Malcolm Todd Is The Luckiest Guy in the World

Malcolm Todd is struggling to wrap his head around the idea that millions of people are listening to his music. “The more attention I’ve gotten, the scarier it’s gotten,” he admits. Following the release of his eponymous debut album last year, his sophomore outing, Do That Again, marked a massive jump forward for the 22-year-old singer when it debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this year. He’s also had one of the biggest songs in the world this summer, as his 2024 single “Earrings” found new virality on TikTok this year and has since spent 22 consecutive weeks near the top of Spotify’s weekly global chart, currently sitting at number one. Todd tells The Hollywood Reporter that he had gotten comfortable with his “niche group, my army, and then all of a sudden, [this] music curator guy is like, ‘I hate you.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh man, it’s OK. You didn’t have to listen.'” Whenever there are new fans, there’s also bound to be new haters, which is something Todd is still adjusting to. Thankfully, he has his sister and fellow artist Audrey Hobert, who is also having a breakout moment this year and understands everything he’s going through. “It’s been super nice to lean on her and be able to lean on each other, and when it’s getting exhausting, to be able to relate to each other,” he says of their relationship. Given that they’re both simultaneously hitting career milestones and earning industry buzz for best new artist nominations for the 2027 Grammys, some sibling rivalry is to be expected. However, Todd’s thinking less about their competition and more about who would be his plus-one if they’re both nominated. “I’ve just been like, ‘This would be crazy, just the fact that we could both each take one of our parents and we could all go and both our parents could go at the same time,'” he says, adding with a laugh, “I already promised my mom, so it would just be pretty awesome if she could bring dad. Malcolm Todd Alex Cervantes Todd’s still got some time before he needs to worry about all those logistics. For now, he’s focused on being present with his Do That Again Tour, which kicked off earlier this week. He’s been eager to get in front of a live audience again and connect with “the people that understand” his songs. Especially since it’s a vulnerable process of writing lyrics that “forces you to search within yourself,” Todd says, and then releasing them into the world. He tries not to “curate anything for anyone or calculate anything,” when it comes to his music. Specifically creating his sophomore album, Todd adds, “I just went day by day with it and tried to be as fearless as possible, going back to not trying to get in my head about what’s a TikTok hit, what’s a this hit, what’s a that hit. Just make the songs that made me excited and live with the results.” Below, Todd gets candid about his writing process, how he approached Do That Again differently from his debut album, his favorite moments in the studio, his biggest pet peeves and more. Every artist has a different story for their breakout moment. What do you make of TikTok playing a major role in your early songs “Art House” and “Roommates” going viral in 2023? It’s the evolution of life and media and music and stuff. It’s a little brand new, but I’ve come to terms that it’s a huge part of just how people consume art. So I’ve welcomed it and understood that people are just finding the songs they love through this format and there’s nothing wrong with that. So I’m very grateful to have a platform to be able to use my voice. You’ve become known for blending genres, between indie pop, bedroom pop and alternative R&B. How did you go about discovering your specific sound? I definitely grew up with an array of different kinds of stuff. You listen to all types of music, just whatever your parents listen to, whatever you hear on the radio. And I definitely fell in love with some stuff as a kid: The Beatles and Stevie Wonder and Jack Johnson, all these prolific, amazing artists. But as I got to personalize my own vibe, which was kind of around high school, where you really become yourself and become an individual, I found a lot of that era of music that was bedroom pop [and] being able to make something in your bedroom [and] put it out. The days of Clairo filming stuff on a Photo Booth and Steve Lacy putting stuff out on SoundCloud and Dominic Fike releasing something from prison. That whole era of music was so inspiring to me. When creating Do That Again, do you have a favorite memory when you were in the studio? I recorded the whole album with pretty much a family of four or five people, so there’s countless hours that I wouldn’t trade for the world, just being with people I love, doing what I love. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. But man, there were some very late nights where we were all so… you know when you’re so tired that it’s kind of funny trying to figure stuff out. I think those moments at three, four in the morning where it just felt ridiculous to be there, but we knew we were doing something special and we were doing what we loved, those are some of my favorite memories. Malcolm Todd Aaron Lee Do you have any unique or unusual methods to spark your creativity when writing music? I sometimes spend full days in the studio just looking at the wall. When I clear myself of distractions is when I can tap into more original thoughts and ideas that are purely from me and not from any outside source. So that’s kind of an unusual thing to just not do anything at all and just be completely still. It’s a good exercise for myself as a person and a creator. So many things come with being an artist, between writing, recording, creating visuals and performing. Do you have a favorite part? Just writing music is such a beautiful challenge. It’s funny how my arc has been because, as it becomes your job, there becomes more weight to it and there are more obstacles in something that you started that was just purely so much love. But as these obstacles come in the way of your first love, figuring out how to get through them and get to the center of what you love has been such a cool learning experience for me. So creating music is just such a gift and getting to do it with people you love has probably got to be my favorite part. You’re also about to head out on your Do That Again Tour. What are you looking forward to most? Getting to play these songs. Honestly, to the point of just releasing it out into the internet world and having that be such a vast thing, and it’s not for everyone. And getting to gather people together who it is for and get to have that with them is so exciting because that’s what it’s all about: the people that understand. And so getting to feed that love for them and, in turn, get that love fed to me, it’s just so cool. Do you have any pre-show rituals that help get you ready to go out on stage? I just warm my voice up and I try to just be present. My band and my whole team, they’re all very close friends and family, so just being around the people I love. And then maybe taking a little bit of a moment with myself in the mirror and just appreciating my existence, and then going out there, getting centered, being present so I can really appreciate what’s happening. Looking ahead, could you see yourself ever collaborating with your sister Audrey in the future? For sure. We’re both so present. We play each other stuff all the time, and our opinions of each other are very important, but we’re both so individual and so bullheaded about what we know we want. I don’t know, we don’t let each other inflict too much. But she worked on one song on one of my albums as just a writer, and it’s a really awesome song, and I think for sure we’ll write together. And then who knows, maybe we’ll do something as artists together as well. Malcolm Todd Alex Cervantes In its simplest form, what does music mean to you? It’s so much [about] energy. It’s such a feeling, and I feel like that’s why it bridges language barriers. And if the aliens came to Earth, that’s how we’d communicate, because even if you can’t understand what someone’s saying, you can feel it so hard. I think life is built up of energy, and it’s one of the strongest energies we have. What’s something people would be shocked or surprised to know about you? I feel like anything that someone could know that’s out has probably been said, and anything that someone doesn’t know, they probably don’t know for a reason. There’s a lot of little quirks in my life, but there’s so many weird little things I do. I need to sleep with two pillows; I need to hold a pillow. I can solve a Rubik’s Cube. That’s a talent of mine. I think I need to pick up a new hidden talent for the next interview (Laughs). Is there something you absolutely cannot live without? I can’t sleep in a hot room. So if it’s hot, you can just chalk the night up to me not sleeping. So I need an AC unit (Laughs). If it’s hot literally in my room, you don’t want to be around me. What are your biggest pet peeves? It used to be when people told me to chill, but I grew out of it. When people would tell me to chill, it would really pinch a nerve. But now when people say chill… no, it’s [still] pretty [annoying]. If I’m getting excited about something or just letting my energy get built up over something and someone tells me to chill, it’s just like, it feels like they want to see me lose. Killing the vibe.