History Heartwarming / ToddInTheShadows

-->[[SincerityMode..."Good luck, Katy."]]

* Long time viewers are well aware of Todd's mixed feelings about Music/KatyPerry, feeling that purposefully making vapidity and bad taste her brand had the side effect of making her hard to relate to and didn't cultivate a dedicated fanbase like Music/LadyGaga or Music/TaylorSwift. But after thoroughly dissecting her failed album ''Witness'', Todd admits it had one positive side-effect; it made him care about Katy Perry as a person. Todd held off reviewing ''Witness'' because he wasn't sure he was ready to call time on Katy's relevance as a pop star, but he also heavily implies that he's now sincerely rooting for Katy to make a comeback.
-->[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments..."Good luck, Katy."]]

-->'''Todd''': I mean, a lot of you might have missed that because as the pandemic scrambled all our brains, habits, and daily routines, I know many people were completely unable to think about music. For me, it was ''the only'' thing I could think about. I have many other interests besides music, but after about two months of quarantine [...] I could play video games and listen to music. That was it. Pop music was really there for me this year.

* In his review of "We Are The World", he makes it clear that there will be absolutely no jokes about the disaster in Haiti and says that, however narmy they may seem, he has nothing but respect for musicians who try to make a difference with their art. Best summed up with:
-->"I will take an insincere display of charity over a genuine display of apathy any day of the week."
** Subverted later in his "Earth" review, where he says that the "charities" the song's proceeds went to ended up being scams that didn't help at all, so it may well have actually been worse than doing nothing.

* His "relationship" with Music/KatyPerry can be seen as this. At the beginning of Todd's career, Music/KatyPerry was a guilty pleasure of his. In 2012 when he was ready to just submit to, she released numerous songs he couldn't get into at all, which Todd attributes to her divorce from Creator/RussellBrand at the time. Todd declares at the beginning of 2013 that he has "divorced" Katy Perry because he doesn't enjoy her new music. He found himself being very scathing of Perry throughout 2014, but then came crawling back in 2015 to declare Birthday one of his favorite songs of the previous year. Almost like a real couple. But in pop music form.

* During his review of "God's Plan" by Music/{{Drake}}, Todd notes that the opening captions say Drake got one million dollars to create the video, and instead gave most of it away, with the music video showing some of the people Drake gave the money to. Todd notes that the captions also say "don't tell the label", but [[RuleAbidingRebel Drake clearly would have had to get the label's permission to do that with the money]]. Even so, Todd calls the act of giving away money to people who need it "awesome" and says that "Drake is awesome for doing it", showing that Todd recognizes the generosity involved either way.

[[folder:Pop Song Reviews]]

* Todd's willingness to accept Music/ChrisBrown, a person he had previously harshly berated for his infamous assault of Rihanna, back into the pop music world at the beginning of his "Deuces" review. That is of course, before he realizes that "Deuces" is one of the douchebaggiest songs he's ever heard.

* While he spends a lot of the ''Trainwreckords'' episode on ''[[Music/LizPhair Funstyle]]'' criticizing Liz Phair's hollow commentary on the record industry and misguided belief that her bizarre riffs on pop songs would actually be hits, he ''does'' take the time to defend her more [[CreatorKiller well-known,]] [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks critically-maligned]] [[NewSoundAlbum 2003 self-titled album]]. Although he's received many requests for it, he says he'll never discuss it because regardless of it actually being the most successful album of her career, he also thinks it isn't that bad and enjoys some of the songs from it.

* The little spazflail Todd does in the Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2010 when he realizes he can use the lyrics from "Nothin' On You" to win WebVideo/ObscurusLupa over. Though it doesn't QUITE work out...

* His defense of Michael Vick in his "[[Music/ChrisBrown Turn Up The Music]]" review saying that unlike Brown, Vick has paid his debt to society, and given how Todd is a huge dog lover, it makes it even more heartwarming for him to defend Vick.

* While reviewing ''Film/DickTracy'' for "Cinemadonna", he pauses in his bashing of the film to note that in the middle of all the crappiness, Music/{{Madonna}} herself is a shining beacon of talent and gives easily the best performance of her acting career.
* A similar moment happens in his review of ''{{Film/Evita}}''. While noting the film is an extremely mixed bag, feeling that Madonna's performance is also occasionally inconsistent, Todd almost sounds proud to announce that the parts that work from her [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct really work]], not just in her singing, but even in subtler moments like in [[TearJerker Evita's reaction when she learns that she's dying]].
-->'''Todd''': [[SincerityMode My god, I... I feel... moved.]] [[SarcasmFailure I don't know how to deal with this...]]

