Country star Cole Swindell’s career is entering a new chapter, according to the star himself. Swindell recently released a passionate collaboration with fellow singer Lainey Wilson, a first for him. In an interview with Billboard, the 38 year old opened up about the process behind creating the track, “Never Say Never.” According to the star, he thinks this single will take his career to the next level.
What We Learned
- “Never Say Never” is Cole Swindell’s first romantic duet
- He texted Lainey Wilson to ask her to duet while she was on vacation, says waiting for her to respond was “the longest three and a half minutes of my life”
- The star worked with new producers on his new record, “Stereotype”
- The pandemic created setbacks for Cole Swindell’s Career
Star Opens Up About Collaborative Track, ‘Never Say Never’
Four years after Swindell wrote the track alongside Jessi Alexander and Chase McGill, “Never Say Never” is finally out to the world. The star knew from the get go that the song would be a duet, which led to a nerve-wracking text conversation with Lainey Wilson.
Swindell shared he’s a “huge fan” of Wilson, so when he texted the fellow star to gauge her interest for singing on the track, she had him on the edge of his seat. “She happened to be on vacation somewhere and she was sipping on a piña colada,” he recalls. “That was the longest three-and-a-half minutes of my life, waiting on her to respond. She’s such a great songwriter herself, I knew she was going to be a tough critic. But immediately she texted me back. She’s like, ‘This is so huge. I’m in.’”
New Album is a Huge Step For Cole Swindell’s Career
Swindell made some huge changes with this record, determined to try new things. It seems those choices certainly paid off, as the singer says his duet with Wilson is the start of something new for his career.
“I think this song for me is the next chapter in my career, along with this album. It [has taken] over three and a half years to put out a new album by the time it comes out,” Swindell told Billboard. “It’s the first time I ever worked with Zach Crowell [as a producer] on this album and on the single, so [we’re] just excited to see what everybody thinks so far. The feedback has been amazing, and although [the album] took a little longer than I wanted, it was so important to get it right because I think this is it for me.”
When asked to clarify what he meant by “I think this is it for me,” the star explained that he believes his newest record will take him to the next level.
“The pandemic obviously factored in just being able to record, and I feel like we had some great songs, but I think you’ve got to pay attention to your surroundings and the way music changes; Whether that’s the sound, the type of songs or whatever it is,” he explained. “Whatever I had wasn’t hitting me…We just kind of went back to the drawing board.”
