Malcolm Todd has a habit of forgetting to wear a shirt, especially in his hometown of LA. “When I’m in California, I like to be pretty naked,” he says over Zoom, live from his bedroom. He’s broken habit for GQ today, though. Todd is wearing a T-shirt layered over his signature red necklace, which has its tiny guitar charm. Fans gave it to him a year ago right before a show, and he hasn’t taken it off since.

Shirts are important for our conversation because Todd is starring in a new campaign for legendary clothier Gap alongside Obsession star Inde Navarrette. In the commercial, Todd puts his laid-back spin on Robyn’s iconic “Dancing on My Own,” reimagining the anthem through a distinctly West Coast slacker lens.

The indie pop-R&B artist has an easygoing boyish charm reflected in his Oasis mod haircut and uniform of baggy jeans, tank tops, and flip-flops. Some might call him a soft boy. His breakthrough mixtape was, after all, titled Sweet Boy. Todd, however, has a different label for himself. “I’m a SpongeBob guy,” he tells me.

Obsession star Navarrette and Todd are a clever pairing. The singer shares his own fascination with obsession that runs throughout his music. On his hit “Sweet Boy,” he sings from the perspective of someone entangled in a codependent relationship. By contrast, on “Obsessica,” the second track from his sophomore LP, Do That Again, he’s the one chasing the intoxicating adrenaline rush of young love.

Ahead of the Do That Again tour, which kicks off in September, Todd sat down with GQ to discuss the Gap campaign, dressing for tour, and whether the family dynamics in the mid-2000s ABC sitcom The Middle could have been inspired by him and his siblings—including fellow indie pop artist Audrey Hobert.