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Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "

Latch A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two (or more) objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on t ...

", which peaked at number eleven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, they were subsequently featured on

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

's " La La La", which became a number one single in May 2013. In December 2013, Smith was nominated for the 2014 Brit Critics' Choice Award and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

's Sound of 2014 poll, winning both. Smith's debut studio album, ''

In the Lonely Hour ''In the Lonely Hour'' is the debut album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2014 via Capitol UK and Method Records. In the United States, it was released on 17 June 2014 through Capitol ...

'', was released in May 2014 on

Capitol Records UK Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The album's lead single, " Lay Me Down", was released prior to "La La La". The album's second single, "

Money on My Mind "Money on My Mind" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, and the second single from their debut studio album, ''In the Lonely Hour'' (2014). The song was released in Italy on 27 December 2013. It was later released in the UK on 12 February 201 ...

", became their second number one single in the UK. The third single, " Stay with Me", was internationally successful, reaching number one in the UK and number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while subsequent singles "

I'm Not the Only One "I'm Not the Only One" is a song recorded by English singer Sam Smith from their debut studio album, ''In the Lonely Hour'' (2014). It was written by Smith with Jimmy Napes, who also produced the song along with Steve Fitzmaurice. Capitol Recor ...

" and "

Like I Can "Like I Can" is a song by English singer Sam Smith. It was released as a digital download on 5 December 2014 as the fifth single from their debut studio album, ''In the Lonely Hour'' (2014). The song was written by Smith and Matt Prime and prod ...

" reached the top ten in the UK. The album won four awards, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including

Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Song of the Year, and nominations for Album of the Year and

Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...

. For Smith's and

Jimmy Napes James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Award ...

's song " Writing's on the Wall", the theme for the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'' (2015), they won the Golden Globe Award and the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

. Smith's second studio album, '' The Thrill of It All'', was released in November 2017 and debuted atop the UK and US album charts. The lead single, "

Too Good at Goodbyes "Too Good at Goodbyes" is a song by English singer Sam Smith. It was written by James Napier, Tor Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen and Smith, and produced by Napes, Steve Fitzmaurice and StarGate. It was released on 8 September 2017 through Capitol R ...

", reached number one in the UK and Australia and number four in the US. Following the 2018 single " Promises" with

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

, which peaked at number one in the UK, Smith released "

Dancing with a Stranger "Dancing with a Stranger" is a song by British singer Sam Smith and American singer Normani. It was written by Smith, Normani, Jimmy Napes, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Hermansen, and produced by Stargate and Napes. "Dancing with a Stranger" was rel ...

" with

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...

in 2019, which reached the top ten in the UK and the US and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards; and later " How Do You Sleep?", all of which feature on their third album, '' Love Goes'' (2020). In 2022, Smith's single "

Unholy ''Profanum'' is the Latin word for "profane". The state of being profane, or "profanity," refers to a lack of respect for things that are held to be sacred, which implies anything inspiring or deserving of reverence, as well as behaviour show ...

" with

Kim Petras Kim Petras (born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Repub ...

, from Smith's forthcoming fourth album '' Gloria'' (2023), became their first number one single in the US. Smith's achievements include four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s, three

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards, and an

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...

, as well as a Golden Globe and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Early life

Samuel Frederick Smith was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 19 May 1992, to Frederick Smith and broker Kate Cassidy, They grew up in Great Chishill, where they attended Thomas More Primary School. They were bullied for having

gynecomastia Gynecomastia (also spelled gynaecomastia) is the abnormal non-cancerous enlargement of one or both breasts in males due to the growth of breast tissue as a result of a hormone imbalance between estrogens and androgens. Updated by Brent Wisse ( ...

as a child and underwent liposuction at age 12. As part of

Youth Music Theatre UK British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT), formerly Youth Music Theatre UK, is a UK-based national performing arts organisation founded in December 2003. BYMT provides music theatre training to young people aged 11–21 and a stepping stone to drama ...

