Cole Swindell: The Man Behind the Hits

Each week on Backstage Country, Elaina Smith is joined by one country artist who steps into the shoes of her co-host. From April 21–25, it’s going to be Cole Swindell. If you're a fan of Swindell’s chart-topping hits or have ever wondered about the inspiration behind his songs, this is a week of radio you won't want to miss. 

Swindell’s latest hit, “Forever To Me,” is seemingly poised to become his 13^th hit. Smith asked if he considers 13 to be his lucky number. Swindell chuckled and said that 12 is “always kind of in my number, but now 13 looks pretty nice. I think I could do that.” 

Smith followed up by asking if “Forever To Me” feels different, since it’s such a personal song for him. The singer-songwriter replied, “For the first time in my career to put a song out about a big life moment that I've been living in the past year, is pretty cool. It is personal to me, but I think that's why we love music and songs like this is [that] everybody finds their own story.”  

He added, “This one being a love song, I haven't had that many of those, so, it's nice to have [a song] about what I'm going through and know that there's other people out there that know what it feels like. I think even though it's personal to me and Courtney [Little], it's also personal to the listeners as well.” 

Smith mentioned how a lot of couples have used the song as their wedding song. Swindell acknowledged how crazy that was and admitted he had always wondered whether, if he ever got married, he’d be able to write a song good enough for a first dance. “I got that done. Pretty cool moment for us, personally.” 

Swindell married Courtney Little in 2024. Little was a member of the Charlotte Honey Bees, an NBA cheerleading squad. 

Fans might be surprised to learn that “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” almost didn’t make it onto Swindell’s fourth album, Stereotype. Swindell mentioned how scary that is to think about, since the song was the last one they added to the album. 

He added, “I can't imagine where I'd be without it and how the album would have been without it. We had a pretty good thing going, but to have something like this, an interpolation of a song that I grew up loving as a kid and got to put my own little spin on, and it became the biggest song of my career, the biggest full circle moment probably.” 

Cole Swindell is no stranger to the spotlight, but this co-hosting gig offers fans a more personal side of the Georgia native. April 21–25 is your chance to know more of him, only on Backstage Country.