Cole Swindell Had a Personal Reaction to Current Single, ‘Break Up in the End’

Cole Swindell’s current single, “Break Up in the End,” is one he didn’t write – but he might as well have. The song, written by Jon Nite, Chase McGill and Jessie Jo Dillon, resonated with Swindell so strongly, he knew he not only wanted to record it, but make it the first single from his upcoming third studio record.

“I think the way it made me feel, the way it hit me personally – I think that’s the reason,” Swindell shared with PopCulture.com at a recent media event, explaining why he recorded the tune. “Songs like this are initially the reason why I fell in love with country music. So that was it for me. And, just wishing I would have written it. I mean, the first time I heard it, I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And I knew I had to record that.”

Swindell, a successful songwriter who has written several of his own hits, including “You Should Be Here” and “Flatliner,” along with songs for Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett and others, admits he needed help from outside songwriters to round out his upcoming new record.

“I did write some on this album,” said Swindell. “It’s just hard when you’re out there on tour. Back when I was a writer only, you write songs every single day, but I knew going into this album that hopefully after the success we’ve had, we were going to start getting our hands on some songs we normally wouldn’t have shot at.

“It was tough to see some of my songs not make the list but I’m never gonna not know how great the songwriters are in this town,” he added. “That’s what they do. That’s what they get paid to so being able to kind of rely on them on this album is awesome.”

Although Swindell felt an instant connection to “Break Up in the End,” it’s not necessarily because he recently experienced heartbreak.

“I’m happy where I am in life right now,”he said. “There were relationships along the way that, some of them were more ‘Ain’t Worth the Whiskey’ kind of endings, but there have been some that were like this. Those are the hard ones, just knowing that you still think the world of each other, [but] it’s just not gonna work out … It just feels like I’ve been there at some point, and I think that’s why other people are digging it.”

Swindell hasn’t announced a title or release date for his next record, but he does reveal that his next project will show his growth as an artist, especially since his 2014 self-titled freshman project.

“We always try to pick the best songs, but I just feel like this time, even songs I wrote, there’s some that I think they’re just next level stuff,” said Swindell. “And then obviously getting to record some that I probably wouldn’t have gotten on my first or second album – I think it’s a good mix on this. Although the subject matter will be different, I think there’s four or five more songs like ‘Break Up in the End’ that are that level. And of course I’m gonna have fun stuff because you know, I’m out there on my headlining tour; you have to have those fun [songs] that get people up after ‘You Should be Here’ or ‘Break Up in the End.’ But knowing that I can have those moments now in my show – it’s not all about what’s No. 1 anymore to me.”

“I’ve had to write a lot of my songs, the first two albums, and I think this one is gonna be a even mix of songs I’ve written and songs I didn’t,” concludes the singer. “I just always want to approach it that the best song wins. And this was just that song.”

Download “Break Up in the End” on iTunes.

Swindell is currently headlining his own Reason to Drink Tour, with Chris Janson and Lauren Alaina serving as his opening acts. Dates can be found on his website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/ColeSwindell