The country music star wants the story in his latest single to be his reality.
Cole Swindell is ready for his last "Single Saturday Night." ET recently spoke with the 37-year-old country music star via Zoom, and he opened up about how his latest single showcases what he wants for his future.
"It just feels good and I wanted to put out something that felt good this year," he says of the track, which was co-written by Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy and Mark Holman. "To me, not only that, but just the writing. I can certainly relate to it. I haven’t had my last single Saturday night yet. Even the people that have, I think it makes you think, 'Man, that’s crazy. That night was the time I was ever single.'"
"That gives me chills just thinking about it," he admits.
While Swindell considers the track to be a "fun, roll-your-windows-down song," he points to its story progression to cite its deeper meaning.
"It goes from walking out of church holding hands, to picking out [a church to get] married," he explains. "And to me, country music, no matter what it is, it tends to tell a story... That’s something that me -- and I know a lot of other people -- are waiting on out there, so it’s fun to sing about it... So I can certainly relate to this, except for the fact that I’m hoping this happens in the future."
After releasing the track, Swindell set his mind on putting out a video as well, despite quarantine due to COVID-19.
"I hope it’s the last video we ever have to film during a pandemic, that's for sure," he quips of making the fun, greenscreen-filled video. "We really didn’t have a plan, but we pulled it off... It looked like at times we were all together, we were on some beach or wherever it is. We just had to have fun with it."
Swindell says the video is "by far the silliest" he's ever made, something he thinks is a fitting antidote for the often serious times we're living in.
"Just watching the news, and just being tired of hearing all the bad stuff, and then drifting off to some crazy dream, that’s kind of what the video is about. I feel like I’ve done that this year," he says. "It gave me and the band, even though we weren’t together, a chance to have fun. We watched it in a group text, just making fun of each other over how ridiculous we look. It’s been fun to just see what everybody’s reaction has been."
Aside from pulling off the quarantine video, Swindell's time in isolation in Nashville has been mostly full of music, golf and Zoom calls.
"I’ve been able to write a lot and try to get outside when I can. We’re all going through this thing and you just got to find ways to keep going. It’s rough on everybody, but for me, being able to still write [has been helpful]," he says. "I’ve been trying to focus on the guitar a little more... I love golf, so to get outside, get to play some golf, that’s kind of what I’ve been doing to get some exercise."
"It’s just tough being cooped up in your place all the time," Swindell continues. "Friends that I grew up with, they’re all back in Georgia... I've been in touch just like this, over Zoom."
One thing Swindell hasn't been doing is touring, as, like many artists, his scheduled performances were canceled due to the pandemic.
"It’s getting to the point [where] we’re all anxious," he says of himself and other artists. "We’re ready to go, but for now, we had to cancel this tour. We certainly want the fans to be safe and I think, for now, we’re focused on being ready for next year, whatever it holds, whenever it’s time."
Swindell did, however, get to participate in a live, virtual show, something he hopes to continue doing as long as in-person concerts aren't happening.
"I was nervous about it just because we’ve been away from it since the first of March and we’re all in our own heads, I think. It’s just, 'Man, can I still do this?' But then as soon as you get back up there, it felt so good," he says of the live, virtual performance. "Even though there wasn’t a crowd, I was just picturing there being people out there and just thinking about [how] I hope we can do this as much as we can."
"Until we can get back in front of a live crowd, I hope we keep coming up with ways [to perform]. It’s not going to be perfect, but I think the fans are like us, they’d rather have that than nothing," he adds. "I hope to do more of those for sure as much as we can."
While plotting how to continue to perform amid a pandemic, Swindell is also hard at work on his new album.
"I’ve been writing a lot this year. That was my goal after the last album, was to write as many as I could on this album. If people sent me ones better than I wrote, then hey, good, I’ll record those," he says. "We went in and just recorded eight more songs. We’ll probably go in one more time to really finish up. I’ll probably just record a couple more."
As for when fans will get to hear the new songs, Swindell says "there's no release schedule" because it's "such a different year."
"I don’t think right now there’s any real rush to get any new music out, other than me ready to get new music out. Hopefully by the end of the year, we may put a couple more out," he says. "I don’t know that the typical release-an-album schedule is what it’s going to be like anymore."
"I’m going to have enough songs to do it. I know that," he adds. "When they figure out exactly when to release what songs, we’ll put them out."
In the meantime, Swindell wants his fans to "hang in there."
"I just want them to know I miss them," he says. "They keep us going [with] all the comments and stuff on our social media. They’re still missing the music just like we’re missing them. Country music’s like a family, I think, fans and the artists, songwriters, business [people], everybody."
"I’m proud to be part of it and I’m ready to get back out there, but I want them to be safe," Swindell adds. "Just do your part so we can all play shows again sometime... Let’s make 2021 better than this year."
RELATED CONTENT:
