By his own admission, Cole Swindell didn’t have any plans to release more music. Spanish Moss, Swindell’s fifth studio album, came out in June, which includes “Forever to Me“, his 13th No. 1 hit. He was watching his next single, “We Can Always Move On,” make its way up the charts, when Charlie Kirk was tragically killed.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, spoke after his passing, saying, “I am so humbled to witness Charlie, you alongside Jesus right now, doing what you always wanted to do, making heaven crowded, right? That’s what it’s all about. Making heaven crowded. I can’t wait to see you again one day.”

Her words inspired Swindell’s unexpected new release, “Make Heaven Crowded,” out now. It came, he now reveals, at a time when he wondered if his best days in country music were behind him.

“I’ve literally been praying and praying about just personally, do I still need to do this?” Swindell admits to The Daily Wire. “Should I hang it up, be a dad? And like I said, the song, the reaction, I think it was the Lord telling me, ‘Look, your career is not over, you’re just not going any further without me.’ My wife told me that, and I believe it.”

Cole Swindell Recalls His Reaction to Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Swindell and his wife, Courtney, welcomed their first child, Rainey Gail, in August, after getting married in 2024. His perspective on life has understandably changed since his debut “Chillin’ It” single came out in 2013.

“I was getting ready to go on the road,” the 42-year-old recalls. “Me and Courtney and our brand new baby girl, we were just laying around and talking. We had the news on, and all of a sudden she got a text from a friend that told us the news. We’re like, no way, no way. And so we flipped on the news and we’re following it and it’s just the feelings … I don’t know that you can actually put what you were feeling into words other than just couldn’t believe it. It was just a shock and sad, scared, mad, just a lot of it.”

The news of Kirk’s death stunned everyone, including Swindell.

“I hate that something like this had to happen,” Swindell says. “I feel like bad things happen, and it brings us all together and then we slowly drift back apart, and this is just something that I think a lot of us drew the line. This is it. I mean, a guy just got assassinated for believing how I believe, except for he was a little more bold about it. And I think that’s what got me.”

Why Cole Swindell Wrote “Make Heaven Crowded”

Swindell had the idea for “Make Heaven Crowded,” which he quickly wrote with Greylan James, Joel Hutsell, and Blake Pendergrass.

“This literally is to honor Charlie and to spread Jesus everywhere we can,” Swindell says. “That’s why I do believe I have a platform, and just people that do … just use it for good.”

The reaction to “Make Heaven Crowded” has been swift, with fans immediately clamoring to hear the song. The reaction to the viral hit is nice, but not at all why Swindell wanted to write it.

“Anytime I’ve ever taken a chance and written something I was scared to maybe put out there, you find out there are so many other people that feel just like you,” the Georgia native shares. “And until you take that step and put that out there, you may never know. There are so many people out there hurting that need it, and they may look up to you. And if you can ever let them know, like, ‘Hey, I’ve been through stuff, too. ‘That’s all we’re trying to do. We’re trying to connect through music.”

“I think that’s what I’m called to do from here on out,” he adds.

Where Cole Swindell Goes With His Career After Releasing “Make Heaven Crowded”

Everything has changed for Swindell after Kirk’s death and his release of “Make Heaven Crowded.” Now, Swindell wants to focus more on his faith, and release music that shares his spiritual beliefs.

“It made me look in the mirror. Somebody that’s living like I should be living and spreading the word as a Christian, what I should be doing with the platform that I have,” Swindell explains. “I just think a lot of us are fed up with feeling like we can’t say how we believe. I mean, there’s no harm in that. And like I said, I’m a loving person, I’m not judgmental. I kind of stay out of the way and do my own thing and try to be good to people, and that’s just not good enough anymore. I have to influence other people to be good to people.”

Swindell knows he is part of a bigger movement, one that began with Kirk’s death.

“You keep seeing the word ‘revival,’” Swindell reflects. “And I believe it. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. If there’s ever a chance for us to stand up and to keep this going, we cannot lose this feeling right now. It just feels like everybody knows that we’ve gotta do something. And Charlie is a huge part of that.”