How Cole Swindell Knows A Song Is A Hit
Cole Swindell has a brand new single out, so he called into Jonathan Wier and Ayla Brown to talk new music and what it’s like writing over Zoom.
Cole started his Down To Earth Tour in March and had to cancel it almost immediately. Jonathan wanted to know what that was like for him, “It’s just like nothing I’d ever had to experience. I just never imagined, you know, doing this would be taken away from us.” Cole never took it for granted before, but it’s been tough for him not to be on the road and knows it’s been tough for others too. He mentions he’s been learning to adapt, including writing music over Zoom. “Trying to find ways to make the most of time we normally wouldn’t have.”
Since Cole has been writing so much, Ayla asks him how he knows when a song is going to be a hit. Does he know as soon as he writes it, or does he need other people to confirm it? “That’s all you hope for is to know, but I don’t know if you ever really know. You just know how you feel.” Cole says he’s a huge music fan in general, so he feels like he’s just a fan and can think like they do. When he first heard his new song Single Saturday Night, he knew it was different. The more he listens to it, he feels like people are going to love it too.
“People ask you all the time, would you rather be on stage or writing songs? And when you get that feeling of coming up with a line or knowing that ‘God can wait for people to hear this,’ that is like being on stage for a songwriter.”
Since Cole has previously written for Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan, Jonathan was wondering if it’s harder to write over Zoom. He feels there are good parts to it, including convenience since he can’t go anywhere and can work from home. The downside for him is that you’re not in a room with people getting the energy and the feel. That’s part of the writing process that Cole loves, being able to hang out and be creative with others.
With the pandemic, Ayla asks where Cole would go if he could travel anywhere and escape. He says Hawaii because he’s previously played a show there, but didn’t get to explore.
Listen to the full interview below!
