Mitchell Tenpenny’s new song, “Speed of Life,” was written with eyes toward it going on Teddy Swims’ album.
Typically, when the “Drunk Me” hitmaker and the pop star write together, they each sing a verse on the demo. But since this song was supposed to be for Teddy, this time, he sang the whole thing – which led to an interesting problem for Mitchell.
The more he listened to it, the more he fell in love with it – and the more he was convinced HE should record it.
“This felt like me and I asked, ‘Man, are you cool if I do it?’ And he was like, ‘Absolutely,”” Mitchell tells ABC Audio. “So [I] went in the studio, and then, obviously, trying to sing a song after Teddy, I got such demo-itis like hearing him. So I really had to try to make it my own.”
Mitchell made up his mind that he’d do whatever it took to deliver what he believed the song deserved.
“I told my management … ‘Cancel whatever’s happening two days after the session, because I’m going in there and I’m going to lose my voice. I’m going to sing as hard as I possibly can and try to make this song special and feel emotional, cinematic, anthemic. I want it to feel that way. And so I’m gonna give literally everything I got,”” he recalls.
“And I love the way it turned out. I haven’t been more excited for a song in a long time than I am for this. It feels like me again, and I am truly stoked,” he adds.
Mitchell Tenpenny’s “Speed of Life” is out now and is the name of his headlining tour that stops in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Friday night.
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