Singer-songwriter Will Swinton crafts relatable, soul-baring songs that other artists wish they’d written themselves—just ask Machine Gun Kelly, whom Swinton met by chance at an Idaho bar in July 2022. MGK was “intrigued” by the 21-year-old New Zealander—enough to invite him to his Mainstream Sellout Tour show in Spokane, Washington.
A former trampoline-park employee, Swinton spent his last savings on a one-way flight to L.A. and turned that gamble into 11 singles on the Hot 20 New Zealand Singles Chart, over 100 million global streams, and a deal with 10K Projects and Capitol Records.
In 2024, he unveiled his aching Americana mini-opus, the December EP, led by standout track “Need You Now,” which spent five consecutive weeks on the Hot 20, peaking at #5. Will’s star has risen steeply over the past few months: shortly after he wrapped his warmly received debut run of headliners, Kelly Clarkson performed a surprise “Kellyoke” cover of his deeply pained Americana strummer “Flames” on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Then, in May, after opening for Myles Smith in Auckland, he was pulled back onstage for an impromptu duet of Smith’s smash “Stargazing.”
His latest single “Find A Way” ushers in a new wave of Swinton’s sound, defining his own brand of rock music that draws on a broad range of influences yet stays distinctly his.