, Smith appeared in the troupe's 2007 production of ''Oh! Carol'', a musical featuring the music of

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

. Before entering the musical theatre, they had been in jazz bands. While studying singing and songwriting under jazz pianist

Joanna Eden Joanna Eden is an English jazz singer, songwriter and pianist. Biography Eden was born in Lincolnshire into a musical family, the daughter of an RAF bass player, John, and a drama teacher, Diana. She started learning the piano at six and perfor ...

for a number of years, Smith attended St Mary's Catholic School in Bishop's Stortford and was a member of the Bishop's Stortford Junior Operatics (now Bishops Stortford Musical Theatre Society) and the Cantate Youth Choir.

Music career

2008–2009: Career beginnings with debut singles

Smith released two singles before 2010, " Bad Day All Week" from 2008 and "

When It's Alright "When It's Alright" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, released as their second single on 2 April 2009. Background In February 2009, Venus & Mars Music released promotional singles of "When It's Alright" in the United Kingdom. While it was a ...

" from 2009.

2012–2013: Breakthrough

Smith was featured on the

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...

song "

", which was released on 8 October 2012 and peaked at No. 11 on the

. In February 2013, Smith released the first single from their debut album, " Lay Me Down", and later in the year featured on

's single " La La La". It was released on 19 May 2013 and peaked at No. 1 on the

. Smith's first EP ''

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

'' was released the following year. The first song on the EP, titled "

Safe with Me "Safe with Me" is a song by British singer Sam Smith, from their debut EP ''Nirvana'' (2013). It peaked at number 86 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by Sam Smith and Two Inch Punch, the latter also producing the song. Track listin ...

", is produced by Two Inch Punch and was first broadcast on

MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...

's BBC Radio 1Xtra show on 24 July 2013. The second song on the EP is titled "Nirvana" and is produced by Craze & Hoax and Jonathan Creek. The EP also includes Smith's acoustic solo version of "Latch" and a live version of "I've Told You Now". Smith released the Disclosure, Nile Rodgers, and

collaboration "Together" on 25 November 2013 as the only single from '' Settle: The Remixes''.

2014–2016: ''In the Lonely Hour'' and international success

The second single from Smith's debut album, titled "

", was released on 16 February 2014. It was announced on 16 December that Smith's debut studio album, titled ''

'', would be released on 26 May 2014 through Capitol Records. Smith described the album as "all about unrequited love" stemming from personal experience, having never been loved back by any previous love interests. The album reached number one in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number two on the ''Billboard'' 200, and by 5 November it had become the second biggest selling album of 2014 in the US behind only '' 1989'' by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. In January 2015, ''In the Lonely Hour'' was named the second best selling album of 2014 in the UK, behind '' x'' by

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. A live version of album track "I've Told You Now", performed at St Pancras Old Church, was made available as a free download as part of an

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

promotion on 27 December 2013. The album track "Make It To Me", co-written by Howard of Disclosure and Jimmy Napes, was made available as a free download as part of an

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

promotion on 13 January 2014. Smith went on their debut American headlining tour in the second quarter of 2014, with a setlist of primarily new material. On 20 January 2014, Smith made their American television debut performing "Latch" with Disclosure on '' Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. Smith also performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' on 29 March 2014, performing the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-tinged " Stay with Me" and an acoustic version of "Lay Me Down". "Stay with Me" reached number one on the

and number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100."Sam Smith Album & Single Chart History"
Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2014. The fourth single from the album, "

", reached number three in the UK and number five in the US. In June 2014, Smith first appeared on the cover of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' in its 92nd issue. In August 2014, their single "Stay with Me" was named Variance Magazine's Song of Summer. Smith performed "Stay With Me" live at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards on 24 August at The Forum in Inglewood, California. On 15 November 2014, they joined the charity group

Band Aid 30 Band Aid 30 is the 2014 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group was announced on 10 November 2014 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, with Geldof stating that he took the step after the United Nations had contacted him, saying help w ...

along with other British and Irish pop acts, recording the latest version of the track "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" at

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

, London, to raise money for the 2014 Ebola crisis in

Western Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurita ...

In 2015, it came to light that singer

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

, noting similarities between "Stay with Me" and his 1989 hit song "

I Won't Back Down "I Won't Back Down" is a song by American rock musician Tom Petty. It was released in April 1989 as the lead single from his first solo album, ''Full Moon Fever''. The song was co-written by Petty and Jeff Lynne, also his writing partner for the ...

