I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)

After several years building a following on YouTube with his inventive cover songs (as well as a viral <i>America’s Got Talent</i> appearance alongside Journey’s Neal Schon), Georgia-hailing singer-songwriter Teddy Swims burst onto the global pop scene in 2023 with <i>I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1)</i>, 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, <i>ITEBT (Part 2)</i> is above all a testament to Swims’ adventurousness; single “Bad Dreams” combines modern-production touches with a retro-rock sound favoured 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.