An ominous black drape hangs from stage to ceiling. The music swells and the curtain drops, revealing the backing band Freak Freely ripping into a sophisticated glam-rock jam. It soundtracks the introduction of Teddy Swims, who rises from beneath in a nimbus of smoke, lights and noise.

Clad in a red trench coat with ‘DUBLIN’ pasted on the back, he’s a figure in immediate command of his domain. For the next while, he’ll be holding the audience captive through a series of costume changes, pyrotechnics and soul-baring love songs, delivered by a voice that could reduce mountains to scree.

It’s a quieter scene a couple of hours earlier, when a group of journalists is huddled on North Wall Quay outside a latticed steel gate. It grinds open and Eric, the assistant tour manager, is waiting on the other side.

He’s friendly, slightly hungover and grateful for everyone’s time. We’re guided through the backrooms of the 3Arena, into an industrial lift and up to the second floor, where we’re told to wait in the hallway outside the room where our interviews will take place.

Eric apologises for the lack of comfort and growls into a walkie talkie for someone to sort seating. A guy arrives with a couple of steel chairs and sets them up along the wall. No one sits down except for Eric.

Not long after, another minion with a drinks trolley loaded with beers and Dr Pepper emerges from the lift. He hovers for a moment, looks around aimlessly, then vanishes back into the elevator along with the goods.

All the while we can hear support act Cian Ducrot and his crew down the hall, hyping themselves up with a stomping pre-gig ritual they probably nicked from Glee.

The lift dings again and this time it’s Teddy Swims who perambulates out. He offers the media posse a wave before heading into the interrogation room.

Obviously it’s the tattoos that grab your attention first. He’s a human colouring book and it would take hours to acknowledge each sprawling little illustration.

What stands out next is how affable he is. Swims goes for a dap and hug off the bat, is soft spoken, and doesn’t mind whether you refer to him by his stage alias or Jaten.

Five years ago he was waiting tables, slinging fajitas and quesadillas at Chilis’ (a Tex-Mex fast-casual chain in the States). Now his day-to-day consists of arena shows, Grammy nods, and being showered in offerings. So far he’s been gifted with a custom shop Jameson x Fender guitar, a GAA jersey and a small hurl, which he picks up and curiously examines, trying to figure out what its purpose is.

Amid the industry love-bombing, he credits his mates for keeping him in-line.

“Man, I got the best buddies in the world,” he beams. “They’re doing the best job, keeping a healthy foundation and always checking on each other. As crazy and wild as this gets, we are always making sure we’re okay and making sure we’re grounded.

“And those guys will never let you get too big for your britches. They are always willing to call you a pussy and a loser. Those are your real friends. Keep those guys around you.”

Teddy Swims by Claire Marie Vogel.

Full name Jaten Collin Dimsdale is 32-years-old and hails from Atlanta, Georgia. After playing American football for a decade, a passion for performance was ignited by high-school theatre, where he graced the stage in musicals and even dabbled in Shakespeare.

“All the people that taught me theatre, they gave me everything in this career,” he says. “I owe them everything.”

He honed his vocal technique by watching YouTube videos and began his music career in an eclectic mix of alt-rock, post-hardcore and hair metal bands. Dimsdale adds that there were fond memories of attending the Vans Warped Tour growing up.

Ask him about soul though, and a wide, inked-up grin unfurls.

“When I was in fourth grade, my teacher Miss Berry used to tell us when we’d come back from recess that if we just did our workbooks without talking, she’d play Al Green,” he reveals. “I remember hearing Al Green for the first time. I’d never felt something so deeply. I was like eight-years old, but somehow me and twenty other eight-year-olds could all listen to (sings) “I’m so tired of being alone”, and be so moved, even though we’ve never experienced that kind of heartbreak or love before.

“That kind of music speaks out generationally through you. It speaks to your past lives – it’s where love and pain really comes from. Real feeling and soul.”

Dimsdale’s breakthrough occurred in 2019 after his version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock With You’ gained traction online. Further covers of Lewis Capaldi, Chris Stapleton, Amy Winehouse and Shania Twain went on to rack up millions of views.

After releasing one single (‘Night Off’) independently, he signed a deal with Warner Records. Good things kept happening. His single ‘Lose Control’ came out in 2023, and has since been streamed more than a billion-and-a-half times. He followed up the smash hit with his debut album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1).

It was an excruciating shedding of a toxic relationship that did well both critically and commercially, mainly because of Dimsdale’s ability to convey the depths of his dolour through his sledgehammer vocals.

Part 2 arrived at the beginning of this year. Sequels don’t always land, especially when you’ve fallen in love, potentially nullifying some of the pain that fuelled your earlier output. But it worked, providing an uplifting close to the chapter and affirming Teddy Swims’ place as a fixture in modern pop.

“For the first part I was in a really bad place,” he says. “I’d just come out of a really rough relationship, and I think for part two, I wanted to do some unlearning.

“I tried therapy. I fell back in love. I’ve got a kid on the way, and I wanted to show that on the other side of all that heartbreak, there’s so much love and support, and success and family. Part two kind of shows the listener – and I guess myself – that on the other side of all that mess, there’s so much love. It gets better.”

Beneath all the success lies a formidable work ethic and a healthy dose of self-acceptance.

“I think it’s okay to suck,” Dimsadle says. “I always want something to be good so bad, and that was the only time I really found myself going through writer’s block. I just wanted something to be good and I wasn’t seeing things through. So now, I try to see everything through and finish it – just finish the thing. Finish the damn job.”

We’re given the signal that our time is up. While the “damn job” might be finished for Hot Press, Teddy Swims has got the first of two 3Arena gigs to prepare for...