August’s Artist of the Month is… Teddy Swims

The Gospel According to Teddy: How Jaten Dimsdale Sang His Way to the Top

Before he was tearing up the charts with a voice that sounds like velvet dipped in bourbon, Teddy Swims was just Jaten Collin Dimsdale, born on September 25, 1992, in Conyers, Georgia. Raised on a steady diet of heavy southern gospel—thanks to his Pentecostal minister grandfather—and classic soul, courtesy of his dad’s Marvin Gaye and Al Green records, Jaten seemed destined for the mic.

His journey, however, took a slight detour. For ten years, he was a dedicated high school football player. That was until a high school teacher looked at him, looked at the gridiron, and wisely suggested he ditch the tackling pads for musical theater and chorus. Instead of crushing quarterbacks, Jaten was suddenly crushing leads in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rent, and Shakespeare.

From Forum Acronyms to YouTube Royalty

The years that followed saw Jaten acting like a musical chameleon. He sang in everything from alternative rock and post-hardcore bands to soul groups and—yes—hair metal cover bands.

By 2019, he took on the moniker Teddy Swims. The “Swims” bit came straight from vintage internet forum jargon—an acronym for Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes—which gave him the perfect alter-ego to step into. Armed with a microphone and endless charisma, he began posting song covers on YouTube. He tackled everyone from Lewis Capaldi to Amy Winehouse, but it was his soulful take on Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” that blew the doors off the internet, eventually racking up hundreds of millions of views. Warner Records took one look at the numbers, listened to the pipes, and signed him before the year was out.

The Grind, the EPs, and the Late-Night Circuit

Between 2020 and 2022, Teddy was practically living on late-night TV. If a talk show had a desk and a studio audience, Teddy was probably there singing his heart out. He dropped a string of EPs—Unlearning, Tough Love, and the highly relatable Sleep Is Exhausting—while collaborating with everyone from country star Thomas Rhett to pop icon Meghan Trainor, and even Journey’s Neal Schon on America’s Got Talent.

Losing Control and Winning Everything

In 2023, the slow burn turned into a wildfire. Teddy released “Lose Control,” a soul-scorching mega-hit that took over the world, peaking inside the top ten globally before snagging the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

He followed it up with his aptly titled debut studio album, I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1). The record exploded internationally, proving that while therapy is great, belting out your feelings over an R&B rhythm works pretty well, too.

Since then, he’s been everywhere: festival stages, mega-tours opening for Greta Van Fleet, mental health benefit concerts in Sweden, and high-profile gigs like the NRL Grand Final and Coachella.

Off the Stage

When he’s not busy blending soul, hip-hop, R&B, and pop into sonic gold, Teddy is taking on his biggest role yet: fatherhood. In June 2025, he and his girlfriend, Raiche Wright, welcomed their first child—a baby boy who undoubtedly has the best lullabies on the planet.

Random Fun Fast Facts…

• The Name is an Acronym: “SWIMS” comes from vintage internet forum slang for Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes, which he used as an alter-ego to get past stage fright. “Teddy” was added as a nod to his teddy-bear physique.

• Self-Proclaimed “Fat Troy Bolton”: When he quit his high school football team after ten years to join musical theater, his sports-obsessed family was crushed—his mom even cried, asking why he was doing it to them.

• Walking Art Gallery: He treats his body like a living guestbook, boasting dozens of tattoos and regularly encouraging artists he meets on tour to sign their names directly onto his legs.

• Failed Cosmetology Career: Because his mom insisted he have a practical backup plan outside of music, he briefly went to school for cosmetology right after high school—and quickly realized he hated it.

• Heavy Metal & Hair Band Past: Before becoming a soul icon, he spent years fronting everything from post-hardcore and alt-rock groups to wild hair metal cover bands around Atlanta.

• SoundCloud Rap Origins: The Teddy Swims solo project actually kicked off when a friend asked him to rap over a few beats for fun; the resulting tracks earned them an opening slot on a national tour before he ever dropped a soul cover.

• Surprise New Zealand Boom: His early YouTube covers blew up overnight while he was sleeping because a massive wave of fans in New Zealand caught on during their daytime, prompting him to cover the Kiwi band Six60 as a thank-you.

• The 6-Month Ultimatum: After his 2019 cover of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” got traction, he asked his team to give him six months of non-stop grind; they signed a deal with Warner Records on Christmas Eve, right on deadline.

• One-Man RENT Show: He is such a huge diehard fan of the musical RENT that he knows every single word and claims he could put on a full one-man performance of the entire musical on command.

• Self-Taught Vocalist: Rather than taking traditional voice lessons, he developed his distinct vocal control by sitting down with supportive high school teachers to break down YouTube videos of his favorite soul singers frame by frame.