(Photo by Pol Kurucz, courtesy Mighty Real Agency)
Todrick Hall released his new album, “Femuline,” on June 8 and it serves to embrace both his feminine and masculine sides. The album features notable ally celebrities like Chaka Khan, Brandy, Tyra Banks, Ts Madison, and Nicole Scherzinger.
“It may exist, but I’ve never heard a song talking about how you can be both: you can be a prince, you can be a princess; you can be the bride, you can be the groom. And that was very interesting for me to explore,” Hall said in a recent interview with Pride Source. “But it was uncharted territory as far as I know.”
The 36-year-old got his big break on the ninth season of “American Idol,” where he made it to the competition’s semi-final. Since then he has gained 3.5 million subscribers and 740 million channel views on his YouTube channel.
Hall is also a recurring guest judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and has been a part of several Broadway hits such as “Chicago.” His biggest, breakthrough hit on YouTube was just two years ago when he amassed 44 million views on YouTube with his 2019 “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” single.
The singer and social media star has been representing Black entertainers and the LGBTQ+ community since his rise to fame but he feels the work is far from over.
“Some days I wake up and I’m like, ‘You should be grateful for the things that you have,’” Hall said. “But then there are other days where I’m like, ‘You can count on one hand, without using most of your fingers, the amount of gay men who have come out and been gay when they were popular on the radio.’”
When talking about the lack of queer artists of color in 2021, Hall noted Lil Nas X and his recent music video that made headlines. He noted that it was “audacious” but that it set to break free from what social expectations of Black queerness should look like.
“He probably knows singing a song that’s just a format that the Jonas Brothers, that Shawn Mendes, that James Arthur, that Ed Sheeran, that Sam Smith have been able to do would not be enough,” Hall said.
His advocacy for better representation for Black queer artists doesn’t stop there. Hall is the face of Morphe’s “Live With Love,” palette whose full proceeds will go to benefit The Trevor Project.
Hall kicks off “The Femuline Tour” in 2022 with a premiere show in Seattle March 12, and will head to Central Florida and Tampa Bay with a show at the Floridian Social Club in St. Petersburg April 15 and at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando April 16. Learn more about where to stream and purchase “Femuline” and to purchase tickets to “The Femuline Tour” online at TodrickHall.com.
