Todrick Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Todrick Hall
Hall in 2019
Born	(1985-04-04) April 4, 1985 (age 40) Plainview, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Singer rapper choreographer YouTuber actor dancer
Years active	2008–present
Television	American Idol RuPaul's Drag Race The Greatest Dancer The Masked Singer
Musical career
Genres	R&B pop hip hop neo-soul
Labels	Planet Hype FrtyFve
YouTube information
Pseudonym	Toddler, Qing Toddy
Years active	2007–present
Subscribers	3.61 million
Total views	891.7 million
Subscriber and view counts updated as of December 15, 2022.

Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985) is an American singer, rapper, choreographer, and YouTuber. He became well-known after appearing on the ninth season of the TV singing show American Idol. After American Idol, he became very popular on YouTube. He created many original songs, funny parodies, and short skits.

In 2015, a documentary series called Todrick was shown on MTV. This show followed him as he made his videos. Starting with season eight, Todrick Hall became a regular choreographer and sometimes a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. From 2016 to 2017, he played the character Lola in the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway. Later in 2017, he started playing Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago on Broadway and in London's West End. He also appeared as Ogie in Waitress on Broadway in 2019.

Todrick Hall has released several studio albums. These include the visual albums Straight Outta Oz (2016) and Forbidden (2018). In 2020, he released an EP (a shorter album) called Quarantine Queen. He was also the international host for Global Pride 2020, a big online event celebrating LGBTQ+ pride.

Early Life and Artistic Journey

Todrick Hall was born on April 4, 1985, in Plainview, Texas. This was a farming town in the northern part of the state. He grew up with his single mother. When he was a teenager, his mother got married, and he gained a brother and a stepfather. Later, his family moved to Dallas.

As a child, Todrick loved the story of The Wizard of Oz. When he grew up, he created a musical called Oz, the Musical. He also made a pop song called The Wizard of Ahhhs with the singing group Pentatonix. His visual album and tour, Straight Out of Oz, were also inspired by this story. An elementary school teacher in Dallas helped Todrick discover his love for the arts. This included theater, orchestra, and ballet.

When he was 16, Todrick started performing on weekends at the amusement park Six Flags Over Texas. This was the first time he combined singing and dancing. He also performed on cruise ships for companies like Royal Caribbean and at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Todrick has said that he developed a strong work ethic because it was sometimes hard for him to find opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Career Highlights

Early Career and YouTube Beginnings

When Todrick was twenty, he tried out for the Broadway show The Color Purple. Famous people like Oprah Winfrey and Fantasia Barrino were part of this show. He got a role in the ensemble and was a backup actor for the character Harpo. Fantasia Barrino became famous after winning American Idol. Working with her inspired Todrick to try out for the show later. After The Color Purple, he performed in Memphis: The Musical. He also toured with shows like Beauty and the Beast and Hairspray.

Todrick moved to Los Angeles and started living in the Hollywood Hills. He joined YouTube in May 2006. Over the next five years, he made more than 300 videos. His first video, filmed in Texas, showed him singing his order at a McDonald's drive-through. This video has been watched over ten million times. In 2008, he uploaded a video of himself performing "Hard to Say Goodbye." This helped him get two million subscribers. By 2011, YouTube became his full-time job. He says YouTube lets him show how he can write songs, create ideas, direct, choreograph, and perform. Some of his popular videos led to concert tours like "Toddlerz Ball."

In August 2009, Todrick tried out for the ninth season of American Idol in Dallas. He sang a song he wrote himself. The song mentioned the judges to help him get into the show. He later said this audition song was his favorite memory from Idol. All four judges approved, and he made it to the semi-finals. He was eliminated in the Top 16 on March 11, 2010. One of the judges, Simon Cowell, told him he would only be a Broadway actor. Todrick later said he wished he had been more open about himself on the show.

In August 2010, Todrick returned to Broadway in the musical Memphis.

Growing Fame and MTV Show

Todrick's videos often feature his own original songs and music videos. He also creates choreographed flash mobs. He once did a flash mob in a Target store to Beyoncé's song "End of Time." This led Beyoncé to hire him as a choreographer for her music video "Blow" in November 2013.

On October 22, 2014, MTV announced a new show called Todrick. This show followed Todrick Hall and premiered in 2015. Eight episodes of the show aired throughout 2015. The music from the show was released on October 13, 2015. In October 2015, he was chosen as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month. He performed his song "Wind It Up" on NBC's Today show.

In February 2015, he was featured on VH1's Huge on the Tube series.

Straight Outta Oz and Broadway Success

Hall performing in a 2017 concert for the Straight Outta Oz tour in Cologne, Germany.

Todrick first appeared as a guest judge on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in April 2016. This episode had a challenge inspired by The Wizard of Oz. He returned as a full-time judge for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2 later in 2016. He also came back as a guest judge for the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2017. Besides Drag Race, Todrick often appeared on Logo TV's game show Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul.

