Teddy Swims says success at 21 would have left him “dead”.
The ‘Lose Control’ hitmaker finally found viral success with the track from his debut album ‘I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1)’ last year, after years of making music, including being in metal bands in his early days.
However, the 31-year-old soul singer admits that he wouldn’t have coped with the pressures of the music industry if he’d been thrown into the chaos a decade ago.
He told Variety: “I used to be so impatient and wanted everything to happen now, but if I had this success at 21, I would be dead.
“I would’ve spun out and got strung out and thrown this all the way had it happened any moment before right now.”
On why the song is so popular, he suggested: “You don’t hear a lot of songs like ‘Lose Control’ anymore.
“It’s got roots in country, rock, Motown, and R’n’B — and it was made to be sung live.
“We’ve put money into doing regular videos before, but for us that always ends up being a waste of time. People still want to see live music.”
While it might seem like an overnight success, Teddy had been trying to write a hit like ‘Lose Control’ for several years.
He said: “I’ve actually been making—or trying to make—this kind of music for the last four years.
“‘Lose Control’ is just the first time I really hit the mark.”
He added of going viral: “I used to think that it wasn’t enough to have a good song anymore.
“Now I disagree with that.”
The heavily tattooed star also admitted that his look would have hindered his career if he had been starting out in the ’90s.
He said: “If I looked like this 30 years ago, they would have said lose 80 pounds, get rid of the face tattoos, and then we’ll think about it.”
For now, Teddy is focused on pushing ‘Lose Control’ as far as it can go, but fans can expect ‘I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)’.