Just realized the irony of Lukas Graham actually being a band, while Five for Fighting is actually just one guy.

I literally had no idea Lukas Graham was a band until today. I thought he was a one-man-show.

Just for info: this singer was born in a Danish hippy/anarchist commune notorious for its drug use, so maybe his claims about drinking at age eleven are accurate.

And I was like WOOHOO She made me go WEEHEE How are they singing that with a straight face

Once I was Lukas Graham my Lukas Graham told me: "Go make yourself some Lukas Graham or you'll be Lukas Graham".

Lukas Graham by Lukas Graham, written and produced by Lukas Graham, special guest Lukas Graham

“Really, deep down, aren’t we all white guys? That’s stupid! Forget I said that.” A truly underrated Todd quote.

The way Lukas says 'my woman' makes me really uncomfortable

when i heard the title "strip no more" i was expecting to be some corny song about a guy who wants some girl to quit stripping, but when it came on i laughed at it like some sort of anti joke.

"My woman brought children for me" has driven me nuts every time I've heard this song. It's practically biblical in how weird and dated it sounds.

so I heard an interview with Lukas Graham (including Lukas Graham) on BBC Radio 1 (national UK radio for anyone that doesn't know). It was the worst trainwreck I think I'd ever heard. The host was asking about this hit, how does it feel to be UK number 1/etc and he literally wouldn't shut up about how he was already a massive star in Denmark. He even described his own hit as a surprise because it was so simplistic, basically belittled the English people for liking it, and the way he talked about his own music was so clinical (this chord structure with that intonation/etc) that it truly felt like he had no passion for the music he was making. The host said something along the lines of "yeah you're a star in Denmark, you're in the UK right now and we're talking about the UK hit", and in the typical English way was laughing and sorta prodding him lightly. The rest of his band literally had to tell him to calm down because he was so offended his genius wasn't more obvious

"Man, I am never giving Ed Sheeran shit again." [six months later] "I'm going to have to retract that statement."

once I was 19 years old then I was 21 dont ask how that's possible it's a waste of time

We need a better name for the White Guy With an Acoustic Guitar. I suggest Unplugged Dipshit.

True story. . . I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago with a foot injury. It was Friday night, and they had just discharged the guy who shared the room with me. It was also slow on the floor so the nurses were all in the station across the hall talking. Since I had the room to myself, I watched this review without my headphones on. When you got to the part when you complained about them yelling "LUKAS GRAHAM!" one of the nurses came in and yelled it as well. She'd been listening. I thought she was a fan of yours but no, she was a fan of Lukas Graham and thought I was too; she'd told me she saw them in concert and everything. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was watching you tear this song a new one (and rightfully so). I'm still recovering, but at home now, and I wanted to say thank you for making me laugh during this time in my life. You're not just smart, but funny as all hell!

This year will mark 7 Years since 7 Years by Lukas Graham was released by Lukas Graham. In honour of this occasion, I am glad to report to past Todd that he will eventually have a pop scene full of actually distinguishable songs to listen to and critique

This guy name checks himself more than Tommy Wiseau

Once I was six months old And I could slam dunk I had a dozen girlfriends Got elected president Best lyrics

The best part of the album Lukas Graham by Lukas Graham is when Lukas Graham sings “It’s Lukas Grahamin’ Time” and Lukas Grahams all over the place, before shouting “LUKAS GRAAAAAAAAAAAHAM!!!” as everyone cheers. Truly one of the bands of all time

If "Strip No More" were meant as a joke, it would've been incredible. Seriously, imagine The Lonely Island doing a better cover of that song.

The guy kinda reminds me of Gibby from Icarly

Try to living in Denmark, where they play this song at least once every hour on the radio

Egomaniac celebrities piss me off, but egomaniac celebrities that pretend that they're just like the rest of us piss me off more. Seriously, i get the impression that lukas graham is the type of guy that lives in a mansion and says "We're all in the same boat dealing with this coronavirus"

It's okay, Denmark. I'm Canadian and we're musically known as the reason for Drake and Beiber. Could always be worse.

To be fair, I'd take the slam dunking, polyamorous baby over the current candidates...

Green Day did it better too. This was kind of the premise of Wake Me Up When September Ends.