", had negotiated an out-of-court settlement with Smith in October 2014. Petty and co-composer

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

were awarded 12.5 percent of the royalties from "Stay with Me", and the names of Petty and Lynne joined James John Napier (known professionally as

) in the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

song credit. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, held on 8 February 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Smith performed "Stay with Me" and also received four Grammy Awards:

and Song of the Year (for "Stay with Me") and

(for ''In the Lonely Hour''). At the

2015 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2015 was held on 25 February 2015. This was the 35th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London, presented by Ant & Dec. This was their second time ...

held at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

in London on 25 February, they performed "Lay Me Down", and won the Brit Awards for British Breakthrough Act, and Global Success. In March 2015, "Lay Me Down" was re-released as the sixth single from the album, peaking at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (Smith's third US top 10 single). The same month, Smith recorded another version of the song, featuring

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

, for the British charity telethon

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

, which reached number one in the UK. At the 2015 Billboard Music Awards on 17 May, Smith received three Billboard Awards: Top Male Artist, Top New Artist, and Top Radio Songs Artist. They featured on

's single " Omen", which was released on 27 July 2015. On 8 September 2015, Smith and Jimmy Napes confirmed that they had composed " Writing's on the Wall", the theme song to ''

'', the 24th

film. The song was released on 25 September 2015 and became the first James Bond theme to reach number one in the UK. On 19 October, Smith was presented with two ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

''—one for recording the first James Bond theme song to go to number one in the UK and another for scoring the most consecutive weeks in the UK top 10 by a debut album, for ''In the Lonely Hour''. At the

73rd Golden Globe Awards The 73rd Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2015. It was broadcast live on January 10, 2016, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. ...

on 10 January 2016, they received the Award for Best Original Song for "Writing's on the Wall". On 14 January, the song earned Smith an

nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. In the nominations for the

2016 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2016 was held on 24 February 2016 and was the 36th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and were presented by Ant & Dec. Award nominations wer ...

announced on 14 January, the song was among the nominees for Best British Video. Smith performed "Writing's on the Wall" at the Academy Awards on 28 February and, along with Napes, collected the prize for Best Original Song. In their acceptance speech, Smith referenced an article by Ian McKellen published before the awards ceremony that claimed no openly gay man had won an Oscar for Best Actor; Smith misquoted McKellen as saying that no gay man in general had won an Oscar. This was quickly discredited by openly gay recipient

Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009. He has also sub ...

, but McKellen mentioned that the error "doesn't detract" from Smith's achievement.

2016–2018: ''The Thrill of It All''

Sam Smith Xcel Energy Center 8-24-2018 - 0001 129

Throughout 2016, Smith released footage of themself in the studio working on new music, leading up to the release of their second studio album. In late 2016, Smith was said to be working with

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

on new material. In early 2017, it was reported that Smith would be releasing their second album in September 2017 and had recorded with constant collaborator

and

. In April 2017, Smith was said to have been in studio sessions with

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

group

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...

, working on a possible "comeback single". Along with Clean Bandit, record producer

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

and musician

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

said they had worked on songs for Smith's next album. On 8 September 2017, Smith released a new single titled "

", which debuted at number one in the United Kingdom and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. Their second studio album, '' The Thrill of It All'', debuted atop the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming their first number one album in the US. On 20 March 2018, Smith started The Thrill of It All Tour, which visited Europe, North America, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. On 27 March 2018, they released "

Pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

" featuring American rapper

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

. On 17 August 2018, the singer collaborated as the main vocalist on

's new track " Promises". The song became Smith's seventh number one hit on the

and their first top song on ''Billboards

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic ...

chart. They also released the song "

Fire on Fire "Fire on Fire" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, produced by Steve Mac. It was co-written by Smith and Mac for the 2018 Netflix adaptation of the 1972 novel ''Watership Down''. "Fire on Fire" was released as a single on 21 December 2018 th ...

" as the ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natura ...

'' soundtrack.