* Literally the one good thing he has to say about ''The Next Best Thing'' is how great it is to see a film made in 2000 that takes the issues faced by homosexuals seriously and portrays a gay man as a loving father.

* This bit from his review of ''I'm Going to Tell You a Secret'' for Cinemadonna:
--> "I say this, Madonna, if you're listening, your children are adorable."

* A similar moment happens in his review of ''{{Film/Evita}}''. While noting the film is an extremely mixed bag, feeling that Madonna's performance is also occasionally inconsistent, Todd almost sounds proud to announce that the parts that work from ''[[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct really]]'' [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct work]], not just in her singing, but even in subtler moments like in [[YourDaysAreNumbered Evita's reaction when she learns she's dying]].

%% If you are editing this page, and find any Heartwarming moments specific to One Hit Wonderland in the "everything else" section, please move it to the upper OHW section.

* While filming a scene for the "Give Me Everything" review, Lindsay's pet puppy attempts to chase off Todd after he gets a '''little''' too close to Lupa. The three of them find this both hilarious and cute.
* A record number for Todd in "We Are Young/Somebody That I Used To Know". Then there was the cut other songs in the top 5, but it was nice to see Todd, who's had to put up with songs like "Sexy and I Know It", finally getting a moment of happiness.
** Subtle one: Todd spent the majority of the review pronouncing Gotye's name wrong (FYI, it's GO-tee-ay), but at the end, after checking out more of his music, Todd finally gets his name right, showing that he's come to really respect, perhaps even LIKE him.
** Basically the last 5 minutes were one long Crowning Moment of Heartwarming and Awesome.
** As it turned out, not only did Todd add "Somebody That I Used To Know" to his top list of that year; but he also declared that Gotye should be the next King of Pop. It's a sweet thought and a nice moment of recognizing a great talent in music that needs more love.

* After being hard on two of Flo Rida's songs - "Club Can't Handle Me" and especially "Whistle", seeing "I Cry" on his Best Hit Songs of 2012 list was rather nice of him.
** Likewise, after how he certainly wasn't nice to Music/{{Pitbull}}'s "Back in Time", putting "International Love" on his honorable mentions list was also [[ThrowTheDogABone giving some good credit]], even if Chris Brown's act in it was disappointing to him.
* In his review of "We Are The World", he makes it clear that there will be absolutely no jokes about the disaster in Haiti and says that, however narmy they may seem, he has nothing but respect for musicians who try to make a difference with their art. Best summed up with:
-->"I will take an insincere display of charity over a genuine display of apathy any day of the week."
** Subverted later in his "Earth" review, where he says that the "charities" the song's proceeds went to ended up being scams that didn't help at all, so it may well have actually been worse than doing nothing.
* Todd warming up to One Republic, saying that they were "off the shit list" (of course, it was at the expense of Music/ImagineDragons).
* Even though he's pointed out the implications of their music several times, Todd does believe the members of Music/OneDirection are genuinely nice people and is glad to see them take over the TeenIdol Crown from Music/JustinBieber.
* Him relating The Neighborhoods' "Sweater Weather" to putting puppies in sweaters in his Top 10 Best Songs of 2013 was pretty nice in its own way.
* Just how ''happy'' he was to talk about his favorite songs of 2013, especially in regards to [[Music/MariahCarey "#Beautiful"]], [[Music/JustinTimberlake "Suit and Tie"]], [[Music/BrunoMars "Treasure"]], and [[Music/DaftPunk "Get Lucky"]].

* Despite his distaste for "All About That Bass," he makes clear that he has nothing but support for its message.

* Even though it becomes a subversion, seeing his enthusiastic support for "Blank Space" is rather nice. And he still holds out hope that the song (officially a parody of Swift's media portrayal) has some honest RealitySubtext about herself, even after her statements call the song a joke.
* Much like how he was happy after talking about the songs from 2013 that he enjoyed so much, after having to endure 2014, a year he considered even ''worse'' for music, it was great seeing how thrilled he was to talk about how 2014 had a very happy ending with the song that made the #1 spot on his Best Hit Songs of 2014 list, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk".

* His "relationship" with Music/KatyPerry can be seen as this. At the beginning of Todd's career, Music/KatyPerry was a guilty pleasure of his. In 2012 when he was ready to just submit to, she released numerous songs he couldn't get into at all, which Todd attributes to her divorce from Creator/RussellBrand at the time. Todd declares at the beginning of 2013 that he has "divorced" Katy Perry because he doesn't enjoy her new music. He found himself being very scathing of Perry throughout 2014, but then came crawling back in 2015 to declare Birthday one of his favorite songs of the previous year. Almost like a real couple. But in pop music form.
* Todd's willingness to accept Music/ChrisBrown, a person he had previously harshly berated for his infamous assault of Rihanna, back into the pop music world at the beginning of his "Deuces" review. That is of course, before he realizes that "Deuces" is one of the douchebaggiest songs he's ever heard.

