‘Every day I try to cry a little bit’

When Teddy Swims attended the MTV Awards last September, he was nominated for four awards, including best artist.

At the event, the combined teams of Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter were denied one Moon Man award – but the singer walked away with something very important.

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

“We’re due in June and things are looking good. I think we’re going to break it.”

Home entertainment is not a quality that fans can relate to Teddy Swims.

His hit single Lose Control, and his critically acclaimed album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, stemmed from dysfunction, addiction and heartbreak.

He was inspired by the toxic, destructive relationship he had escaped. Previously, he described them as a “codependent life” that went from “bender to bender” as both sides “embarrassed each other”.

While singing the latest song, “I saved my life when I showed the door”.

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

This Friday, she’s releasing her second album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy Part 2, which tells the story of what happened next.

“I’ve learned that love doesn’t have to be about highs and lows – fighting and pulling teeth to be together,” she says.

“The first album was a lot of chaos, and not a lot of closure. So I wanted to come back and say, ‘I’m here on the other side of this, and I’m doing well’.

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

His new partner is singer-songwriter Raiche Wright, whom he met “a couple of Thanksgivings ago” when he came to one of his shows – and the new album is a wonderful treat.

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

Later, on the acoustic guitar ballad If You Change Your Mind, he sings, “I love you, I love you,” honestly it’s not found in pop history.

Musically, the album paints from the same vantage point as before – a kind of 1960s soul where dusty piano lines and guitar lines are punctuated with a modern pop sheen, and understated rock and roll swagger.

But not all hearts are flowers. The proud life of Black And White makes a plea for tolerance, inspired by the racism Dimsdale and his friend – who has mixed black and white heritage – have experienced.

“I see people looking disgusted because we’re a different race – especially in the south,” he says.

“But it is better to be happy in love with someone of a different kind, of a different size, of a different appearance, whether male or female, or whatever.

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

Dimsdale learned acceptance the hard way. Born in Conyers, an area east of Atlanta, his grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher with a strong view of the world, and family life was difficult to manage.

His parents divorced when he was three and, although both remarried, their new relationships were difficult. His mother, who lived with him, was married to 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 had serious mental problems, including schizophrenia, and spent a long time in the hospital. His father ended up raising the Dimsdale siblings almost alone.

“He was working 18 hours a day, doing homework and doing it again, by himself,” he says.

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

Dimsdale was a late bloomer when it came to music. When he was young, he was dedicated to football, until his friend convinced him to go to the school of the Damn Yankees.

The songs started love and singing. He researched music techniques on YouTube, being analyzed by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin.

After graduating, he began playing with local metal bands, taking the stage name “Swimmers” from an internet forum-speak for Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes. Teddy, meanwhile, is a childhood name, based on his loving and affectionate personality.

But it was a cover of Shania Twain’s country song You’re The One that got her big break.

On YouTube, it has been viewed 197 million times. One of those viewers was a Warner Bros. record analyst, who signed Dimsdale to a record deal for Christmas 2019.

He collaborated with the singer and 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, with whom he plays to this day.

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

He was right. With 2.2 billion hits worldwide, this is one of the biggest hits in recent history – but finding an audience takes time.

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

“We came in and did every interview we could,” he says. “We went to every office and radio station and shook everyone’s hand individually. We stopped everyone in the street, walking.”

They believe that personal touch beats anything, hands down.

“People love to see their friends succeed, so if you go hang out with them, it goes a lot further than a playlist that comes to your desk, or a little file that comes to your email that says, ‘Hey, what can you do. Push this song?’

“And that’s how you work on a record, before you move.”

Embarrassed, he admits that the song made him a millionaire (“so I can’t be mad at that girl anymore, right?”) but he’s learning that making money means spending money.

“A million dollars goes by very quickly,” he says. “When you put 66 people on a tour, with all the gear and all the lights, it gets out the door as fast as you get it.

“Twenty bucks still means what 20 bucks used to mean to me, but the money coming in and out is scary to watch sometimes.”

As we speak, he is rehearsing in Pennsylvania for his first European tour, which includes two nights at Wembley in March.

The stage has just been built for the first time, and they are eager to familiarize themselves with the ramps and video walls. Music… not so much.

“I can’t say I’m sick of these songs, but we’ve been playing them non-stop for two weeks now,” he says. “I can’t wait until people sing along, so I can love them again.”

If you’ve ever been to a Teddy Swims show, you’ll know that he puts his heart on the line.

There is countless videos they are crying like him it does things I will never knowa song about abandonment and sadness. On the upcoming tour, he’s playing back-to-back with a new tearjerker, Northern Lights, which delves deeper into heartbreak.

He’s been a mess – but Dimsdale insists that’s a good thing.

“Every day I try to cry a little,” she says. “It just hurts to leave the body.

“And it’s a constant reminder that, whatever you’ve been through, there’s happiness on the other side.”

With his bearded and tattooed face, you wouldn’t expect such wisdom – but Dimsdale’s male model isn’t afraid to share his thoughts.

“I am my father’s son,” he says. “He’s an obedient person. He’ll tell you he loves you, he’ll tell you he’s proud of you. Man, I’ll stay, lying in his arms while we watch TV on the couch.”

“He is the most beautiful, humble man I have ever met. Second only to Jesus Christ.”

So, the obvious question: Do fathers enjoy being grandparents?

“They’re doing some back-and-forth,” laughs the singer.

“I’m afraid to have him as a grandfather, because I want my children to think I’m good.”