Sam Smith: My Music Is Best When I Speak About My Insecurity
If you go to a Sam Smith concert, you will be likely to hear Sam talk and sing about his insecurities and about unrequited love. 2014 has been an incredible year for Smith as he has become the year’s biggest breakthrough act. Sam was the only artist to sell over one million albums on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks to his booming, soulful voice and his deep, honest lyrics. He has built a loyal fan base, sold millions of singles and sold out arena’s like New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
22-year-old Sam has a number of big-name fans – from Elton John and Beyoncé to Mary J. Blige, with whom he’s recorded and co-written, and he’s been getting calls to collaborate with others. Sam also won four Mobo awards and scooped up an astonishing six Grammy nominations.
With success like that in just one year, it seems incredible that insecurities are still present, but Sam Smith told the Regina Leader-Post,“When I’m speaking about my insecurities… that’s when my music is the best.”
It seems that Sam has found a way to turn those insecurities into a positive thing as he told the BBC that smash hit album “In the Lonely Hour” was a love letter to a man who never returned Sam’s affections.
Sam went on to explain that appearing on Saturday Night Live in March 2014 was the most terrifying moment of his life.
Sam said, “It was the first time I played Stay With Me or Lay Me Down on television. I don’t think I’ll ever be that scared again… Four million people watching and no-one knew who the hell I was. Four days previous to the SNL performance, I remember reading tweets from people saying “who the f is Sam Smith?”
“But it changed my life. You could feel it the morning after. I walked out of my hotel and people recognized me. Stay With Me went to number two on iTunes. It was mental.”
Sam also revealed that he wanted to drag Dolly Parton off the stage when her headline performance at the 2014 Glastonbury festival clashed with his own set.
Sam recalled, “I was on the same time as Dolly Parton, so I was freaking out the whole day. She had the biggest audience in Glastonbury history and I was up against her. Surprisingly, my audience was massive, which was incredible. But that was a tough one.”
Whilst 2014 was obviously huge for Sam Smith, Forbes claims that Sam is just getting started. While he had three top ten hits in the U.S., he has not yet managed a number one hit. His success in his home country has been even bigger with no less that eight top twenty hits including four number ones.
It may just be that 2015 is the year Sam Smith really hits the big time in the U.S.
[Images – Timeout.com and People]