* He starts his list of the worst songs of 2015 by saying he didn't actually want to make it, as the new music of the year was such a pleasant surprise after how horrible the last two years were and he just wants to focus on the good stuff.
** Then, come the best list, he is ecstatic over how enjoyable the music of the year is (especially his top 5), more so than even his happiest best-of lists.
** Putting "[[Music/{{Adele}} Hello]]" as an honorable mention on his best list because, while he didn't love the song, he's grateful for the singer and can't understand what humanity did to even deserve an Adele in the first place.

* Todd's speech at the end of the "Black Beatles" review about how important and wonderful Music/TheBeatles are. Even after all that's been said about them in the past, it still manages to reinvigorate the love people have for the group.
* Todd's justification for calling "Closer" the best hit song of 2016: in a year as bleak as that one, he needed at least one song that made him happy, no matter how many faults it had. When so many pop songs just reminded him of how bad the world was, this was one of the few that made him happy every time.
** In fact, the whole goal of the list is to include the year's happier songs as antidote for how awful the year itself was (and how 2017 is looking to be). He even gives honorable mentions to songs he finds kind of lame just because they were at least trying to be happy, and even spared [[Music/MeghanTrainor one of his least favorite artists]] because she was upbeat and at least had a personality.
** This line:
--->''In a year where I felt so much older, I wanted a song about not getting older. [[SillyLoveSongs About two stupid kids in love]].''
* At the end of his "Something Just Like This" review, it gets to the point where Todd usually has a premature verdict and the song does something to let him down. [[SubvertedTrope Instead, it's exactly the opposite]] - Coldplay including a guitar solo during an EDM drop is enough to make Todd bump his rating up a few notches, leaving the review in high spirits.
* Todd being decent enough to not jump to any conclusions about Music/TaylorSwift's personality and whether or not she's the snake in the grass she's painted as by some. He doesn't care at all about the gossip surrounding her and even says that he leans more toward her side, even if he doesn't care for "Look What You Made Me Do" and didn't buy the DarkerAndEdgier persona she was pushing.
* During his "Best Songs of 2017" list, Todd admits that while he's never really cared about Music/KatyPerry as a person, he still felt sorry for her since 2017 was a bad year for her career-wise. He uses this as justification for putting "Chained to the Rhythm" on his list, explaining that [[RealitySubtext Perry's bad year]], combined with the fact that she's basically pulling a SelfDeprecation with the song, makes it ''incredibly'' dark.
* In the "Best Songs of 2018" list, Todd talks about his love of ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', and how [[ActionGirl Chun-Li]] was the perfect pop culture reference for Music/NickiMinaj to use in the titular song, as they've both been considered the top leading ladies in their respective "games."
** His reason for putting "Breathin'" by Music/ArianaGrande as his number one pick? Because the song helped him deal with his anxiety.

