StʌrunneR

The pop singer-songwriter introduced himself with this reflective debut EP.

Life lessons from the Georgia singer-songwriter.

Teddy Swims began uploading covers of Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, and Shania Twain on social media in June 2019, captivating viewers in the millions with his raspy, powerhouse vocals. After that he signed a deal with Warner Records, released his single “Picky,” completed his first headline tour, and shared his 2021 debut EP Unlearning. It’s a zero-to-100 whiplash that can be difficult to process in the moment, but with time Swims sensed a life’s changing of the seasons: things, and people, coming and going. While the Georgia-born singer-songwriter has always bared his heart through his music, from feeling unlucky in love on Unlearning’s “Will It Find Me” to practicing gratitude on 2021’s “Simple Things,” other layers—fears, anxieties, and insecurities—remained unplumbed.

I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), Swims’ full-length debut, embarks on that deeper self-exploration through visceral storytelling. The title comes from his observation that younger generations are breaking decades of stigma by being open about their mental health. By opening up about his struggles with love and loss, he takes his first step towards healing.

On album opener “Some Things I’ll Never Know,” Swims asks a question to which he doesn’t really want the answer: “When did your heart let me go?” Reconciling with a failing relationship over gentle piano, he compares toxic love to addiction on “Lose Control,” a bluesy ballad of spiraling vocal runs, wailing electric guitar solos, and pounding drums. Swims breaks the cycle on “The Door,” reaching a sonic and emotional peak as he belts, “I said I would die for you, baby/But I can’t take this pain no more.” Here, he doesn’t sing from the soul as much as rip it out and lay it bare, guts and all. The mood turns more subdued with the breezy country guitars of “You Still Get to Me,” an admission that feelings don’t always end with the breakup. But on the emotional, croon-filled closer “Evergreen,” Swims is ready to fall in love again, even if it means letting his guard down.

晚来却精心筹备的首张专辑，开诚布公的创作，撑起自我探索之歌。

After several years building a following on YouTube with his inventive cover songs (as well as a viral America’s Got Talent appearance alongside Journey’s Neal Schon), Georgia-hailing singer-songwriter Teddy Swims burst onto the global pop scene in 2023 with I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), which featured the chart-topping single “Lose Control” and showcased his innovative blend of country’s open-hearted melodicism and the soulful textures of vintage R&B. The sequel to that record finds Swims diving headlong into the latter genre more than ever before, with a few guests to accentuate his loverboy stylings; GIVĒON lends his impressive lower range to the slow jam “Are You Even Real,” while Coco Jones and GloRilla make for perfect foils on the swaggering, low-slung “She Got It?”

But as with its predecessor, ITEBT (Part 2) is above all a testament to Swims’ adventurousness; single “Bad Dreams” combines modern-production touches with a retro-rock sound favored by contemporaries like Black Pumas and Leon Bridges, while the sweeping chorus of “Guilty” finds Swims tipping a cowboy hat towards his recent work with artists like Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan. Swims’ wide-ranging approach continues to ensure that there’s something for everyone in his music, even as he retains his sense of self throughout.