‘I try to cry a little every day’

When Teddy Swims appeared at the MTV Awards last September, he was nominated for four awards, including Best New Artist.

In that case, the combined forces of Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter denied him the Moon Man trophy – but the singer walked away with something far more valuable.

“I didn’t realize until a few weeks later, but my partner and I got pregnant that night,” she beams.

“We’re due in June and things are great. I think we’re going to crush it.”

Domestic happiness is not a quality fans might associate with Teddy Swims.

His breakthrough single Lose Control and hit album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy are rooted in dysfunction, addiction and heartbreak.

They were inspired by the toxic, mutually destructive relationship he had escaped. He has described it in the past as a “really codependent lifestyle” that went from “bender to bender” as both sides “used each other’s shame against each other”.

As he sings on his recent single, “I saved my life when I showed you the door.”

But that was just one chapter in the story of 32-year-old Jaten Dimsdale from Georgia.

This Friday, he releases a second album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Part 2, which explains what happened next.

“I’ve learned that love doesn’t have to be this high ups and lows thing – fighting and pulling teeth just to stay together,” he says.

“The first album was full of turmoil, not too much closure. So I wanted to come back and say, ‘Here I am on the other side of this and I’m better.’

“I feel like, as a listener, I’d like to hear that there’s a way out.”

His new partner is also a singer-songwriter, Raiche Wright, whom he met “a few Thanksgivings ago” when she came to one of his shows – and the new album lives in a kind of confused bliss.

“Are you something from a dream or something I made up?” he asks over the smooth R&B groove of Are You Real.

Later, on the acoustic guitar ballad If You Ever Change Your Mind, he sings, “i love you i love you” with a quiet honesty rarely found on a pop record.

Musically, the album moves from the same palette as before – a brand of soul from the 1960s where dusty piano rhythms and guitar lines are accented with a modern pop flare and a pinch of rock and roll swagger.

But it’s not all about hearts and flowers. The opulent soul of Black and White calls for tolerance, inspired by the prejudice faced by Dimsdale and his partner – who is of mixed black and white heritage.

“I see people who look disgusted because we are different colors – especially in the south,” he says.

“But it’s okay to be happy in love with someone of a different skin color, or a different size or shape, or the same gender, or whatever it is.

“Why would you hate it? It’s such a backwards thing.”

Dimsdale learned about acceptance the hard way. Born in Conyers, an eastern suburb of Atlanta, his grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher with a certain worldview, and family life was difficult to navigate.

His parents divorced when he was three and, although both remarried, their new relationships were troubled. His mother, with whom he lived, married an alcoholic who left suddenly when Dinsdale was 18 and never spoke to the family again.

His father, whom he saw on weekends, married a woman who developed serious mental problems, including schizophrenia, and spent a long time in hospital. His father ended up raising Dimsdale’s half-brothers almost single-handedly.

“I would work 18 hours a day and still do my homework and go to training again, completely alone,” he says.

“I can’t say enough about how truly amazing this man is.”

Dimsdale was a late bloomer when it came to music. As a young man he was a dedicated football player, until a friend convinced him to audition for the school’s production of The Damned Yankees.

The musical sparked a love affair with singing. He researched vocal techniques on YouTube, absorbing performances by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin.

After graduation, he began playing with local metal bands, taking the stage name “Swims” from Internet forum talk for Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes. On the other hand, Teddy is a childhood nickname, based on his kind and cuddly personality.

But a cover of Shania Twain’s country ballad You’re Still The One brought him major success.

It has been viewed 197 million times on YouTube. One of those viewers was a talent scout for Warner Bros Records, who signed Dimsdale on Christmas Eve 2019.

The musician teamed up with professional writers such as Julian Bunetta (Sabrina Carpenter, One Direction) and Mikky Ekko (Rihanna, Drake) – but he also kept his high school band, Freak Feely, who plays with him to this day.

After three EPs and hundreds of sessions, they wrote Lose Control, and Dinsdale immediately “knew it was going to change my life”.

He was right. With 2.2 billion global streams, it’s one of the most successful songs in recent chart history – but finding an audience took time.

There was no viral moment or TikTok trend associated with Lose Control. Instead, Dimsdale “did it the old fashioned way”.

“We showed up and did all the interviews we could,” he says. “We went to every office and radio station and shook everyone’s hand individually. We stopped everyone on the street, driving a bus.”

He believes that the personal touch wins over everything, hands down.

“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 that comes across your desk or a little file that comes in your email that says, ‘Hey, can you push this song?’

“And that’s the old way you do a record, before streaming.”

He sheepishly admits that the song made him a millionaire (“so I can’t be too mad at that girl anymore, can I?”), but he learns that making money means spending money.

“A million dollars goes so fast,” he says. “Once you send 66 people on tour, with all the gear and all the lights, it’s out the door as fast as you get there.

“Twenty dollars still means what $20 used to mean to me, but the amount that goes in and out is so scary sometimes.”

As we speak, he’s rehearsing in Pennsylvania ahead of his first European arena tour, which includes two nights at Wembley this March.

The stage has just been built for the first time, and he can’t wait to get to know all the ramps and video walls. Music… not so much.

“I wouldn’t say I’m sick of the songs yet, but we’ve been playing them non-stop for two weeks now,” he says. “I can’t wait for people to sing so I can fall in love with them all over again.”

If you’ve been to a Teddy Swims show, you’ll know that he’s willing to gamble.

they exist countless videos of him sobbing while he is performs Some Things I’ll Never Knowa song about abandonment and sadness. For the upcoming tour, he’ll be playing it back-to-back with tear-jerking new song Northern Lights, which delves even deeper into heartbreak.

It will be a mess – but Dimsdale insists that’s a good thing.

“I try to cry a little every day,” he says. “It’s just pain leaving the body.

“And it’s a constant reminder that no matter what you’ve been through, there’s happiness on the other side of it.”

With his bearded and tattooed face, you might not expect such emotional intelligence – but Dimsdale’s model of masculinity wasn’t afraid to share his feelings.

“I’m daddy’s son,” he says. “He’s just a sensitive man. He’ll tell you he loves you, he’ll tell you he’s proud of you. Man, I’ll still be sitting there, lying in his arms while we watch TV on the couch.”

“He’s the nicest, most humble human being I’ve ever met. Second only to Jesus Christ.”

So the obvious question: Is dad excited to be a grandfather?

– It’s backwards – the singer laughs.

“I’m almost afraid to have him as a grandfather, because I want my kids to think I’m cool, too.”