Teddy Swims

One Liner:  Soulful tattoo monster who went from YouTube covers to one huge hit

Wikipedia Genre:  R&B, soul, country, pop, blue-eyed soul

Home: Conyers, GA

Poster Position: 3
Both Weekends
Saturday at 4:10.

Honda Stage.

Thoughts:  When the lineup popped out a few minutes ago, this was one of the artists my buddy Jason immediately pointed out as being exciting.  I have absolutely never heard of this.  Which is always fascinating - Jason generally has my musical tastes with our shared love of things like Pearl Jam or cleopatric or whatever, but this is outside of my wheelhouse for sure.

Also, before I dig in further, doesn't it feel like calling something "blue eyed soul" is racist or somehow inappropriate?  If I called Living Colour "black-skinned rock," wouldn't that seem wrong?  I don't want to get into this, really, there is just something offputting about typing that genre up above.  It's just soul, right?

Anyhoo - Jaten Collin Dimsdale is Teddy Swims. I watched a short YouTube video about where the name came from, and it was honestly confusing.  He says "I got called Teddy in my life a lot cause I guess I look like that," and then he says that he had previously called himself "Swims" as part of a hip hop thing he was doing, because "its like for someone who isn't me sometimes."  Ahh.  Sure.  Everyone knows that the word swims stands for someone other than yourself.  Right.  NO, WAIT, I GET IT NOW.  Someone Who Isn't Me Sometimes = S.W.I.M.S.  Roger.

He's also an avid tattoo guy.  Covering his head.  On the face.  Knuckles.  Legs.  Blackened ears?  Literally blacked out his ears.  Just so very many tattoos.  I know this is a thing now between Post Malone and Jelly Roll and others, but it still looks shocking to go so hard on the tats.

His first track, from 2019, is called "Someone You Loved," and it shows the leaning towards soul and R&B, but has more of a Post Malone kind of feel where he combines country and pop and rock and R&B.  It is apparently a cover of Lewis Capaldi.  He also covered "I Can't Make You Love Me" in 2019.  Just singles until his 2021 EP called Unlearning.  The top track on there is "Bed on Fire" with 37.4 million streams.

There's the more pure soul sound.  I mean, I say that, as though I listen to any soul music at all.  I don't know that I care for it.  Feels like the title phrase should be about hot sexy time, and instead its about how he wants her to kill him when she leaves.  

The covers were apparently his foot in the door.  At first, he was in a handful of rock, post-hardcore, hair metal, or soul bands around Atlanta, but it wasn't until he started posting covers on YouTube in 2019 that people started to really notice him.  Shania Twain's "You're Still the One" popped off, and he ended up signing with Warner Brothers.

The 2022 EP Tough Love has one that I like quite a bit better - "911" boasts 38.7 million streams.

Sweet groove in there, which really matches up to the smooth vocals.  The visuals kind of gross me out though, milk plus beard is kind of nasty looking.  But smooth singing and a tasty slice of funky stuff.

Then, we finally get both his only real album as well as his massive hit that gets him posted up here at the third line of the poster.  I've Tried Everything But Therapy is his 2024 album, and "Lose Control" blasted out 621.5 million streams (more than every other song on here combined).

Makes me think of something Alicia Keys would do.  Although I also hear some Stapleton in his voice.  If this was set over roaring guitar and drums, instead of organ and bass, I could see it as Stapleton.  I'd honestly prefer the "911" song over this, but again, soul and R&B have never been my jam.

With apologies to Jason, I sure hope that something more interesting is up against this cat.  He's got a great voice and apparently single-handedly keeps a few tattoo artists fed, but not really my choice.