Cole Swindell‘s current single, “Stay Downtown,” will be his last from his sophomore album, You Should Be Here. The 34-year-old says he is about halfway finished with his third studio record, which will show a different, more mature side.
“I’ve got songs on there that I’ve written that I loved, but there’s some also that I didn’t, that I’m honored to even have a chance to record, and some of them that are just going to rip your heart out,” Swindell shared with The Boot and other reporters at a recent media event. “I think it’s got a good mixture. I’m still going to have the fun stuff — I’m not going straight to serious — but I think I’ve been given a platform, and it’s okay to say what I want to now. They’re just songs that are going to mean a lot to people on here, a lot to me. I think it’s a good mixture of songs I wrote that I believe in, and songs that I wish I had written, because I’m a big fan of all of our songwriters.”
Swindell has written all seven of his previously released singles, with each of them landing at the top of the charts. “Stay Downtown,” however, was written by Matt Dragstrem and Cole Taylor, and Swindell says he knew as soon as he heard it that he wanted to include it on You Should Be Here.
“It’s my first taste of having a song out there that I didn’t write, that I love and believe in,” he shares. “I always said, I’m always going to return the favor, if I believe in somebody’s stuff, and this is my chance to release one that I wasn’t fortunate enough to write.”
Although Swindell loves writing songs as much as he does singing them, he hopes to give other songwriters a chance on his upcoming record as well.
“I know what it’s like to get a song recorded,” he says. “The fact that they’re sending their best stuff to me, that’s the biggest compliment I think I could get … That’s the thing I hate about it is, I’m not going to be able to release them all. That’s where I’m at with the You Should Be Here album: There’s still songs I wish I could release off of it, that hopefully people that have heard the album will hear, but you never get to single them.”
Whether Swindell writes it or not, the 34-year-old hopes to have at least one collaboration with another artist on his upcoming set of tunes.
“It’s tough finding somebody that fits the song and hasn’t already had a song out with so-and-so this year. It’s a tough deal. There’s so many good options, so I’m going to find somebody …,” he explains. “I’ve got a couple options for songs that I love. It might depend on who’s open to sing it and who’s willing to do it. That’s a big deal for someone to sing on a song with you, so I’ve got to find somebody that will do it first.”
Swindell doesn’t know when his next album will be released, but he admits he is about “halfway done” with the project.
“I’m excited about it,” boasts Swindell. “I remember when I finished You Should Be Here, I couldn’t even imagine ever making another album. I was like, ‘This is as good as I can do.’ And time comes around, and they’re like, ‘Hey, when you coming back in the studio?’ You realize, ‘All right, I’ve got to start writing.'”
Swindell will have a busy start to 2018: He will kick off his Down Home Sessions Tour on Jan. 11 in Athens, Ga., and then will begin his headlining Reason to Drink Tour on Feb. 8, with Chris Janson and Lauren Alaina serving as his opening acts. A list of all of Swindell’s upcoming shows is available on his website.
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