2019–present: ''Love Goes'' and ''Gloria''

In January 2019, Smith released the song "

" with

as a single and it reached the top ten in the UK, the US and other countries. In February, Smith performed a medley of songs alongside

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same nam ...

and Dua Lipa at the 2019 Brit Awards held at the O₂ Arena in London. On 6 July 2019,

New 102.7 WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manh ...

radio host Mike Adam announced the song " How Do You Sleep?" on their Twitter account. On 9 July 2019, Smith posted on social media that an announcement would be made the following day. The pre-order link became active on 10 July, and later the same day, they formally announced and shared a clip of the song. In October 2019, in an interview with ''The

Zach Sang Zach Sang is an American radio DJ. Early life Sang worked in a local grocery store when he began broadcasting from his parents' home in Wayne, New Jersey at 14 years old. Sang was interested in the local news and studied Al Roker and Bill Evans ...

Show'', Smith expressed excitement about their upcoming record. The singer also confirmed that their newest offering will feature fewer ballads and plenty of poppier tracks in the vein of their recent two previous singles. "I feel like I have recently shown a side of me which I normally keep to myself or for my family and friends," Smith told Sang. "I showed everyone it and everyone loved it. It's almost given me permission to kinda do what I've always dreamed of doing but I was always scared to do, which is pop music." The singer also described having been spurred on to write new music following a 2018 collaboration with Calvin Harris, "Promises". "I just naturally started getting back into the studio and started to write," they said. "I caught this wind and started riding this wave and I haven't stopped writing since." On 13 February 2020, Smith revealed that a third studio album, then titled ''To Die For'', was scheduled to be released on 1 May. On 30 March, Smith announced that, due to the ongoing effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, they would be delaying the release of their third album and would include a number of changes to the album track list and the title, as they would continue to work on it. However, they did state that it would still be released sometime within 2020. " I'm Ready", a collaboration with American singer Demi Lovato was released on 16 April and charted well in the top 40 of several countries. On 6 July, Smith released their cover of

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

's "

Fix You "Fix You" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all four members of the band for their third studio album, '' X&Y'' (2005). It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from ''X&Y'' and reached number 4 on the ...

". They had originally performed the song earlier in May for the iHeartRadio Living Room Series. On 17 September, they released a new single, "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...

", and then announced the new title for their third album, '' Love Goes'', which was released on 30 October. On 29 September they announced that they would be performing a livestream concert on 30 October from Abbey Road Studios in London, their only live performance of 2020. The concert featured guest appearances by British actress

Jade Anouka Jade Anouka (born 12 June 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her various stage roles and for her appearances in ''His Dark Materials'' on BBC One and the ITV dramas ''Trauma'' and '' Cleaning Up''. Early life and education Anouka w ...

on "

My Oasis "My Oasis" is a song by British singer Sam Smith, featuring vocals from Nigerian singer and songwriter Burna Boy. It was released through Capitol Records on 30 July 2020 as the lead single from Smith's third studio album '' Love Goes'' (2020). ...

" and singer

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record labe ...

on "Love Goes", and included a cover version of " Time After Time", which drew praise from the song's original singer and writer

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

. The concert was recorded and released as a live album, ''Love Goes: Live at Abbey Road Studios'', on 19 March 2021. The same year, Smith recorded a cover of "

You Will Be Found "You Will Be Found" is the Act 1 finale of the 2015 musical ''Dear Evan Hansen'', which premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. Synopsis The song begins during the ...

", in collaboration with Summer Walker, for the soundtrack album of the 2021 film adaptation of ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tr ...

''. Their version of the song also plays during the closing credits of the film itself. On 25 August 2022, Smith announced that they had collaborated with German singer

on a song titled "

", with Petras calling it "the best song" she has been part of. The first single from Smith’s fourth studio album '' Gloria'', it reached number one in the UK, the US (Smith’s first US chart topper), Australia and other markets. On 18 November, Smith released the single "Night Before Christmas", which will be added to their EP ''The Holly & the Ivy''.

