Todrick Hall

Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985) is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber.

He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol.

Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits.

Todrick Hall was born on April 4, 1985, in Plainview, Texas, a farming community in the state's panhandle.

He was raised by a single mother until she married when he was a teen, when he gained a brother and stepfather.

Later the family would move to Dallas.

As a child, he adored The Wizard of Oz.

As an adult, he would create Oz, the Musical; the pop song The Wizard of Ahhhs featuring the pop a cappella quintet Pentatonix; and the visual album and tour Straight Out of Oz.

An elementary teacher in Dallas led Hall toward the arts, including theater, the orchestra, and ballet.

Hall is gay, and came out to his family when he was 15.

At age 16, he began performing on weekends at the amusement park Six Flags Over Texas; it was the first time he combined singing and dancing.

He also performed on cruises with Royal Caribbean, Holland America Line, and at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Hall has said that his work ethic comes from the lack of opportunities he had in the entertainment industry as a black gay man.

When Hall was twenty he auditioned for the Broadway production of The Color Purple with Oprah Winfrey and Fantasia Barrino.

He was cast in the ensemble, and as understudy for the role of Harpo.

Barrino rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality singing competition American Idol, and working with her would inspire Hall to later audition for the show as well.

After The Color Purple he performed in Memphis: The Musical and touring productions of Beauty and the Beast, Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, and Hairspray.

Hall relocated to Los Angeles, eventually living in a four-bedroom "nondescript three-story home in the Hollywood Hills".

He joined the video-sharing platform YouTube in May 2006, and made over 300 videos in the next five years.

His first video, filmed while still living in Texas, was "a hilarious clip of him singing his order to a McDonald's drive-through speaker (complete with backup singers)".

The video has since received over ten million views.

In 2008 he uploaded a video of a performance of "Hard to Say Goodbye," which boosted his subscribers to two million.

In August 2009, Hall auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol in Dallas, Texas.

He sang a self-composed song mentioning the judges – Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, and guest judge Joe Jonas – to make his case for inclusion in the program.

Years later, reflecting on his Idol experiences, Hall said his "fondest memory" was the audition song.

All four 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 Twenty 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.

Judge Simon Cowell dismissively told Hall he "wouldn't amount to anything beyond a Broadway actor".

Later Hall stated that he regretted hiding his sexuality on the show: he had a girl wait for his post-audition walk outside with his golden ticket.

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

YouTube became a full-time pursuit for Hall in 2011.

He says the platform showcases "how I can write a song, create the concepts, execute them, direct, choreograph and do hair and makeup" as well as perform.

Some of his popular videos were the basis of later concert tours like "Twerk Du Soleil" and the "Toddlerz Ball."

A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.

Starting with season eight, Hall became a resident choreographer and occasional judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.

From 2016 to 2017, Hall starred as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway.

Hall has released four studio albums, including the visual albums Straight Outta Oz (2016) and Forbidden (2018).

Later in 2017, he began appearances as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway and the West End.

In 2020, he released an EP, Quarantine Queen, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic featuring "Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrub", and was the international host of Global Pride 2020.