‘Catch of the Day’ – The Swan Bros. – “Don’t Call Me” [VIDEO]
Today's spotlighted duo are modern day Okies from Muskogee, one a former classmate of Carrie Underwood at Northeastern State University and former finalists on The Voice. A second-generation duo, who got their show business start when their parents formed a family variety show to showcase their son's abilities.
Zach and Colton Swon came to America's attention with a third place finish in season 4 of The Voice. Mentored by Blake Shelton, The Swon Brothers became the first group or duo to make it to the show's finale. But the pair rise to fame started much earlier and with far less fanfare. Their parents, Kelly and Tammy, were members of the southern gospel group Exodus, and at just age 9, older brother Zach started playing drums for the group. By 1994, The Swons formed a family act, calling it the Westwood Music Show, highlighting Zach and Colton's abilities. In 2000 the brothers began performing independently, calling themselves for the first time The Swon Brothers.
While performing around their hometown, Zach would enroll at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, where he would meet aspiring singer and fellow Okie Carrie Underwood. In 2007, following in Underwood's shoes, Zach tried out solo for season 7 of American Idol, making it to Hollywood and the top 48 without his brother. After Zach's elimination from AI7, the brothers would record three independent albums.
The brothers had not intended to audition for The Voice, but when their keyboard player auditioned, he convinced the duo to make the trip with him, and they figured, well, as long as they were there they would give it a should. The Swon's blind audition turned three judges' chairs (along with the judges that were in them), including Blake Shelton. During the competition the brothers performed everything from traditional country (George Jones/Merle Haggard) to rock (Tom Petty/Bob Seger) to modern country (Randy Houser/Brad Paisley).
After completing the competition, the Swons signed with Arista Nashville. Their first single, "Later On" was released in December of 2013, with their self-titled debut album coming in October of 2014. While the single peaked at #13 and sold over 200,000 copies, the album struggled, failing to surpass the 36,000 mark in sales. The brothers would part ways with Arista Nashville in 2015.
Throughout 2016, the Swons appeared as the opening act on Underwood's Storyteller tour, releasing the EP Timeless in January. The spent the second half of the year in the studio working on their second full-length album. The lead single from that album, tentatively titled Pretty Cool Scars is in our spotlight today. The Swon Brothers and "Don't Call Me" is today's Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you're gonna want to hear it again.