Artistry

Influences

Smith cited

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

as primary influences."This Week's Fresh Music" (17 May 2014). 4Music. Retrieved 28 July 2015 They admire Adele's "honesty in her music" and the way she has handled fame; they expressed a wish to maintain a similar public image. Winehouse's debut album ''

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

'' was the first album Smith ever bought. Early in their career, Smith received advice from

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

and Chaka Khan, both of whom they listened to during their youth; Smith said that this inspired them to offer help to new artists themself. They called

a "role model" and praised her "soulfulness" as well as her "honesty". Smith stated that the story of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's career beginnings encouraged them to move to London in order to start their own career. They also credited her with helping them come out as non-binary. Smith described

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 t ...

as a major influence on ''Love Goes'' and said that they listened to her "nonstop" while making the album because they "could dance and be sad at the same time and feel empowered". They further cited Beyoncé and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

as sources of inspiration and empowerment. Speaking to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' in January 2016, Smith named

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

and Mariah Carey as the greatest R&B voices. Smith's other influences include Britney Spears and Brandy. In an October 2017 interview for ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

'' magazine, Smith spoke of the impact of their close friend

's success: "It makes you push yourself. Watching him this past year has just been incredible, but yeah, of course it makes me hungry." They had previously mentioned to '' GQ'' in January 2015 that they "envy the competition that people like rankSinatra would have ..because you could tell he was working off them".

Vocal style

A VH1 profile of Smith's vocal coach

noted that their

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

"can soar from baritone to

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

for dramatic effect". Smith places a lot of emphasis on their voice and stated they tried to make it the main element of their debut album ''In the Lonely Hour''. Following the release of the album, their vocals were often compared to those of Adele. Jessica Robertson of ''

'' considers that Smith represents "a return of the virtuosic vocalist in popular music", in the vein of Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross. Jim Farber wrote for ''

The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...

'' that Smith is "utterly unafraid to sound feminine"; Mary J. Blige thought that Smith was a black woman when she first heard them sing on Disclosure's "Latch". Asked about the "diva quality" of their voice, Smith remarked in January 2014:

Personal life

In May 2014, Smith

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

to the public as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and acknowledged a relationship—since ended—with actor and model Jonathan Zeizel. At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards when " Stay with Me" won an award for

, they said, "I want to thank the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys!" In October 2017, Smith stated that their latest album, '' The Thrill of It All'', showed "the gay guy I've become". In September 2017, Smith revealed a relationship with actor

Brandon Flynn Brandon Paul Flynn (born October 11, 1993) is an American actor, known for his role as Justin Foley in the Netflix series '' 13 Reasons Why'' (2017–2020), as well as appearing as himself in the short film ''Home Movies'', and Mike the Intern i ...

in an interview on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

''. In June 2018, it was announced that Smith and Flynn had split after nine months of dating. In October 2017, Smith came out as genderqueer, saying, "I feel just as much a woman as I am a man" and speaking of a period in their youth where they "didn't own a piece of male clothing and would wear full makeup while attending school". In September 2019, they announced a decision to come out as

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and change their gender pronouns to

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'' and ''themselves'' (or ''themself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an unspecified antecedent, in sentence ...

, stating, "After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I've decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out..." Smith is the

godparent In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

of close friend and collaborator

's son. They identify as a feminist. They have struggled with body image issues since their preteen years and have been open about this in interviews.

Discography

*''

'' (2014) *'' The Thrill of It All'' (2017) *'' Love Goes'' (2020) *'' Gloria'' (2023)

Tours

* In the Lonely Hour Tour (2015) *

The Thrill of It All Tour The Thrill of It All Tour was the second concert tour by English singer Sam Smith, in support of their second album '' The Thrill of It All'' (2017). It began on 20 March 2018 in Sheffield, England, and concluded on 18 April 2019 in Cape Town ...

(2018)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*
Profile
samsmithsinger.com; accessed 14 February 2015.
Smith profile
MTV.com; accessed 14 February 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sam 1992 births Living people Brit Award winners English tenors English songwriters English pop singers English soul singers English feminists Feminist musicians Gay feminists English gay musicians Genderqueer people LGBT feminists LGBT singers from the United Kingdom LGBT songwriters Capitol Records artists Singers from London Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Grammy Award winners Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters 21st-century English singers Ballad musicians Alumni of British Youth Music Theatre Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners Non-binary musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people

Early life

Music career

2008–2009: Career beginnings with debut singles

2012–2013: Breakthrough

2014–2016: ''In the Lonely Hour'' and international success

2016–2018: ''The Thrill of It All''

2019–present: ''Love Goes'' and ''Gloria''

Artistry

Influences

Vocal style

Personal life

Discography

Tours

Filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

Notes

References

External links