Why Teddy Swims Had to ‘Lose Control’ to Achieve His Record-Setting Reach in Pop, R&B and Country Formats

variety.com:

Thania Garcia “A three-year overnight success” is how producer and co-writer Julian Bunetta describes Teddy Swims’ breakthrough hit, “Lose Control,” which took so long to reach No.

1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (32 weeks after its debut) that it set a record for a male artist. “The first time Teddy and I wrote a song together was in January of 2020 and we immediately had chemistry,” says Bunetta, who also produced and co-wrote two of Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 smashes, “Espresso” and “Taste,” along with hits for One Direction, Harry Styles and Thomas Rhett. “But there was a lot of trial and error to get to ‘Lose Control.’ We tried a whole bunch of styles because his voice can do anything.” “Lose Control” was penned over a four-day writing camp in Palm Springs with Swims (whose real name is Jaten Dimsdale), Bunetta, producer Ammo and singer-songwriter Mikky Ekko. “[Bunetta] called me and told me he was close to unlocking next-level songs with Swims,” Ekko says. “Swims had this massive voice and a unique persona to match.

Even though I was in Nashville at the time, I quickly made my way to California, and it was off to the races.” Of course, Bunetta had a plan: “[Swims] can sing anything, but what’s going to be a moment in his record that makes people go, ‘Oh my God, this guy’s a better singer than almost everybody else I’ve ever heard,’” he remembers thinking. “I said, ‘We need a riff.’” Ammo (real name Joshua Coleman), who shares credits on hit songs by Beyoncé, Kesha and Katy Perry, had brought a mid-tempo beat to the session that he and Grammy-winning record producer Infamous had been working on.