music because this track encompasses the entire Haus Party collection and what's to come.

4. Amen

Much of the songs on the 2 Haus Party EPs are either sexually charged, disses at Todrick's ex boyfriends or both but Amen is different. This is an anthem for the Queer community, especially those who are most marginalized and discriminated against. Amen explores the idea that when family, religion and the mainstream fail you as a queer person, you can turn to the queer community for emotional support. Your fellow queers become you're true family and accept you for who you are. Amen is also a celebration of the safe spaces queers create for themselves and others who need it most.

"Tonight you're safe in your sacred place
DJ shield the hate they're praying
Tonight the queens gonna hit the scene
Like the tambourines they're playing
Don't tell me who I'm gonna love tonight, tonight
And slip some sin up in my cup tonight, tonight
You can get a little naughty if you like, you like
So baby let's get lost up in the lights, the lights
God, let me find a man tonight, send him to me
Woo!

Cause the freaks came to party
The freaks came to dance
The freaks came to live it up
And the church said amen
Girls grab your woman
Boys grab your man
Love who the f*** who you want
Just cause you can

And the church said "Amen"

The mix of religious imagery and iconography throughout Amen is striking. It reaffirms the idea that when religion has failed you, there are those out there who will still accept you for who you are and not tell you that you can change or it's a choice.

"Come, come to the altar
Come, just as you are, sir
You don't need to be altered
So come, come to the altar
Come, come and rejoice here
Come, come raise your voice here
Boys grinding on boys here
Love, love ain't a choice here"

This was the first song of Todrick's to really catch my attention and I'm so glad it did because now I am big Todrick fan as are many of my friends now after I introduced him to them.

3. Wig


Wig is my favorite song off Haus Party part 2, because it's a total BOP! I also love the way the song uses all the terms seen on social media for the queer community and pop music in general. If you're queer and tuned into modern pop music and gay culture you will get every reference made by Todrick here:

"This shit is my jam

I be the bitch that make the bops
I don't know how to make a flop
All of my boys their tops are cropped
And we 'bout to come through, through
We going off we party hard
There ain't no stopping when we start
Their milkshake brought us to the yard
Show me what you gon' do
They call me miss cookie tookie shooky shooky quack quack
Miss calculator when I'm counting them racks
Miss Halle Berry when we looking like BAPS
Duck bitch
This beat slaps

Bitch
Get my wig, get my wig, get my wig."

This song is bursting with Queerness from the beat to the lyrics to Todrick's delivery! This is the kind of song that lights up the dance floor at any gay club that plays because it brings out your inner diva. Wig certainly lite up the audience at the concert I saw Todrick at!

2. Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels

Like Wig, the biggest single off Haus Party part 1, Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels, is filled with lyrics that only those tuned into queer culture will fully understand. It's already become a huge anthem for the Queer community as everyone stood up and sang every lyric to this song when Todrick closed his concert at the Warner Theater. One of my favorite parts of the song is where Todrick says in a high pitched voice:
"Girl, what did that girl just say, girl? Oooo GIRL!"

I definitely sang this part to both my husband and the girl sitting next to me at the concert. The end of the song is like a military procession of Queer lingo that celebrates what makes the queer community so unique.

"Drop for me, drop for me, drop
Tongue pop for me, pop for me, pop
Pose for me, pose for me, pose
Now blink for these, blink for these, hoes
Twirl for me, twirl for me, twirl

Say girl for me, girl for me, girl
Now snap for me, snap for me, snap
Clap for me, clap for me, clap

Trade for me, trade for me, trade
Throw shade for me, shade for me, shade
Now, fan for me fan for me, fan
Shablam for me, shablam for me, shablam
That's all
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha."

The way Todrick choreographs this whole song, especially at the end, in the music video for Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels is fabulous in every single way you can imagine! This was truly one of the best music videos of 2019!

1. I Like Boys

I was starting to get into Todrick Hall thanks the songs like Amen and Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels, but I Like Boys is when I became a full blown Todrick Hall Stan! I Like Boys is a defiant gay anthem about being turned on by other boys, especially the gay boys, and I AM HERE FOR IT! When Todrick sings:

"Mama, I like boys, I like pecs
Like them arms when they flex
Like that print in them sweats
Tell them girls, "Thank you, next"
I like when they text me sexy pics of 'em
Like them abs when there's six of 'em
Tell them girls I'm sorry
I like boys

Mama, boys like me (I like boys who like boys)

I felt that! God where were songs like this when I was 14? Yet as hot as the lyrics are the music video is even hotter! DAMN the men in this video are hot! Yet, watching this video and being amazed by what I was seeing was also another reminder that before this modern era of Queer pop we never saw music videos like this that were both defiantly queer and sexualized to this extent.

One of my favorite lines though comes during one of the verses where Todrick sings:
"Boys will be boys and with boys I'm obsessed
Boys in their gym clothes, boys in a dress
And if boys are a crime then I'm under arrest
'Cause I've been boy crazy since the boy scouts
F*** the closets, let the boys out."

First I love that he is addressing all boys, from the femme queens to mascular studs. Yet, I also love how much of a middle finger it is the establishment too. The shade he throws at the boy scouts (an organization that banned gay men from being included) is marvelous and I always sing along to "F*** the closets, let the boys out!" It reminds me of the lyrics in Years & Years' Sanctify where Olly sings:

"You Don't have to be straight with meI

See what's Underneath your mask

I'm a Man like You

I breathe the richness of the dancer's dance."

The lyrics in both of these songs are an incredible moment of queer empowerment and resistance to the mainstream that I can't help but love and support 100%! This was easily one of the best songs and music videos of 2019 and I'll be streaming it over and over again for years to come.