Ahead of the Grammys, Teddy Swims sat down to share his feelings of being nominated for Best New Artist and his Hot 100 Top 10 hit, “Lose Control.” The soon-to-be father talks about how fatherhood is inspiring him, the sequel to his first album, ‘I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2),’ his tour plans, working with Giveon and more!
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00:00I'm doing doing some solo therapy sessions as well as me and Raycher doing couples therapy as well
00:05you know just getting closer and closer and making sure that we're both healed. I'm so lucky to be a
00:10part of this conversation with some of these incredible artists who I think are just absolutely
00:14legacy artists. It's okay to suck, it's okay to write a bad song, see it through.
00:18What to you is the perfect burger?
00:20Ah man a little I don't know so so I can't a couple years ago or a few years ago now I went
00:28and did like I did like I went vegetarian for like two years and and it was so weird to me that
00:33like when I went back to break my vegetarianism I guess the first thing I wanted and I was so
00:38surprised by this was a McDouble and I don't know why so I don't want to say that's the best burger
00:44in the world but I find myself missing those little chopped little onions and little pickles
00:49I said I think I might have to say it might be it might be it might be crazy and people might
00:54come from come from my neck but I might have to say the McDouble dude it's a good burger it's just
00:59so full of awfulness you know but it's the damn jam man. What's your full McDonald's order?
01:07Uh I'm gonna get I'm gonna get two McDoubles sometimes I add the mac sauce to it because
01:11that's that's that's the vibe and then you know you kind of get the large fry maybe or
01:16or I'm I'm a big fan I'm a big fan of the breakfast too those little damn hash browns man
01:21just two packs of ketchup on the top oh god you put it right on the top I would destroy a hash
01:27brown right now girlfriend. Wait you don't dip your hash browns? No I mean they're like kind of made like
01:34stupid for dipping you know they're like a platform for two packs of ketchup exactly and
01:39you do you can even do like the toaster strudel kind of swirl you know kind of thing the zigzag
01:45hit that with a couple packs it's perfect. Oh we're making designs with the ketchup now that's
01:49yeah yeah maybe add five of them and draw your name T-A-D-D-Y. What was the last concert you
01:56attended just as a fan? I want to say oh I think uh last year I got a chance to go see um Ocean
02:03Alley um they had played in LA and I was just getting back from tour and man Ocean Alley is so
02:08dope man my my tour manager's brother uh was was was doing the lights for them so you know he got
02:14us in there and um Ocean Alley is so cool man uh Australia guys but it's super badass you know
02:21they do that confidence baby they're so dope live. So you go from tour to watching another tour
02:29so you're always performing or seeing people perform who do you think are some of the best
02:33performers you've ever seen? Um I would say I think hands down the best performer I've ever seen
02:40is either gonna be Alan Stone
02:49or um Tasha Tana.
02:57Tasha Tana is the coolest like they play like play DJ up there like saxophone, guitar. Tasha
03:06Tana I actually tattooed my little leg right here too she's that's that's my baby right there that's
03:11one of my best friends in the world I would have to be for me Tasha Tana or Alan Stone. Alan Stone
03:15is I think one of the greatest singers and performers I've ever seen too they've got it
03:20for me probably. I'll have to investigate you. Yeah they're awesome. And if you could switch
03:24jobs with anyone in the world for a day who would it be and why? Um Adam Sandler for sure.
03:31He's the coolest you know and I think what I love about Adam Sandler too is that I think
03:35over the last like 15 years he's got it figured out that every time he signs for a new movie I
03:41feel like he just says okay I'm gonna take all my best friends and I'm gonna think of a location
03:45that I can go spend like a couple months in a beautiful paradise and I just write a script
03:50around it for me and my best friends so we all make millions of dollars and we spend like three
03:54months in paradise together that guy's got it figured out if every one of his
03:57every one of his movies now are just like off in like Hawaii or like off in like I don't know
04:03the Bahamas or like he's just got it figured out where he's like let's just all go make
04:06millions of dollars together I'll write a script and then we all hang out and
04:11laugh for months in paradise. Chill in paradise. He's got it on yeah he's got it going on genius
04:18guy right there. You're entering this year as the year-end Hot 100 number one song holder
04:27with Lose Control. Congratulations yeah it's nuts isn't it that's massive it's it's such a
04:39it's such an honor and I don't know I you know I knew this song is special but I mean to see it's
04:44just just will not leave that top 10. We lost the top 10 for a minute because of the Christmas and
04:51then it came right back and it's like we're still rocking man hoping hoping it stays for as long as
04:57it possibly can. What did that ascent feel like for you? Man it was I mean of course I'm so happy
05:03about it but it was it was it was it was I guess awesome so fun but also like grueling to like
05:12we really really slowly climbed there you know and we did everything we could to
05:17sang that thing everywhere man did shook every hand hugged every neck man you know just kissed
05:23every baby on the way to that and so it was it was a lot a lot of hard work but I guess
05:28rewarding you know and justifying you know it felt good. How do you feel like that's set up
05:32the trajectory of what you have coming? I guess it just reminded me that that you know I say this
05:37all the time that the the old way still works you know what I mean I think I think it's uh
05:42going out there and hitting the hitting the road with the song and and you know shaking every hand
05:48and playing that song for every person you really got to believe in your music and in yourself to
05:52really make it work it's and I don't think it's a you know just just throwing a song out there and
05:57hoping for the best is enough there's a hundred something thousand songs come out a day so you
06:01gotta you gotta get out there and get that thing if you if you love it no one else is gonna love
06:04it if you don't so that's you gotta you gotta push that thing you gotta push it as far as it can go.
