There’s a soulful new voice in the Billboard Hot 100 top ten. Teddy Swims might be the newest hitmaker to stake his claim at the top of the charts, but he’s no newcomer. The Warner-signed soul star has been grinding it out for some time as a singer and songwriter, and the recent success of his song “Lose Control,” which reached No. 8 this week, is a testament to both his talent and his nonstop work ethic. So, who is Teddy Swims?
Starting out life in Conyers, Georgia, as Jaten Collin Dimsdale, Teddy first gained popularity as a covers singer on YouTube in the late 2010 (this is how I discovered him), performing songs from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Chris Stapleton, H.E.R. and Michael Jackson and catching a massive wave of support thanks to his distinctive look and incongruously soulful sound (think Post Malone singing Lenny Williams or Jelly Roll doing Teddy Pendergrass). He independently released the single “Night Off” in July 2019, leading to a deal with Warner Records.
Since then, he’s released four EPs — the latest, Sleep Is Exhausting, in 2022 — and dropped his debut album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1) last September. He’s also given a slew of well-received television performances on shows like The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and America’s Got Talent (basically, every talk or music-related show on the air except for SNL, which you kinda have to believe is coming soon).
In January 2022, he also performed on Uproxx’s own The Eye, belting his singles “911” and “Please Turn Green” for the Warner showcase series. Check out his new top-ten hit, “Lose Control,” below.
Teddy Swims is a Warner Music artist. .
