“Every day I try to cry a little”

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

At the event, Chappelle Rowan and Sabrina Carpenter's combined forces denied him a single Moon Man Award, but the singer left with something far more valuable.

“I didn't realize it until two weeks later, but my partner and I got pregnant that night,” he said with a smile.

“It's June and things are great. I think we're going to crush it.”

Domestic bliss is not a quality fans would associate with Teddy Swims.

His massive single “Lost Control” and hit album “I've Tried Everything But Therapy” were rooted in dysfunction, addiction and heartbreak.

They were inspired by the toxic and mutually destructive relationship he escaped from. In the past, he described it as a “truly cooperative lifestyle” that went from “bending to bending” as both sides “exploited each other’s shame against each other.”

“You saved my life when I showed you the door,” he sings in a recent song.

But that was just one chapter in the story of Gaten Dimmesdale, a 32-year-old Georgia native.

This second album will be released on Friday, I've Tried Everything But Therapy Part 2, which explains what happened next.

“I've learned that love doesn't have to be a thing of highs and lows — fighting and pulling teeth just to stay together,” he says.

“The first album was filled with a lot of turmoil, and there wasn't a lot of closure. So I wanted to come back and say, 'Here I am on the other side of this, and I'm doing better.'

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

His new partner is also singer-songwriter, Raich Wright, whom he met “a few days before Thanksgiving” when she attended one of his shows—and the new album dwells in a kind of bewildered bliss.

“Are you something from a dream or something you created?he wonders over the groovy 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 paints from the same palette as before – a brand of '60s soul where dusty piano grooves and raucous guitar lines blend with modern pop sheen, and a pinch of rock 'n' roll swagger.

But it's not all hearts and flowers. The opulent spirit of Black And White calls for tolerance, inspired by the prejudice faced by Dimsdale and his partner – who have both black and white heritage.

“I see people being 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 color, or a different size or shape, or the same gender, or whatever.

“Why do you hate that? It's backwards.”

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

His parents divorced when he was three years old, and although they both remarried, their new relationships were problematic. 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 health problems, including schizophrenia, and spent long periods in hospital. His father ended up raising Dimmesdale's half-brothers almost single-handedly.

“He was working 18 hours a day, still doing his homework and keeping up with his workouts, all by himself,” he says.

“There's not enough I can say about how amazing this guy really is.”

Dimsdale has been a late bloomer when it comes to music. As a young man, he was a dedicated football player, until a friend convinced him to audition for a school production of Damn Yankees.

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

After graduating, he started playing with local metal bands, adopting the stage name “Swims” from the internet forum – Speak for Someone Who's Not Me Sometimes. Teddy, meanwhile, is a childhood nickname, based on his sweet and cuddly personality.

But it was a cover of Shania Twain's country song “You're Still the One” that earned him his big break.

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

They've shared music with professional writers like Julian Boneta (Sabrina Carpenter, One Direction) and Micky Eko (Rihanna, Drake) — but he's also kept his high school band, Freak Feely, who plays with him to this day.

After three EPs, and hundreds of sessions, they wrote Loss of Control, and Dinsdale immediately “knew it would 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 it took time to find an audience.

There has never been a viral moment or TikTok trend associated with losing control. Instead, Dimmesdale “did it the old-fashioned way.”

“We showed up and did every interview we could,” he says. “We went to every office and radio station and shook everyone's hand. We stopped everyone in the street singing in the streets.”

He believes the personal touch trumps everything.

“People love to see their friends win, so if you go out there and make time for them, it goes further than just a playlist that arrives on your desk, or a little file that arrives in your email saying, ‘Hey, can you?’ Push this song?

“And that's the old way you work on recording, before you go live.”

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

“A million dollars goes very quickly,” he says. “Once you put 66 people on tour, with all the equipment and lights, they'll be out the door as fast as they can.

“Twenty dollars still means what it meant to me before, but the amount coming in and going out is a scary thing to look at sometimes.”

As we speak, he is training in Pennsylvania ahead of his first European tour, which includes two nights at Wembley next March.

The theater has just been built for the first time and is eager to get to know all the ramps and video walls. Music…not so much.

“I can't say I'm really tired of the songs, but we've been listening to them nonstop for two weeks,” he says. “I can't wait for people to sing along with me, 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 puts his heart on the line.

there Countless videos From him crying as he is It does some things I'll never knowA song about abandonment and sadness. Next up, he'll play her alongside a tear-jerking new character, Northern Lights, who delves deeper into heartbreak.

It's going to be a mess, but Dimmesdale insists that's a good thing.

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

“It is a constant reminder that no matter what you are going through, on the other side of it is happiness.”

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

He says: “I am my father's son.” “He's just a sensitive guy. He'll tell you he loves you, he'll tell you he's proud of you. Man, I'll still be sitting there, curled up in his arms while we watch TV on the couch.”

“He is the most beautiful, humble human being I have ever known. He is second only to Jesus Christ.”

So the obvious question is: Is Dad excited about becoming a grandfather?

“He does backflips,” the singer laughs.

“I'm almost afraid to be a grandfather, because I want my kids to think I'm cool, too.”