06:09And you've pushed it quite far. Yeah. You are one of the few Best New Artist nominees in the
06:15Grammys with people like Sabrina Carpenter, Chapel Roan, Shaboosie who shouted you out. My dog man.
06:21Yeah. How does it feel? Yeah it's I I you know I say this everywhere I get asked about this is
06:26I think this is the best um this is the best like year for for these new artists ever. I think I
06:32think I'm I'm so lucky to be a part of this conversation with some of these incredible
06:36artists who I think are just absolutely legacy artists and it's I don't think any of these people
06:40are flashes in the pan I think they're all such unique and legacy and that's I it's crazy to see
06:46how how amazing all these artists are and I'm just happy to be on that list. Have you connected with
06:51any of your fellow nominees? Yeah of course man I mean Benson is my baby I I got a chance during
06:56the Jingle Balls I got to be as I got to be as like you know his lotion boy too so that was cool
07:00I told him I was like if you ever if you ever need a moisturizer guy you know I can I can so I think
07:05I think I think if he ever wants to hire me I think I might um give up my career just just oil
07:10up Benson most of the days it's my my dream. So what would winning that award mean to you?
07:16Um I mean it's an honor you know I again especially with with the people that are in that category it
07:21would be such an honor I I would be uh sovereign I know my daddy would be proud and uh he already
07:27is so I I'm I'm I just be grateful I I don't man especially right now with with uh with with my my
07:33girl being pregnant and you know I think it'd be so cool to have that that trophy you know I might
07:39just put it like right next to our little crib or something so so so they can look at it every time
07:45they they wake up and know how cool her dad is. So cute congratulations. Is it too soon to be
07:51asking if you've plotted on baby names? Um yeah we we've got a couple floating around but um you
07:56know I don't I don't I don't know she she's telling me all the time that like uh well we got
08:01these ideas but I think when it comes out and I see his little face it'll be you know it'll be
08:07more clear you know you gotta you don't want to name the kid and it'd be like you don't look like
08:12whatever the name is. I would like it to be boy but uh I think I think having a girl first would
08:17be terrifying and I think I'd just be mush all the time I would just cry every day I would
08:23absolutely puddle of mud all the time I would just be like oh yes man whatever you say so I
08:28I'm hoping hoping we have the boy first. I don't know I think a girl can push you to your limit.
08:32Yeah you know I mean I whatever whatever God has in store I'd be so grateful but
08:36hopefully the second time though I mean I want there to be a second time but I would like to
08:40knock her up right immediately again but she also wants to have a life too so you know I'm not gonna
08:45I'm not gonna take her whole life from her but I would I'd have like 15 of them if she'd let me.