7 years have passed, and I heard this song on the radio. My boss plays it in the office. The same station played "Hey Soul Sister" like 15 minutes before that. I had to come back to help me process my feelings. Hearing "my woman brought children for me" right after "my heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest" gave me whiplash.

Holy SHIT does that drummer know how to get the most out of snare rolls. Seriously, the song sucks, but that mans drumming is seriously awesome.

Lukas Graham is not something I'm proud of...... I would like to apologize.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Lucas had been smoking weed and drinking since 11. He grew up in Christiania, which is like a ghetto in copenhagen where you can buy weed and other fun stuff.

To this day this is one of Todd's best reviews. It leads you in by Todd complaining about feeling old and the state of pop in 2016, only to fantastically pull the rug from under you at 3:01. It's one of the best demonstrations that bad pop music comes in many, many forms, regardless of style, genre, or era, and ultimately that not "getting" something is quite a different feeling that actively hating something. It's also kinda a rebuttal against the "le wrong generation" crowd too.

17:22-17:25 "This is why Sweden produces all the good music"? Hey, don't discredit Iceland. We have acts like Björk, Sigur Rós, Kaleo, and Of Monsters and Men because of them.

"Deep down we're all white guys" as an Asian I approve a hunnit %

One thing I found fascinating about this song was how despite it was meant to be a snap shot of his entire life, Lucas Graham only ever talks about men. He talks about his father, his boys, and a man who made so happy once by writing a letter. The only mention of anyone female is "my woman" giving him children. Not how they met, not the love they shared, not their marriage, not their growing old together, not the comfort a wife or partner can bring just that at some point he took possession of a woman and got babies out of her. Which says a very sad thing about his outlook on life, I feel. I wouldn't mind if this was like Cat's in the Cradle which is specifically about fatherhood, but this song is just about life and ageing and there is nothing to suggest that Lucas Graham will ever find any happiness in his partner.

"something about that glory, it always seemed to bore me" bold words from a man who named his band after himself

You know the thought that luks graham wasn't properly socialized by age 7 kind of helps explain "strip no more"

He used a Spielberg clip on a channel that already sees constant copyright strikes. Bold move, let's see how it pays off.

Lucas Graham: my band says I'm an egotistical maniac ... Lucas Graham: I don't even know what that means

Imagine being a preteen and already being told you need to find a lover, I can't handle that kind of responsibility man

Happy 7th anniversary Todd, it's been 7 years since you hated 7 years

This generation is going to produce as many one hit wonders as the 80s.

LUKASSSS GRAHHHAAAAAMMMMMM JASON DERUUULLOOOOO Edit: HOLY SHIT 1200 LIKES?!!

I like how Todd still plays the _As far as you know_ joke everytime he mentions his appearance. The only thing we know about Todd beside his preference of gray swearshirts is that he has a pronounced cupid's bow and that he is, as TV Tropes puts it, "Ambiguously Brown".

I know a lot of people who smoked weed and drank at 11. Met them all as heroin addicts in rehab, but still.

As an American living in Europe, I 100% believe 11-year-old Danish kid had access to pot and booze.

I'm doing a school counseling internship, and although it's rare, yeah, some 11 year olds smoke pot.

I swear I have never met a single person who actually loves this song. Even at the time I was convinced it was bought radio time.

I missed the “white guy with an acoustic guitar” stereotype

I never thought that Lucas Graham was a band until now

I say Wake Me Up when September Ends is the right way to do this kind of song

Honestly, my first reaction to that line about burning liquor at 11 was the Butthole Surfers song Pittsburgh to Lebanon. Specifically the lines "I bought my first shotgun at the age of three, Cheap Whiskey and women, lord/ By the time that I was five. You know, the way I'm livin' now. I'm sure gonna wind up alive" The thing is, that's a song off an album called Locust Abortion Technician by a noise rock band that occasionally had the guitarist play nude. This one was meant to be taken seriously.

"I was never twenty years old, that's literally impossible" Wait I have never been twenty wtf. 19 btw

My friends love this song and I never understand why. You've pinpointed why. That line about kids was exactly what I thought when I first heard it. Such pompous self importance. And people doing cover versions sing it exactly the same way. BLAAAAAAH

"I Was Never 20 Years Old, That's Literally Impossible, What The Living Hell, How Does That Work?" -Todd In The Shadows I want that to be my Epitaph. Even if I die at 80 or 90 or whatever. And I want my Pallbearers to sing Rio by Duran Duran as they carry me to my final resting place.

