Comedian, Drag Artist, Pop Force Toddy Shares Video For 'Always'; Debut LP Out Tomorrow

Vancouver-based artist Toddy will release their debut album, Always via Light Organ Records. Already a celebrated drag artist and comedian, today they share the video for the title-track single - watch it via YouTube. Toddy will celebrate Always with two Vancouver performances, July 4 at the Fox Cabaret and July 6 at this year's Khatsahlano Festival.

Discussing the “Always” single, Toddy notes, "This song is inspired by the way that people treat drag artists... putting them on a pedestal and acting like they're goddesses. Which they are! The track is a parody of sorts. My favorite line is... 'My daddy hates you, is he jealous or scared'. There is so much hate towards the drag community and my message is: if you hate us, you are either jealous or you are scared, and neither of those are our problems. Drag performers have Always been here, and we Always will be.”

The music video was top to bottom queer created. Working with the incredible Romi Kim of Queer Based Media, and Chris Reed, this video represents sapphic excellence. Toddy is a clown, but I wanted to be a clown that feels like a woman that feels like a rockstar.

Toddy recorded Always with producers Louise Burns and Kevvy Maher (Carly Rae Jepsen, Fake Shark). Speaking on the album's name, Toddy says Always is a callback to their Instagram handle, @FullTimeToddy. “I like that it's a play on ‘Toddy, always,'” they explain. “Every time you see Toddy in or out of drag, I am still Toddy.” Meanwhile, the ‘80s synth opener “Toddy Always” circles back on that idea of consistency. “It's a love story to the beauty that's around me all the time in the drag world and the queer world."

Having grown up performing music, eventually studying opera and classical at McGill University in Montreal, Toddy repurposes that education to create a brilliant and engaging collection of tracks on Always, which weaves through a range of high-energy, glammy influences: Kylie Minogue, Christine And The Queens, KISS, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Lily Allen, and Adele.  “So much of art-making is play and channeling childhood joy,” Toddy says of their creative spirit. “I wanted to bring that into the art that I made while tapping into the youthful essence of not being afraid to fail and not being afraid to try new things.”

While Always was partially born out of Toddy's time in Vancouver's art, comedy, and drag scene(s), it is a singular organism created for people of every age and every lived experience. “The album lives in a world, but it's incredibly multi-genre'd,” Toddy says. “No matter which world we dip into, this is just always Toddy.”

Always track list:

01. Always

02. 2 On The Go

03. Borrowed Time

04. Honestly

05. Wounded

06. Fever Dream

07. In My Bones

08. Frankie

09. Love Like This

10. Go To Hell