08:4915? I want to be like uh you ever seen Horton Hears a Who? I'd like to be the mayor from Horton
08:54Hears a Who where he's got just like a hundred kids that's that's my dream just a shlew of them
08:59you know. Wow Teddy Swim's mayor of Whoville. A baker's dozen. Okay so you've got some life plans
09:08um where were you when you found out about your Grammy nomination? Um we were in Spain,
09:12Barcelona I believe it was uh Los Cuarenta Awards. We had rented out this uh conference room and
09:18hotel we were staying at while we were doing the glam for it. I was getting my head shaved and
09:22we had the stream pulled up and me and my whole crew had gotten in there and and you know watched
09:26it and such a beautiful but terrifying experience you know because like with with Swim's it was like
09:32the last name that was said and they had said Shaboosie and it was like go Shaboosie and then
09:38finally said Teddy Swim's and then they closed it out so I was I was I was scared we wasn't gonna
09:43get it at first but I was you know I kind of jumped out of I had to call my father you know
09:48first thing I did and and I just love my daddy man he's the best. So it could be the wifey I'm
09:54assuming but tell me if I'm wrong who are you taking to the Grammys? Oh yeah man I'm taking
09:59got a little belly out too now you know I think I'm really really excited that's me and me and
10:03my baby's going and uh she's she's so proud too and I'm really excited to share that moment with
10:09her. How has your girlfriend influenced your music? I think I think it's it's taught me
10:14love in a different way um it's it's not meant to always be these high highs and these low lows and
10:19this this it's there's there's there's there's real love that you're worthy of and deserve and
10:24and she's really really good at just communication is a thing you know and I think it's it's even
10:32with these these like kind of trials that we've had over her her her being pregnant and and watching
10:37her uh navigate this and and how her body's changing and I know I've learned so much from
10:42her and how she's a beautiful person oh yeah it's so cool to watch her body go through that and her
10:48to be such a elegant just an angel man really that was beautiful like oh female body's just
10:55a goddess man you know absolute this just absolute gods I can't God is a woman that's all I'm gonna
11:01say you know God is a woman. I actually saw you last year at Soundside Festival in Connecticut
11:07so you've been doing these arena shows and your own tour but then you're doing all these festival
11:11gigs is there a difference in how you prepare for those things? When it's it's your show you know
11:15people people know I like know your the thing and you have a little more time to speak and say
11:20things it's it's kind of be the more condensed thing but I do enjoy playing the the festivals
11:25because you can play you know your 45 minutes to an hour and then go see some other people
11:30absolutely destroy it riff it up and hang out with people and uh but I think I think the biggest thing
11:34is that that we learned this year of of doing festivals we used to only play like the upbeat
11:40songs and take the ballads and stuff out this year we started doing uh like a ballad of one of mine
11:45called some things I never know and and I think I think it was just a little uncouth for festivals
11:49usually people try to avoid the the the slow sad cry songs but we started just throwing it in there
11:55because it's like I think people need to hear this stuff and people still want to be moved
11:58emotionally at a festival you know when did your heart let me go I guess some things I'll never know
12:09it's such a different vibe and atmosphere but it's so cool because people were there to
12:13experience music these are music's biggest fans when you're at a festival and even if they're not
12:17yours it's a chance for music fans that want to hear music all day long to be and see you and
12:22versus like people at your shows may not actually go to shows but they might love you enough to go
12:27to shows so I think it's I think it's just a different atmosphere but people were there for
12:31music and live music and care about music you know it's really cool yeah I totally saw people crying
12:37when they were watching you yeah I hope so well I mean I don't want anybody to be sad but it's a
12:41good day to cry though happy tears yeah it's a good day to cry it's it's pain leaving the body
12:46healing you know can you tease any other changes that you're making as you tour
12:50yeah there's gonna be lots of lights and fire now which is cool you know love fire
12:55fire oh I've been up I've been uh we're looking to the the finances of fire though I I'm gonna
13:00start I'm definitely gonna say on stage look you guys better love this song because this
13:04this this song probably cost five grand to play y'all better really enjoy this one
13:09someone's hitting a really expensive button back there you better like this damn song
13:15so we said before we love healing and you are dropping I've Tried Everything But Therapy part
13:21two very soon why did you make it a sequel I think I think that it was important that you know
13:27from the first one it was I was in a place of you know so much heartbreak and hurt at the time and I
13:32felt like I left the listener on such a there's no real answers or no like real solved problems
13:39in that and so I felt that and I it was also nice too to from from writing it from that perspective
13:45and being in there I I was hoping that you know it was going to get better down the line and and
13:49once you get out of that negative situation and that heartbreak on the other side of it there is
13:54there's there's healing and there's there's there's unlearning old habits and and ways you
13:59think and there's you know and so so on the other side of it there's you know falling in love again
14:04and having a baby and and being grammy nominated and and and some sort of success and love and
14:09support in ways that was never there and so I think this is a perfect closure on it does get
14:14better and and it will get better you know and I think I think the listener maybe hopefully can