Can we just appreciate Todd’s skills with the piano in all his intros

Lukas Graham should be a contender for 1 hit wonderland

The Dutch! ...I never formed any strong opinions about them.

Also: "Once I was 6 months old, and I could slam dunk, I had a dozen girlfriends and I got elected President." Saints Row 4 in a nutshell? XD

LUKAS GRAHAAAAAAM

starting a playlist called “impromptu one hit wonderlands” where its just todd’s pop review episodes on uber irrelevant bands from 5 years ago

"When I Grow Up to Be a Man" by the Beach Boys. It's half a century old, but still a more mature take on the same subject.

I was never twenty years old. That's literally impossible. What the living hell? How does THAT work?

How fitting that i would find this video again 7 years later

15:19 the single best moment in the history of Todd In The Shadows.

Don't worry Todd, I'm 21 and have no idea what the fuck music is doing

Is it just me or does Lukas look like Dusty from Stranger Things?

Sad thing is I can tell that "7 years" wants to be deep and meaningful, it wants to be a song that hits you in the feels but Lukas grahams massive ego keeps getting in the way and just keeps holding the song back from reaching that "hits me in the feels" area. The song had potential but sadly it had to be given to us by Lukas graham, so it's been butchered.

This video is 7 years old. Its mama told it to go make some friends or it'll be lonely. This video is 7 years old.

Hey, that stripper song may be gross, but at least it sounds decent. You know, if you don't know English.

"I was never 20 years old!" *insert Welcome to Night Vale joke here*

This video is 7 years old now lol

not to be "that guy", but i thought i'd say something as i grew up sort of socially adjacent to Lukas (his auntie was my music teacher and we lived quite near eachother), and saw it discussed further in the comments. Lukas almost certainly was smoking and drinking by 11 - a LOT of us were. Lukas grew up in Christiania, a large autonomous community in Copenhagen. It's a really lovely community, with markets and restaurants, lots of crafts and a hugely vibrant art scene -- it's also most well known for open cannabis trade. the dealers have stalls, it's as simple as going up and asking for something. even when you're 11. i was smoking and drinking spirits by 12, and so were a lot of my friends and classmates. it's very, very common, at least in copenhagen. it's also not something most of us are very proud of as adults, i don't think. i think he was aiming more for hard-life-pity, rather than how much of a baller he was in middle school. I've also always thought that the soundbite of his name and thunderous applause was from the first award they won, and always thought that was quite nice and heartfelt. i haven't been able to substantiate that in any way though. i'm not sure if that would make it better or worse for you, just thought i'd give a bit of context. also, there's tonnes of great Danish music you should check out! danish 80's pop is in a league of it's own. a lot of it is in danish, but still so worth listening to, and not just in a Rock Me Amadeus way! Rocazino, Shit & Chanel, Kliché, Sanne Salomonsen and Lis Sørensen are some of the greats, just to name a few. we also had a brilliant indie scene in the 2000s, bands like Oh No Ono, VETO and Choir of Young Believers are all well worth a listen. we also have a HUGE rap/reggae/dancehall scene for some reason (probs all the weed) if that's something you're into.

Saw the worst list and was like WHERE IS IT WHERE IS IT WHERE IS IT AHA!!!! I KNEW IT!

+ToddInTheShadows Graham did grow up in Christiania, a free state within Copenhagen, where pot and hash is pretty normal and cheap. And it isn't so irregular to experiment with either herbs and alcohol at age 11.

I still think about that transition from "I get it!" to "I mean, I don't like it, I actually hate it" to this day.

"Once I was 20 years old, I got kicked out of Del Taco 'cause my girlfriend drew a dick on the window with hot sauce!" A true story that's way more compelling than anything in this song.

It's not horseshit Todd, here in the states I knew like 6 people who we're drinking and smoking pot at 11 years old

"Hey dude, what's your favorite album of all time?" "Lucas grahm." "Which one?" " *Explodes*. "

Todd talking about Lukas Graham sampling It's The Hard Knock Life from Annie, while I'm here looking at them performing at 4:08 where they're singing a song interpreted from Moonlight Sontana. Wow. What an amazing idea, I can't believe no one else has thought of that. **thinks back to the Beatles singing Because**

A lot of comments are pointing out that Lukas is probably telling the truth about his underage drinking and drug use…I think it’s a really good example of how something can be factually true, but rendered trite and inauthentic by lazy, incurious art.