* His Trainwreckords episode about ''Cut The Crap'' by Music/TheClash ends on a rather sweet note; The song "We Are The Clash" was taken by critics as a pathetic attempt by the new line-up to establish their cred, but Joe Strummer says that wasn't his intention at all. [[YouAreNotAlone What he hoped to convey is that all the fans are just as important to The Clash, if not more so]].
-->"It's almost un-punk how heartwarming that is, but since The Clash's music has proved to be so enduring, I think it's kind of true."
* "Best of 2019" is probably one of Todd's most heartwarming lists, where he seems genuinely excited about all the fresh new talent and good stuff from already-established artists. He even walks backs from some of his comments on Panic! at the Disco, putting "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" on the list [[ThrowTheDogABone and saying Brendon Urie's probably not going to become the new Adam Levine]].
** While Todd still isn't the biggest Music/PostMalone fan, he definitely doesn't hate the guy, and even believes that Post could have a successful career as a folk-pop singer if he really wanted to. Todd also declares that Post's song "Circles" absolutely deserves to be a #1 hit, because it's that good.
** A minor detail, but Todd using the proper pronouns for Music/SamSmith (who came out as non-binary and asked to be referred to with they/them pronouns in 2019) in his segment on "Dancing with a Stranger" (featuring Music/{{Normani}}).
** Todd once again admits that he feels sympathy for Music/KatyPerry, viewing her as someone who has a lot of regrets about her career. Despite this, he's glad that she was still able to release one last good song in "Never Really Over," flat-out calling it one of the best songs she's ever made; he also admits that [[SincerityMode he does have a lot of positive memories of Perry's other songs]], and he's grateful for that.
** Todd notes that while [=DaBaby=]'s song "Intro" is a fairly serious, somber song[[note]]It's about how [=DaBaby=]'s father passed away right as he was becoming famous, and his dealing with the mixed emotions that come with this[[/note]], the song's video shows [=DaBaby=] [[LargeHam yukking it up like he normally does]], giving the video an unintentional message: even when bad things happen in your life, nothing is so bad that you can't [[{{Main/Determinator}} come out the other side laughing]].
** After spending the entirety of 2019 being noticeably quiet about Music/BillieEilish, Todd puts "Bad Guy" as his #1 song of 2019, praising both the song itself and how Eilish can effortlessly portray the {{Teens Are Monsters}} trope leagues better than [[Music/TaylorSwift others who]] [[Music/MileyCyrus have tried and failed]] before her, yet appearing "perfectly wholesome" off the mic.
* During his review of "God's Plan" by Music/{{Drake}}, Todd notes that the opening captions say Drake got one million dollars to create the video, and instead gave most of it away, with the music video showing some of the people Drake gave the money to. Todd notes that the captions also say "don't tell the label", but [[RuleAbidingRebel Drake clearly would have had to get the label's permission to do that with the money]]. Even so, Todd calls the act of giving away money to people who need it "awesome" and says that "Drake is awesome for doing it", showing that Todd recognizes the generosity involved either way.
* While he spends a lot of the ''Trainwreckords'' episode on ''[[Music/LizPhair Funstyle]]'' criticizing Liz Phair's hollow commentary on the record industry and misguided belief that her bizarre riffs on pop songs would actually be hits, he ''does'' take the time to defend her more [[CreatorKiller well-known,]] [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks critically-maligned]] [[NewSoundAlbum 2003 self-titled album]]. Although he's received many requests for it, he says he'll never discuss it because regardless of it actually being the most successful album of her career, he also thinks it isn't that bad and enjoys some of the songs from it.
* From the "Worst Hit Songs of 2020" list, Todd admits that while he put Music/JustinBieber's "Lonely" on the list, it's primarily because [[DontShootTheMessage Bieber's performance left the subject behind it something to be desired]]. Regarding the actual subject, however -- Bieber's plea for sympathy as a FormerChildStar whose [[CreatorBreakdown maturation was a turbulent mess partially out of his control]] -- Todd takes it as coming from [[SincerityMode a genuinely authentic place in Bieber's heart]]. Despite Todd's past (and present) criticisms, he does feel sorry for the guy for all the pressure and torment he had to endure throughout his life and wished that Bieber was better able to express it.
* The "Best Hit Songs of 2020" features Todd at possibly his most sentimental and nostalgic, as despite how much of a trainwreck 2020 was, he thought the year was still surprisingly great for pop music (so great that apparently songs that would've made it in the top ''5'' of previous years still didn't make the cut), with many of the entries being tied to positive memories that helped get through it all.
-->'''Todd''': I mean, a lot of you might have missed that because as the pandemic scrambled all our brains, habits, and daily routines, I know many people were completely unable to think about music. For me, it was ''the only'' thing I could think about. I have many other interests besides music, but after about two months of quarantine [...] I could play video games and listen to music. That was it. Pop music was really there for me this year.
** With Creator/MileyCyrus' "Midnight Sky" making it at #4, Todd admits that over the years, he realized that while he never really liked her previous work, he actually had a sense of admiration for her in at least being interesting and out-there with her career, culminating in "Midnight Sky" representing [[GrowingTheBeard a very successful foray into 80s-inspired pop-rock]]. After a decade of negative-to-lukewarm reactions, Todd almost sounds ''proud'' with how Miley finally found a sound she sounds great at.
* As much as he dislikes ''St. Anger'', he concludes that it served its primary purpose of preventing Music/{{Metallica}} from [[CreatorKiller completely falling apart]], and gives it credit for that.
-->'''Todd''': They were going through therapy, and ''St. Anger'' seems like it was also a therapy session. And like most therapy sessions, it should have stayed private, but it was cathartic and it was necessary. ''St. Anger'', for all its faults, kept them together long enough to survive, to keep kicking ass on tour, and performing and recording new music afterwards that, even if it isn't exactly as good as the classics, it's at least good enough to keep them from being total embarrassments.
* The Trainwreckords on the Music/{{Carpenters}}' ''Passage'' has Todd not call it a terrible album, but mainly just ''odd,'' and mostly chalks up the "trainwreck" as some odd directions that Richard and Karen Carpenter took. He even found himself adoring their cover of "[[Music/{{Klaatu}} Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft]]". Considering how soft and schmaltzy their music is and how much critical bashing they took for that during their heyday, it's nice that Todd has a palpable respect for Karen's ''and'' Richard's talents (important, since Richard often gets the short end of the stick by critics and fans). Todd closes the video with this downright adorable sentiment that echoes how much ''all'' Carpenters fans wish Karen were still with us:
-->'''Todd''': But you know what? Tonight, I'm gonna pull out this album, and I'll look at the stars, and I'll imagine that, somewhere, some way, Karen Carpenter's up there, in a giant flying saucer, also enjoying this ridiculous but somewhat wonderful piece of music she made. I wish you a good night, and a happy World Contact Day to you all.

