Finding new artists and new music used to be difficult. You often had to be turned onto an unsigned or new artist by a friend. With the advent of streaming and YouTube it has become much easier to find fresh new talent that you might not have heard otherwise.
Teddy Swims falls into this category for me. On one of my late night ventures down the YouTube rabbit hole, I came across a cover version of the Mario song “Let Me Love You.” The artist? Teddy Swims. I hadn’t heard of him up to that point but I quickly became a fan. Swims would post covers of popular songs, done in his own style. R&B covers of Shania Twain and Bonnie Raitt might not seem like they should work but they do. His smooth tenor and unique delivery make an immediate impression. Musically and stylistically he is all over the map. It is impossible to pigeon hole him into just one genre. There are hints of R&B, Soul, Hip-Hop, rock and country in his sound. He is a musical melting pot and the results are impressive. His voice is singular. There is nobody else who sounds like Teddy Swims.
Major labels took notice and he released his major label debut single “Picky” in January 2020. Several additional singles followed including “Broke” which was re-recorded as a duet with Country music superstar Thomas Rhett and “Bed on Fire” which also got the duet treatment with up and coming Country singer Ingrid Andress. 2021 saw the release of his debut EP Unlearning as well as a Christmas EP, A Very Teddy Christmas. He spent much of the summer of 2021 on the road, opening for Zac Brown Band.
In early 2022, Swims released another EP entitled Tough Love. It included the singles “911” and “Simple Things.” He made the rounds of television talk shows, performing on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Late Night with Seth Myers and the Ellen Degeneres show. He has featured on collaborations with Meghan Trainor, Illenium and Japanese rockers One OK Rock. He was recently joined on stage by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neal Schon of Journey. Schon and Swims also appeared together on America’s Got Talent performing the Journey classic “Don’t Stop Believing” with Kodi Lee, the winner of Season 14.
On November 4 Teddy Swims will be releasing his newest collection of tracks, Sleep Is Exhausting. The record is available for pre-order at all major music outlets. The lead single “Someone Who Loved You” hit YouTube on September 30, 2022 and already has over half a million views between the official video and lyric video.
Swims will bring his tour to Empire Live in Downtown Albany on Saturday November 5th, the day after the release of Sleep Is Exhausting. The show is SOLD OUT. There are a very limited number of tickets still available on reselling sites such as StubHub. Check out his latest single below. Thank me later.