14:18get that from it that it man it's it's okay on the other side of it if you just get through it
14:23stay stay with it and get through it and there's love on the other side growth and closure yeah
14:28therapy speak we love come on are you going to therapy i sure am yeah man um you know uh i'm
14:35i'm doing doing some solo therapy sessions as well as uh me and racher doing couples therapy as well
14:40you know just getting getting closer and closer and making sure that we're both healed and you
14:46know not bringing any baggage or on unclosed things from old relationships as well as our
14:52communication and and just before we usher in this baby and we want to go ahead and get ahead
14:57of things that we you know may may have happened in the future when we're I don't know where we
15:02will be so I think I think it's been wonderful that we're we're ahead of it and and you know
15:08taking taking all the precaution we can to bring this baby into both of us being healed together
15:12and separately and it's been it's been such a wonderful thing this has been so heartwarming
15:16already i'm like oh my gosh i don't think i've felt warm and fuzzy during an interview
15:22your album though you have features with giveon money long glorilla coco jones so you're getting
15:28a little more to like the r&b and hip-hop sound on this one was that a conscious choice um you know
15:34i don't think it was it was the the conscious choice but i think that like there were times
15:39in the past and our old one when it was we was first kind of creating that we wanted to i guess
15:44things kind of had to be in this like kind of cohesive space to enter the market i suppose
15:50and maybe there was times we were writing things that were super r&b and super rock or super
15:55country and it was like maybe this is too this or that too and now um i think that we have a little
16:00bit of a foundation a little bit of a um a little bit of a base i think whatever is good feels good
16:07is good you know and so i i think if things are leaning r&b instead of like being afraid to maybe
16:13this is too rb it's just like just lean all the way into it and if it feels good it's good and so
16:18there's so much of this this record that is uh they're a little bit it's a little bit all over
16:22the place but i think the cohesiveness of it is that you know um it's it's good and it's real and
16:27it's it's authentically me and as long as it's authentic in whatever space it is i think my
16:32voice will kind of guide it to be cohesive in a way and i um which i hope anyway but you know
16:38there's a lot of rv on there and a lot of a lot of little rock and roll and a little country and
16:43a little everything in there well i'm so excited for everyone to hear it um you released your song
16:48with giveon as a single how did that collaboration come about he's so cool dude uh that's the best
16:58guy ever i had met him right after the vmas uh this past year and i was kind of leaving this
17:04party he was coming in and we chatted up a little bit and weirdly enough my my my lawyer josh came
17:11and um also represents giveon and josh had heard uh are you even real he was like man you should
17:17send this to give you on and i guess he had sent it to give you on and uh give you on like texted
17:23me he's like bro i cannot stop listening to this song josh sent it to me and so i was like well
17:27you know if you want to put a verse on it i'll take the second verse off and you write your thing
17:31do your thing and so he said he sent me a verse back and i called him like i was in tears like
17:35god bro you're the best and so sure enough you know uh it is quite strange that um our lawyer
17:42was a big anr on this one you know which is sick and uh it's just kind of happened naturally like
17:48that and um i've been saying this in a lot of interviews too because we've been throwing the
17:52idea around of doing you know a whole project together and so i do keep trying to say it while
17:56i'm in an interview so he can't back out so hopefully if you give me on we'll do a record
18:02together you bet and if you talk to him tell him i said that a little internet and peer pressure
18:06never hurt anyone your voice is so distinct but so is your visual brand there's lots of orange
18:18when when we first started doing the first one i had this like i had this kind of obsession with
18:22this uh clockwork orange movie you know i think it was it's such a really cool uh i mean the movie
18:28itself is a little like you know stanley kubrick is a nut but there's this a moment in the movie
18:33where uh they're really horrible kids and um they he he goes gets arrested and they're doing this
18:38like kind of brainwashing thing of like you know holding his eyes back and making like watching
18:43people doing like acts of good service and stuff like that and trying to brainwash them to be a
18:47good human and i think uh i think there was something i wanted to take a through line with
18:51with the album that is like it's it's so much about unlearning unhealthy habits and kind of
18:56brainwashing myself to think about love differently you know and not think about who i was and the
19:01habits that i had and and patterns that i chose in my life and so i thought maybe it was kind of
19:06and i was just like obsessed with this like retro futuristic thing too which looked really cool and
19:10neat to me so i you know that it was kind of the reason i guess and orange is just a badass color
19:16isn't it so it is yeah what do you think was the most difficult song on the album for you to write
19:20and record for me it had to be uh there's a song called if you ever change your mind um that song
19:27uh i remember when i first heard it mickey echo was working on it and with with some guys at the
19:32camp and uh i remember recording that song was just as hard as the first time hearing the song
19:37it's such a beautiful song i just i saw it immediately when when he started showing me the
19:41chorus and stuff and uh so i think that song was uh it was it was it's such a beautiful song it's
19:47i guess it's like hard to hear in the right way you know um that that song was was tough to record