OK, now this HAS to be #1 on the worst list because of whatever the fuck happened at the Grammy nominations.

Honestly, Lukas Graham would be better if they released a power ballad. That's the kind of voice the singer has.

I remember the first time I heard this song I thought the “Lucas Grahaaaaam” shout was a train passing by. I only realized it was a crowd when I watched this a few years ago.

i was happy that he rhymed bigger with....quicker lol

How do you make two albums with the _same exact name??_ I mean it makes their Wikipedia page look like a joke: "Discography Main article: Lukas Graham discography Lukas Graham (2012) Lukas Graham (2015)" Let alone have them as their _only two albums so far_. I'm looking forward to their third album, Lukas Graham (2018)!

I'm in favor of a version of this song where the narrator is immortal for some unknown reason and lamenting his own endless tortured existence "Once I was 90 years old, Back then I was told, That living all those years was quite a blessing, Once I was 90 years old... Once I was centuries old, My memory folds, Way back upon itself, Past vision's blurry, Once I was centuries old... Now I'm a thousand years old, My children are cold, And rotting in the ground just like I should be, Now I'm a thousand years old Soon I'll be 5 Billion years old, The sun will explode, And if our God is good he'll fucking end me, Why can't I be 5 Billion years old..."

Lukas Graham by Lukas Graham off the album Lukas Graham is a song dedicated to Lukas Graham with an instrumental created by Lukas Graham on the label Lukas Graham

This is really late, but I wanted to stop by and mention that Lukas grew up in Christiania. A "free state" within Copenhagen which was founded by squatters wanting to free themselves from society. It was a big commune of hippies wanting to smoke weed and play music. Today it mostly functions as a tourist attraction and hangout for skaters, bums, old hippies, and drug dealers - the latter closely monitored by several gangs keeping watch over the buying and selling of weed. Lukas smoking weed and drinking hard liquor at age 11 is not at all inconceivable. Many Danish kids have their first binge drinking experiences at a young age, and while 11 is extreme, it's not uncommon when surrounded by gangs and drugs. Lukas was also a child actor, performing the role of a "kids say the darndest things" character in a popular series of movies before he turned 10, which could help explain how he was introduced to adult situations early in life, as well as why he was feeling justified in giving insights about false friends. He had a less than ordinary childhood, and as such many of the japes in your critique are less applicable than they would be for a "normal" kid.

all these knocks against the danish and not a single Hamlet reference

As a person that is actually in with the trends, you're what we call "savage"

This thing about 'smoking herb and drinking burning liquor' isn't horseshit when you realise he grew up in the Christania commune in Denmark. Research it

7 years ago we first heard 7 years

I feel dirty having been actually emotionally affected by this song on first listen. I'm realizing that EVERYTHING I thought about the music and the person (it's actually a band!) was an out-and-out lie. Absolutely sickening.

Dude, I'm danish and I was drinking at 11. Not saying that's a good thing, but danish kids drink a lot. Like, the most in all of the world actually. There's no law against kids getting drunk, you just can't buy alcohol until you're 16. And the guy grew up in Christania, which is famous for its weed and hash-dealers. It's not that far fetched for him to be drinking and smoking at that age.

7 years into his career, 7 years is the name of the song, 7 years since the video came out

At the start, when you said "Finally a song I can relate to" I instinctively frowned and went "oof, buddy..."

Here before it gets copyright claim

I really don't like this song, it seems like it's too detached for me to actually feel anything

Can we just applaud the fact that Todd managed to learn a song that he hated without going insane

All of this is true, but doesn't cover my number one reason for not liking the song and having to switch stations when it comes on (lol I still listen to radio). It's unfinished. The melody specifically. It has the first few notes of a melody.... and then.... nothing. Well it has a breakdown that leads into the, same intro of the melody. And then it repeats. And then repeats again? for the entire song? Where's the rest of it? You have the intro and it's strong so you're going to skip the middle and end? And then add nothing else? There's no new notes to form a chorus or a bridge, it's just those same intro notes over and over and....