Audio By Carbonatix
There are 85 million Taylor Swift cover videos on YouTube. We counted, so don’t bother. Some of them are good, some are bad, and some are just downright amazing.
Maybe we are a little biased and our hometown pride is blinding us, but Todrick Hall from Arlington put together a video so good it even left Tay herself speechless.
In the five-minute video, Hall sings in a four-part split-screen (all him) and combines 22 of Swift’s songs from all five of her albums. If that doesn’t constitute devotion, we don’t know what does. (And this is at least one tribute that doesn’t require a bit of mansplaining.)
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What might be the best part of Hall’s video is his attention to detail. Throughout the video, he merges songs based on their subject matter. While two Halls sing “22,” the other two sing a line from “Fifteen.” And after busting out “Someday I’ll be living in a big ol’ city” from “Mean,” a quick “Welcome to New York” from her latest album gets thrown in there.
I honestly can't believe what I just saw. This amount of talent in one person has me speechless.
I ?? @toddyrockstar
http://t.co/LlKUl7fmgA
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) September 22, 2015
This video shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, though. Hall has been entertaining anyone and everyone who will listen for a few years now. He made it to the semifinals of American Idol in 2010 after auditioning with an Idol-themed song he wrote himself. The judges were impressed with his creativity and his voice and away to Hollywood he went.
But instead of waiting to be cast in something, Hall made his own fame by posting elaborate videos on YouTube – much like the one he did for Swift. Beyoncé even noticed his work, leading him to choreograph her “Blow” video.
There isn’t much Hall can’t make into a successful or viral YouTube video. One video where he sings his McDonald’s order has more than 9 million views.
In 2014, he made Forbes‘ Top 30 Under 30, only further highlighting his immense talent and drive. Today, he has his own show on MTV, a docu-series following Hall and his team as he makes the detail-oriented YouTube videos that not only gave him his start but continue to make people aware of him. If ever there was a King of YouTube, it’s Hall.
