You probably know him for his hit songs and raspy voice. Teddy Swims is an American singer-songwriter hailing from Georgia. The star’s work transverses genres, blending R&B, soul, and country to create hit songs like “Lose Control.” He stopped by The Brandon Gonez Show this week to discuss his new album, YouTube beginnings, and path to success.
He has always loved music, taking to YouTube early in his career to cover other people’s hit songs, like Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You.”
“June 25, 2019, was ten years after Michael Jackson had passed, I wanted to do a Michael Jackson (tribute] just to pay homage to him being gone,” the singer explained, adding that Jackson was one of his top five musical inspirations.
“We woke up that next morning with ten thousand views on it, and we were like, ‘Oh my god, 10,000 views is crazy,’” he laughed.
At the time of writing, his cover of the popular song has garnered over 9.6 million views, while his channel has amassed 2.86 million subscribers.
He’s also done some work with some big names, including Thomas Rhett, and Meghan Trainor.
“Meghan Trainor has been such a healing hand in my life, and her family is just so wonderful.”
“Every time I go to L.A. I try to see them. She’s just a very, very healing person… she’s the first one to inspire me to take care of this and think about what’s going on mentally,” he continued, adding that she is one of his best friends.
He says he started singing between the ages of 13 and 14 years old but developed his signature raspy voice later in life.
“That’s a lot of damage from tequila and cigarettes, years of drug abuse. That’s the old me though, I don’t do drugs anymore,” he shared.
“I do love my tequila though, I do still drink some tequila here and there, I like whiskey, alcohol,” he continued.
With a new album titled I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, Teddy explained that he’s glad to be on the other side of that chapter in his life. He shared that while he can laugh about it now, it was not a laughing matter at the time, adding that his substance abuse problems were a coping mechanism.
“I’m glad I have this job now,” he explained. “I’m very grateful that this is happening, [in] the way it’s happening.”
“If [this] would have happened to me at any point before this year and now, I would have spun out.”
The Atlanta-native shared that he had spent most of his life feeling unlovable and unworthy, hoping that these feelings would subside once he achieved success.
“It turned out none of that was true. So, then I started being able to do music full-time and I found myself just spinning out because I felt like I was lying to everybody. I had this thing in my brain like, ‘Why don’t I feel loveable? Why don’t I feel worthy?’”
“Even though people were caring about what I’m doing and telling me that I’m worthy and [they] love me, why [did] I feel like I [was] a liar?”
He shared that he is now at a place where he knows he is worthy and lovable. Something he believes everyone should be able to feel.
Teddy Swims shared the meaning behind his tattoos, the origin and importance of his song “Lose Control,” and what’s next for his career on this episode of The Brandon Gonez Show.