On June 23, 2016, Todrick released his second album, Straight Outta Oz. This album is a concept album with many videos. It uses the story of The Wizard of Oz to tell about Todrick's own life and how he became famous. He was inspired by movies like Disney's Zootopia and Beyoncé's visual album Lemonade. The album has seventeen songs, and the tour had over twenty. It took about six weeks to write the songs and two weeks to film the videos. The first video was posted on YouTube on June 23, 2016. The videos featured guest appearances from many famous people. The album quickly reached the Top Ten Pop Album Chart on ITunes.

The Straight Outta Oz Tour was paused because Todrick was cast in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. He was offered the main role of Lola, a drag queen cabaret performer, without even trying out. The producers felt his life story was similar to Lola's. Critics praised Todrick's performance. He performed 155 shows from November 1, 2016, to March 1, 2017.

The Straight Outta Oz Tour started again in 2017. It ran from March 30 to June 5 in North America, Europe, and Australia. A special deluxe edition of the album was released with new songs. In August 2017, he appeared as a backup dancer in Taylor Swift's music video for "Look What You Made Me Do." Todrick and Taylor Swift became friends in 2015 and have worked together on several projects.

From November 30, 2017, to January 14, 2018, Todrick played Billy Flynn in Chicago. During his time in the show, it had its best-earning week in its 21-year Broadway history.

In December 2017, he released a documentary film called Behind the Curtain. This film showed how Straight Outta Oz was made. It was shown in some theaters and later released for home viewing. He also had a guest voice role in the Bob's Burgers episode "The Bleakening." He performed a song medley from the Pitch Perfect film series. This was featured on the Pitch Perfect 3 Special Edition soundtrack.

New Music and Dance Shows

In March 2018, Todrick released his new visual album, Forbidden. This album was a follow-up to Straight Outta Oz. To promote the album, Todrick went on the Forbidden: The Tour across the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

In May 2019, Todrick announced he would release three shorter albums (EPs) over six months. The first EP, Haus Party, Pt. 1, came out on May 16, 2019. It included the song "Glitter" and "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels." The EPs were supported by the Haus Party World Tour. Part Two was released on September 19, 2019. ..... Part Three was released in February 2021.

On June 17, 2019, Todrick appeared in and helped produce the music video for Taylor Swift's song "You Need to Calm Down". He also helped find other famous people to appear in the video. In June 2019, Todrick announced he would return to Broadway. He played Ogie Anhorn in the musical Waitress. In August 2019, he joined the Dance Captains panel for the second series of The Greatest Dancer. From November 2019 to January 2020, Todrick played the lead role of Billy Flynn in the West End version of Chicago.

In February 2020, Todrick released a song for Disneyland's new parade called "Magic Happens." Todrick has said he learned to dance by watching Disney parades. On April 27, 2020, Todrick announced he had written and recorded an EP called Quarantine Queen. This album was about the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released on April 29, 2020. In May 2020, Todrick signed with CAA Management. On November 26, 2020, he released a live album of the Haus Party world tour, recorded in Atlanta. He also put a full video recording on YouTube for free.

Recent Projects

On February 12, 2021, Todrick released the third volume of the Haus Party series. On June 8, 2021, he released his fourth studio album, Femuline. This album was inspired by gay pride and featured famous artists like Chaka Khan and Tyra Banks.

In September 2021, Todrick worked with Samsung to create a remix video of his song "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels." The video was about the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 phone. The new lyrics, "Flip, Fold, Snap, Clack," referred to the phone's ability to fold.

In December 2021, Todrick competed on season six of The Masked Singer as "Bull." He finished in second place.

In January 2022, it was announced that Todrick would be a contestant on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother. He made it to the final three and finished as the runner-up.

On June 1, 2022, Todrick released his fifth album, Algorhythm. The song "Dance Forever" was released before the album.

Film and Television Appearances

Theatre Performances

Music Albums

• Somebody's Christmas (2010)
• Straight Outta Oz (2016)
• Forbidden (2018)
• Femuline (2021)
• Algorhythm (2022)
• Jim (2023)

Concert Tours

• Toddlerz Ball (2015)
• Straight Outta Oz (2016–2017)
• Forbidden: The Tour (2018)
• Haus Party Tour (2019 & 2021)
• The Femuline World Tour (2022)

Awards and Achievements

• 2014: Named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, which highlights young successful people.
• 2015: Included in Business Insider's list of the "Hottest YouTube Stars Alive."
• 2016: Won the Music Award for Breakthrough Artist at the Streamy Awards.
• 2019: Won an MTV Video Music Award for his work as an executive producer on Taylor Swift's song "You Need to Calm Down."

See also

In Spanish: Todrick Hall para niños