Chest Pain (I Love)

Album: Malcolm Todd (2024)
Charted: 68
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Songfacts®:

  • "Chest Pain (I Love)" is about the feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and the persistent ache of love lost in the emotional aftermath of a relationship. The pain Malcolm Todd feels manifests in symptoms such the titular chest pain, while the chorus repeats the phrase "I love" as both a declaration and a lament, emphasizing the cyclical nature of heartbreak.
  • The song originated from a melody Todd hummed and was completed within just two days. He told Travis Mills the lyrics came from his experiences as a hopeless romantic, grappling with the bittersweet desire for love while suffering from its pain and struggles.
  • Malcolm Todd wrote "Chest Pain (I Love)" with his keyboardist, Jonah Cochran. Todd and Cochran produced the song with frequent collaborator Charlie Ziman.

    Todd described the song as capturing "that bittersweet feeling of losing someone who still lingers in your heart," and he wanted the production to mirror this; "smooth yet piercing, like love itself."
  • Todd first started teasing "Chest Pain (I Love)" in his live shows and on TikTok for weeks prior to its December 4, 2024 release. It trended on TikTok with creators using Todd's repeated "I love" refrain to pay tribute to everything that they love, from pets and home-baked cookies to relationship green flags.
  • The song made its Billboard Hot 100 debut at #68 for the week-ending April 19, 2025, hot on the heels of Malcolm Todd's self-titled second album.

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