19:52for me that one and um northern lights again i think that song that song we actually ended up
19:58like we did it forever ago and then came back and visited to it and try to try to send it off to get
20:03produced somewhere else and then we rewrote the verses and then you know rewrote the chorus like
20:08three times and i think northern lights it might have taken us like it's made the longest song that
20:13i've written because it's it's like we we've revisited so many times that it would finally
20:18we finally got it the right place after like a year or two of it like maybe a year and a half
20:23to two years after we first originally recorded it and wrote it so it's like it took a long time
20:27i just never gave up on it i just had to like maybe maybe the course is wrong or maybe maybe
20:32the course is right maybe the verses are wrong or maybe there's you know so we kind of like
20:35kept rewriting the thing and and getting it right you have all these sources of inspiration around
20:40you but sometimes things come from unconventional places what do you think is the most random or
20:45interesting source of inspiration you've had i think finding out that i'm going to be a father
20:49that was that was definitely a whoa so i think i think that's been such an inspiration for me
20:56as knowing that uh i think there's such a big thing about it too that it's made me pick and
21:00choose my my space uh i guess more carefully and and choose my time where i spend it more wisely
21:07and um when i used to have this this feeling of i gotta go get it and i gotta work all the time and
21:12i have to somebody else is gonna get it if i don't get it and i now i think i i've i've been more
21:16trying to be more present about even the times that i'm doing nothing you know that that that
21:20time is so valuable and you know when when that kid is sitting on the ground playing in front of
21:25me if i'm not doing anything on work i i will be sitting there watching that baby and saying this
21:31is where this is the most valuable use of my time you know and that won't be wasted by not working
21:35and i think i think my family and my my not work time has been more valuable and and more precious
21:42and and more uh present and then so is my work instead of it just all being only work all the
21:48time and so i think i've just it's made my work time way more present and and focused and my
21:55off time the same way let's get more into the album where were you when you wrote and recorded
22:00most of these songs um i was in so we like to do a lot of uh camps you know like we'll take a
22:06writing camp and palm springs is where we were and that's where we usually go do them i found
22:11that like a lot of the success stuff that we've had has come from being in a writing camp which
22:15we'll go and do like get maybe eight or ten of us or something like that together and maybe take
22:21two or three rooms and set up you know go stay in a place for like a week and set up shop and
22:26bounce between three rooms and just like be writing all day and getting like a slew of songs
22:31and just staying locked in for like a week and you know once you catch a a moment or a vibe you
22:35just kind of can lock into that thing and stay there and that's where we've gotten most of
22:39the stuff that really feels like good is staying locked in and not having any outside pressures or
22:45anything like that and being able to lock in there has been wonderful and i think too we always try
22:50to do it somewhere in like the desert or where there's not a lot of people i always i always feel
22:54like that there's a there's like this little i guess i'll call it the muse like this little elf
22:59that visits the room when you're really tapped into listening to the universe or whatever you
23:05know and you don't try to put too many parameters on on writing it's when you when you're just
23:09listening to the energy i i think it always feels better to have um a space or like be writing in a
23:17place that not many people are writing because i think it makes it easier for the elf to come
23:21visit because there's not that many places to go visit you know what i mean so we try to get
23:25far off out from society and just lock in there together just snacks and tequila and you know
23:33writing the best things we can um the songwriting elf is there a time when the elf has visited you
23:38immediately it's just been yeah i guess it depends on how how open you are you know you got to be
23:44open and i think i think sometimes it visits one person at a time or maybe sometimes sometimes i
23:50might have the good idea you know or sometimes somebody else might and it's up to everybody else
23:54to fan the flame but to never to never say oh no no this is to this or this is to that i feel like
23:58we had done that in the past and say this is to this and i just now if it feels good it's good
24:03and so i feel like i feel like you know when it's in the room though you know and it's visited you
24:07know when you're like oh i feel it i feel it just to listen to the the thing it just you know when
24:13it's like falling down and the universe is just giving you a nugget and it's if you start saying
24:17no i don't know i don't know that thing will walk out you know so just never trying to guide
24:22creativity too much it's or if it doesn't feel like a hit immediately and moving on it's like
24:27see it through get it done you know what do you want people to take away from this album i hope i
24:31hope that again with the with with the first one that and the second one coming in that that you
24:36know on the other side of this heartbreak and pain that there's there's there's there's love
24:41and there's support and there's success and there's a baby and there's there's it gets better you know
24:46you can heal and learn and and grow and unlearn and uh so i hope i hope they just see you know
24:52from from my perspective and from my journey that it's worth the pain and it's and you carry that
24:57with you and it makes you know it's it's worth it it's worth it all this stuff that you're going
25:00through is so worth it because on the other side there's there's love and and happiness and
25:05and glory and you know and there's closure and closure yeah amen