GRAMMY®-nominated, Diamond-certified superstar Teddy Swims has announced his highly-anticipated second album, UGLY, out January 22 on Warner Records. Swims wrote UGLY over the last 15 months since his son was born and it serves as an outlet for self-reflection and growth, both as a man and a father — pre-order it HERE.
Setting the stage for what’s to come, Swims also releases new single, ‘Perfect Man’ — a soul-baring anthem about the impossible standards we set for ourselves and learning to find strength in our imperfections. Relatable and honest, the song builds musically while exploring the pressure to be everything to everyone, while learning to extend himself the same grace Teddy gives to others.
Listen to ‘Perfect Man’ HERE
“‘Perfect Man’ is a song about self-forgiveness”, Teddy explains. “In my life, I’ve held myself to a standard that is completely unrealistic, I’ve been too hard on myself as a partner, as a father, and in feeling the responsibility that comes with knowing there are people who rely and look up to me. I truly believe our insecurities and our quirks are signs of strength rather than weakness. My hope with this song, and with the work and conversations around it, is that people can find some relief and try to lean into our shortcomings and have an open dialogue about them rather than trying to hide them. The beauty of chasing perfection is knowing we will never reach it.”
‘Perfect Man’ unites Swims with frequent collaborators Julian Bunetta, Afterhrs, Matt Zara, Mikky Ekko, Kendrick Nicholls and Alex Izquierdo, plus Edgar Barrera. The orchestration is unmissable in the song’s accompanying performance video, where Swims is backed by his own band and backup singers, plus a four-piece string section and four-piece horns section. The new song follows Swims’ most vulnerable single yet, ‘Break Up in Reverse’, which landed alongside a powerful and moving official video of its own.
2025 was especially monumental for Swims, who wrapped a sold-out global tour, earned his second career GRAMMY® nod and made history with his Diamond-certified smash ‘Lose Control’, which set the record for the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 song of all time in the US after spending 112 weeks on the chart (and it only left due to a rule meant to make room for others). In addition to topping the Hot 100 and 5x separate radio formats, the song has also now surpassed 5 billion global streams.
Swims now heads into The UGLY Tour having spent much of 2026 delighting fans on the road. He was also the only artist to play both Stagecoach and Coachella this year, and made news by bringing David Lee Roth, Joe Jonas and Vanessa Carlton on-stage at the latter. He also ran a US summer tour that culminated in triumphant returns to BottleRock and Bonnaroo, before heading to Europe to play a series of huge open-air shows and festivals, including Lollapalooza Berlin, Latitude, Mad Cool and Isle Of Wight Festival.
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