Teddy Swims hopes his new album shows fans “there’s a way out”.
The 32-year-old singer’s first LP, ‘I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy’, laid bare his struggles with a dysfunctional relationship and subsequent heartbreak when it came to an end, but the upcoming ‘I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Part 2’ offers more hope and some “closure”.
He told BBC News: “I’ve learned that love doesn’t have to be this thing of high highs and low lows – fighting and pulling teeth just to stay together.
“The first album was a lot of turmoil, and not too much closure. So I wanted to come back and say, ‘Here’s me on the other side of this, and I’m doing better’.
“I feel like, as a listener, I would want to hear that there’s a way out.”
The ‘Lose Control’ hitmaker – whose real name is Jaten Dimsdale – got his big break when Warner Bros. records signed him up in 2019 after seeing one of his videos on YouTube but he credits his global success to having “did it the old-fashioned way” by trying to personally connect with as many people as possible.
He explained: “We showed up and did every damn interview possible. We went to every office and radio station and shook every hand individually. We stopped everyone on the street, busking.
“People love to see their friend win, so if you go out there and make time for them, it goes a lot further than a playlist coming across your desk, or a little file coming to your email that says, ‘Hey, can you push this song?’
“And that’s the old way you work a record, before streaming.”
Teddy is currently preparing for his first European arena tour, which kicks off in March, and admitted he’s excited to play for a crowd because it will give his songs a new lease of life.
He said: “I wouldn’t say I’m already sick of the songs, but we’ve been playing them non-stop for two weeks now. I can’t wait ’til people sing along, so I can fall in love with them again.”