| The Swon Brothers | |
| Origin: | Muskogee, Oklahoma, |
| Genre: | Country |
| Years Active: | 2013–present |
| Label: | Arista Nashville |
| Current Members: | Zach Swon Colton Swon |
The Swon Brothers are an American country music duo from Muskogee, Oklahoma, consisting of Zach Swon (born February 21, 1985) and Colton Swon (born August 17, 1988).[1] In 2013, they finished in third place on the fourth season of NBC's The Voice.[2] They were the first duo to make it from the Top 12 live shows to the season finale.[3]
On November 1, 2013, the Swon Brothers signed a record deal with Arista Nashville which is part of the Sony Music group.[4] They released their first official single, "Later On", the following month. On October 14, 2014, the Swon Brothers released their self-titled debut album,[5] before parting ways with Arista the following year.
The Swon Brothers, Zach and Colton, were born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, to Kelly and Tammy Swon.[6] [7] Colton Swon was born on August 17, 1988, while Zach was born on February 21, 1985.[8] Colton attended elementary school in Hilldale, Muskogee, and later attended school with his brother Zach in Oktaha, where he left after eighth grade to go to Hilldale High School.[9] Zach Swon studied at the Northeastern State University and worked at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee.[10]
The brothers started performing when they were children, touring with their parents' Southern gospel group Exodus, and performing in various local events and stages.[11] [12] By the time Zach Swon was 9 or 10, he was playing drums for his parents’ band. In 1995, the Swon Brothers’ parents formed a family-style variety show in Wagoner called Westwood Music Show, where the Brothers performed songs ranging from Elvis to Frank Sinatra, as well as starting to perform in the country music genre.[12] [13] In 2000, when they were 12 and 15, the brothers started calling themselves The Swon Brothers, and appeared in various venues.[14]
In 2007, Colton Swon auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol (aired 2008) and reached the Top 48.[15] Both Zach and Colton also appeared as contestants in 2007 on a local TV show Gimme the Mike.[16] The Swon Brothers have released a couple of independent albums with songs including "Oklahoma Lovin’" and "This Close to Gone".[17] Their first professionally recorded album Another Day, which they described as modern country, was released on January 16, 2009.[18] [19] They cited The Eagles as their musical influence.
See main article: The Voice (U.S. season 4). The Swon Brothers auditioned for The Voice on a whim when asked by their keyboard player, James Redden, who wanted them to audition with him.[20] During the blind auditions, The Swon Brothers performed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's "American Girl", turning three chairs, Usher, Blake Shelton, and Shakira on April 1, 2013. They proceeded to choose Blake as their coach and remained on his team the whole season.[21] During the Top 8 Live Performances, The Swon Brothers chose to sing Seven Bridges Road as a tribute to victims of the 2013 Moore tornado. They finished in third place making them the farthest duo in the voice.[2]
– Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
| Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "American Girl" | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | March 26, 2013 | 3.1 | Blake Shelton, Shakira, and Usher turned Joined Team Blake |
| Battle Rounds | "I Won't Back Down" (vs. Christian Porter) | Tom Petty | April 15, 2013 | 7.5 | Saved by Coach |
| Knockout Rounds | "Drift Away" (vs. Grace Askew) | John Henry Kurtz | April 30, 2013 | 12.7 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Playoffs (Top 16) | "Fishin' in the Dark" | The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | May 7, 2013 | 15.4 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Top 12 | "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" | George Jones | May 13, 2013 | 17.5 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 10 | "How Country Feels" | Randy Houser | May 20, 2013 | 20.3 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 8 | "Seven Bridges Road" | Steve Young | May 27, 2013 | 22.3 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 6 | "Wagon Wheel" | Old Crow Medicine Show | June 3, 2013 | 25.3 | Saved by Public Vote |
| "Okie From Muskogee" | Merle Haggard | 25.7 | |||
| Live Top 5 (Semifinals) | "Turn the Page" | Bob Seger | June 10, 2013 | 27.1 | Saved by Public Vote |
| "Danny's Song" | Loggins and Messina | 27.6 | |||
| Live Finale | "I Can't Tell You Why" | Eagles | June 17, 2013 | 29.1 | Third place |
| "Danny's Song" | Loggins and Messina | 29.4 | |||
| "Celebrity" (with Blake Shelton) | Brad Paisley | 29.6 |
The Swon Brothers signed a recording contract with Arista Nashville after appearing in The Voice.[22] They released a single "Later On" on December 10, 2013, the first single from their self-titled album released on October 14, 2014.[23] They debuted the single on The Voice the same day. It sold 23,000 copies in its debut week.[24] In October 2015, the duo parted ways with Arista due to creative differences. On January 29, 2016, they released the EP Timeless.[25] They also opened for Carrie Underwood's Storyteller Tour in 2016.[25]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | ||||
| Another Day[26] |
| — | — | ||
| Set List[27] |
| — | — | ||
| The Swon Brothers |
| 6 | 28 |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Indie | |||
| Timeless |
| 19 | 15 |
|
| Pretty Cool Scars |
| — | — | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Country Airplay | US | CAN Country | CAN | |||||
| 2013 | "Later On" | 21 | 13 | 86 | 47 | 87 |
| The Swon Brothers | |
| 2014 | "Pray for You" | — | 43 | — | — | — | |||
| 2017 | "Don't Call Me"[32] | — | — | — | — | — | Pretty Cool Scars | ||
| 2018 | "What Ever Happened"[33] | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2018 | "Midnight Lovers" | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Sales for competition week | Total Sales | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN | ||||||
| 2013 | "Fishin' in the Dark" | 44 | — | — | The Complete Season 4 Collection | |||
| "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" | 32 | 114 | — | 30,000[34] | 36,000[35] | |||
| "How Country Feels" | 45 | — | — | |||||
| "Seven Bridges Road" | 36 | — | — | 21,000[36] | ||||
| "Wagon Wheel" | 41 | — | — | 22,000[37] | ||||
| "Okie from Muskogee" | 49 | — | — | 14,000 | ||||
| "Danny's Song" | 16 | 66 | 53 | |||||
| "Turn the Page" | 29 | 90 | 76 | |||||
| "I Can't Tell You Why" | 29 | 99 | — | |||||
| "Celebrity" (with Blake Shelton) | 47 | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Later On"[38] | Roman White |
| 2015 | "Pray for You"[39] | David Poag |
| 2017 | "Don't Call Me" | Jeff Johnson |