L.A. Singer Malcolm Todd Went From College Dropout to Radio City

Malcolm Todd is a Los Angeles singer, songwriter and producer who went from viral TikTok songs to a Columbia Records deal and a world tour. "Difficult Love" is a standout from his second album, Do That Again, released June 5, 2026.

Malcolm Todd's background

Born in 2003, Todd grew up in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles and attended Palisades Charter High School. He was set to start at the University of Oregon but dropped out a week before classes began to do music full time. His first release, the 2022 EP Demos Before Prom, was co-written and produced with high school friend Charlie Ziman, who still drums in his live band.

How he broke through

The turn came in 2023, when "Art House" went viral on TikTok, followed by "Roommates." A Columbia executive took notice and signed him. In 2024 he released the Sweet Boy mixtape, featured on Omar Apollo's "Bleed" and opened the North American leg of Apollo's God Said No World Tour.

His self-titled debut album followed on April 4, 2025. Its single "Chest Pain (I Love)" became his first Billboard Hot 100 entry at No. 68 and went RIAA Platinum. Meanwhile "Earrings," a 2024 track, turned into a sleeper hit in 2026, reaching the top 40 in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia.

What "Difficult Love" is about

"Difficult Love" is not a breakup song. Todd sings about walking back into a relationship he already expects to go badly, treating the friction as part of the pull rather than a reason to leave. Songfacts sums it up neatly: love here "isn't blind so much as stubborn." Todd has not said who inspired it.

He co-wrote and co-produced the track with Ziman, touring keys and guitar player Jonah Cochran and Matthew Castellanos, whose credits include Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit." Like the rest of Do That Again, it was cut over six months between Electric Lady Studios in New York and Chaplin Recording Studios in Los Angeles. For a deeper read, see our breakdown, Malcolm Todd Knows It's Messy, and He's Choosing It Anyway on "Difficult Love".

Essential Malcolm Todd songs

Start with "Art House," the song that got him signed, then "Sweet Boy," "Chest Pain (I Love)" and "Earrings." From the new album, pair "Difficult Love" with "I Saw Your Face," a single he nearly abandoned before rescuing it on the final day of sessions.

Album and tour news

Do That Again runs 13 tracks on Columbia, and all 13 charted on Spotify's US chart in release week. The Do That Again Tour opened September 2 in Irving, Texas, played Radio City Music Hall in New York on September 22 and wrapped its North American leg at LA's Greek Theatre. Asia dates run from late November, Europe and the UK follow from February 2027, closing at London's O2 Academy Brixton, before Australia in May.

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Quick answers

Where is Malcolm Todd from? Los Angeles, where he grew up in the Pacific Palisades.

What album is "Difficult Love" on? Do That Again, his second album, released June 5, 2026, on Columbia Records.

What was his breakout song? "Art House" went viral in 2023, and "Chest Pain (I Love)" became his first Hot 100 hit.

Sources

Songfacts — "Malcolm Todd's 'Difficult Love' Finds Stubborn Devotion on Do That Again"

Live Nation — "Malcolm Todd Announces 2026 North American Tour"

TicketNews — "Malcolm Todd Expands 'Do That Again Tour' With International Dates"