Australian artist Cody Simpson relaunches his recording career with two new singles after a six-year hiatus, marking a new chapter following his time in elite swimming
by Paul Cashmere
Cody Simpson has formally re-entered the music arena with the release of two new singles, Baby Blue and When It Comes To Loving You, signalling the beginning of a fresh creative phase after stepping away from the industry to pursue competitive swimming at an elite level.
The two tracks, released through BMG, present a bright and immediate sound, anchored in guitar-driven pop with a looseness that reflects Simpson’s renewed enthusiasm for songwriting. Co-written by Simpson and produced alongside Harrison Borts, the songs emerged from a period of experimentation that stretched across the past year as Simpson quietly rebuilt his musical identity.
“Baby Blue” arrives with a companion video directed by Antony Muse, shot across Los Angeles. The clip follows Simpson moving through the city on foot, performing as he goes, interacting with strangers before disappearing into darkness as the song concludes. The visual has been conceived as the first part of a broader narrative, with a second instalment tied to When It Comes To Loving You expected to follow, linking the two releases as a connected statement.
For Simpson, the return has been deliberate rather than reactive. After relocating back to Australia in 2020, he placed his music career on hold to focus entirely on swimming, a discipline he had excelled in as a junior. The decision led to a rapid rise through the national ranks. By 2022, he had secured selection for the Australian Swim Team and competed at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, reaching the final of the 100 metre butterfly and contributing to relay teams that collected both gold and silver medals.
His swimming career extended beyond that breakthrough year. Simpson claimed multiple Australian short course titles and recorded a silver medal performance in the 100 metre butterfly at the 2023 World Cup in Athens. However, after narrowly missing qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, he elected to retire from competitive swimming, closing a chapter he had described as unfinished business.
That pivot has allowed Simpson to return fully to music, a field where he first established himself as a teenager. Raised on the Gold Coast, he began uploading performances to YouTube in 2009, building a global following that led to a record deal with Atlantic Records at just 13 years old. Early releases such as the EP 4U and Coast To Coast laid the groundwork for his debut album Paradise in 2012, followed by Surfers Paradise in 2013, which reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200.
During that initial phase, Simpson toured extensively with Justin Bieber and developed a strong international audience. His collaboration Home To Mama with Bieber topped Billboard’s social charts, reinforcing his reach in the digital space during a period when online engagement was reshaping the industry.
By 2015, Simpson had shifted direction, leaving the major label system to release Free independently through his own Coast House Records. The album marked a move towards a more organic, songwriter-driven approach, incorporating elements of rock, blues and surf influences. That trajectory continued with the formation of Cody Simpson And The Tide, before he returned to solo work in subsequent years.
Parallel to his recording career, Simpson expanded into acting and musical theatre. His Broadway debut in Anastasia in 2018 demonstrated his versatility as a performer, while his more recent role as Sky Masterson in Opera Australia’s 2025 production of Guys And Dolls reinforced his standing within the theatre world.
The release of Baby Blue and When It Comes To Loving You positions Simpson at another inflection point. The songs are understood to be part of a larger body of work currently in development, with a new album expected to follow. The project will be his first major release since resolving long-standing contractual obligations from his early career and signing a new deal with BMG.
Industry interest in Simpson’s return has been building in recent months, driven in part by teaser clips shared across social platforms. Early engagement suggests a strong level of anticipation from an audience that has followed his evolution across multiple disciplines.
What distinguishes this phase is the breadth of experience informing the music. Few artists have stepped away from a global recording career to compete at international level in another field, then returned with momentum intact. That dual narrative, of discipline in sport and reinvention in music, now frames the next stage of Simpson’s career.
With Baby Blue and When It Comes To Loving You, Cody Simpson has reopened the conversation, not as a continuation of his early success, but as a recalibrated artist drawing from a wider life experience. The next moves, including the forthcoming album, will determine how that transformation translates in the long term.
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