Malcolm Todd ‘Chest Pains’ Video Recreates ‘The Notebook’ for Gen Z

Malcolm Todd channels Ryan Gosling’s rain-soaked Noah Calhoun in his The Notebook-inspired “Chest Pains (I Love)” music video. Directed by Aidan Cullen, the clip recreates the romance and drama of the classic film for Gen Z — instead of Noah sending Allie 365 letters, he’s shooting off Instagram DMs every day.

Todd’s love story unfolds across the video to the sound of his viral hit. “My chest is hurting, my feet can’t fall out of bed/I don’t know where to go, so I’ll lay here instead/With my symptoms, symptoms of sorrow and dread,” he sings. “They all said it would fade, but again and again/I love, I love/I love, I love, I love/I love, I love, I love.”

“Chest Pains (I Love)” appears on the musician’s debut album Malcolm Todd, released earlier this year.
“Despite painting himself as this willfully tattered and worn punching bag, Todd demonstrates, more than anything else, a true spirit of resilience,” Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the record. “It’s an essential trait for a pop star to have.”

“It’s about that bittersweet feeling of losing someone who still lingers in your heart,” Todd shared in a statement about “Chest Pains (I Love).” “I wanted the production to mirror that — smooth yet piercing, like love itself.” The song has been used in over 1.5 million videos on TikTok.

Todd recently appeared in Doja Cat and Jack Harlow’s “Just Us” music video after recruiting Harlow and influencer Harry Daniels to appear in his “Bleed” video with Omar Apollo. The “Chest Pains (I Love)” video release coincides with the kick-off of Todd’s headlining Wholesome Rockstar Tour, beginning in Dallas and extending through June 18 with a final show in Los Angeles.