* Although not to the extent of Bobby "Boris" Pickett, Todd ultimately concludes that he respects Lou Bega for his tenacity at spending decades making one very specific thing (mambo[=/=]pop[=/=]rap songs about loving the ladies) and having a lot of fun doing it, especially since he retired for a few years to escape "Mambo No. 5" and then came back to it on his own terms once the hype had finally died down.

* Todd praises The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus for "Face Down". While admitting the song is just okay to him, Todd appreciates the fact that [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped the song is a no-holds-barred insult towards domestic abusers that justifies sounding so angry]], which makes it better in Todd's eyes compared to [[{{Wangst}} whiny self-indulgence that pop punk is sometimes known for]]. Todd also mentions how the band got hundreds of letters from people explaining that the song helped them leave their abusive partners while also doing anti-domestic violence [=PSAs=], which makes Todd drop his sarcasm and say that [[SincerityMode it was a genuinely good thing for them to do]]. At the end of the episode, he says that for all the good the band did with the song, maybe The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus did deserve a little better, in spite of not liking most of their other songs.

* The Trainwreckords on ''[[Music/{{Carpenters}} Passage]]'' has Todd not call it a terrible album, mostly chalking up the "trainwreck" as an odd direction that Richard and Karen Carpenter took. He even found himself adoring their cover of "[[Music/{{Klaatu}} Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft]]".
-->'''Todd''': But you know what? Tonight, I'm gonna pull out this album and I'll look at the stars, and I'll imagine that, somewhere, some way, Karen Carpenter's up there, in a giant flying saucer, also enjoying this ridiculous but somewhat wonderful piece of music she made. I wish you a good night and a happy World Contact Day to you all.

** A minor detail, but Todd using the proper pronouns for Sam Smith (who came out as non-binary and asked to be referred to with they/them pronouns in 2019) in his Top Ten Best of 2019 video.

* While Todd doesn't like "Disco Duck" he doesn't hate Rick Dee's as a person or begrudge him being able to spin it into a 40 plus year career in radio.

* This bit from his review of ''I'm Going to Tell You A Secret'' for Cinemadonna:

* While he doesn't like "Disco Duck" he doesn't hate Rick Dee's as a person or begrudge him being able to spin it into a 40 year plus career in radio.

* While he doesn't like "Disco Duck" he doesn't hate Rick Dee's as a person or begrudge him being able to spin it into a 40+ career in radio.

-->'''Todd''': They were going through therapy, and ''St. Anger'' seems like it was also a therapy session. And like most therapy sessions, it should have stayed private, but it was cathartic and it was necessary. ''St. Anger'', for all its faults, kept them together long enough to survive, to keep kicking ass on tour, and performing and recording new music afterwards. Even if it isn't exactly as good as the classics, it's at least good enough to keep them from being total embarrassments.

** After spending the entirety of 2019 being noticeably quiet about Music/BillieEilish, Todd puts "Bad Guy" as his #1 song of 2019, praising both the song itself and how Eilish can effortlessly portray the {{Teens Are Monsters}} trope leagues better than [[Music/TaylorSwift others who]] [[Music/MileyCyrus have tried and failed]] before her, yet appearing [[MeanCharacterNiceActor "perfectly wholesome" off the mic.]]

* From the "Worst Hit Songs of 2020" list, Todd admits that while he put Music/JustinBieber's "Lonely" on the list, it's primarily because [[DontShootTheMessage Bieber's performance left the subject behind it something to be desired]]. Regarding the actual subject, however -- Bieber's plea for sympathy as a FormerChildStar whose [[CreatorBreakdown maturation was a turbulent mess partially out of his control]] -- Todd [[SincerityMode genuinely believes him]], and despite his past (and present) criticisms, he does feel sorry for the guy for all the pressure and torment he had to endure throughout his life.