'Men should be telling each other how pretty they are!”

The Grammy-nominated R&B artist Teddy Swims talks to Roisin O’Connor about why he prefers the Brit Awards, stigma around masculinity and what he’s calling his baby

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Teddy Swims likes to make an entrance. At the Brits last month, the Georgia singer rocked up to the red carpet wearing a cape made from stuffed toys: if the fluorescent green teddy bears didn’t blind you, the diamond grills flashing in his mouth willhave done. Yet it’s his voice – a full-throated baritone – that’s currently everywhere. If you’re on TikTok you won’t have been able to avoid his 2023 single “Lose Control” – one of that year’s biggest hits. The spookified R&B swell of synth beats and squalling electric guitar is in the same vein as Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” or Annie Lennox’s take on “I Put a Spell on You”, and you’ll have had a hard time getting it out of your head.

The man born Jaten Dimsdale is much cuddlier than his tattooed visage and diamond-studded teeth might suggest. “I’m just a blossoming flower,” the 32-year-old tells me as we chat over video call. He’s holed up in a hotel in Kensington ahead of the second of two sold-out shows at Wembley Arena, a world away from the home he shares with his girlfriend in Los Angeles. Blossoming he may be, but he’s also one of a veritable horde of stars breaking into the mainstream after what has felt like years without a massive new act. He was at the Grammys in February, where he was nominated for Best New Artist alongside Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and RAYE, and his rousing performance was a reminder that, even as women dominated the ceremony, music fans still can’t get enough of blokes with big voices – especially if they’re singing over rootsy Americana or blue-eyed soul.