Sam Smith

Going into their fourth studio album, the bar for Sam Smith is pretty damn high. Exploding into popularity in 2014 with their debut contempo...

[Jessie Reyez](https://exclaim.ca/artists/jessie_reyez)-featuring "Perfect," the duo attempt a moody duet only to find themselves with zero compelling chemistry, making little sense as writing or singing partners. Backed by polished pop beats and slightly increasing kick drums, the record opens with an anxious liveliness — "Love Me More" stands as the most immediately memorable song on the album, recalling a '90s Whitney Houston ballad. And though Gloria rides the line of almost being different from their other work, it doesn't quite commit to a wholly new premise or sound.

Sam Smith says their collab with Ed Sheeran was a long time in the works. The artist's new album Gloria is filled with star-studded names like Canadian ...

She champions me and I hope that I do so for her because she’s sensational.” And this happened just so naturally,” said Smith on the team-up. We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve always wanted to work on a piece of music together.

Sam Smith has said they have been spat at in the street after changing their pronouns. The Stay With Me singer, 30, shared in 2019 that they are non-binary ...

The 'Stay With Me' star came out as non-binary and adopted the gender pronouns of they/them back in 2019 and the singer has now revealed they were bombarded ...

in Lake Country](http://www.liveinlakecountry.ca/) [GALLERY [+]](javascript:;) [FILM / RADIO [+]](javascript:;) [TICKETS [+]](javascript:;) [LOTTO [+]](javascript:;) [GENERAL [+]](javascript:;) [More Entertainment News](/news/Entertainment/) [Must Watch January 27, 2023](https://thetango.net/2023/01/27/priest-claims-demons-tortured-him-with-rihanna-song/) January 27, 2023](https://thetango.net/2023/01/27/friday-fails-january-27-2023/) January 27, 2023](https://thetango.net/2023/01/27/alexa-has-problems/) January 27, 2023](https://thetango.net/2023/01/27/dad-teaches-daughter-how-to-problem-solve/) I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would've identified as that in school. My personal life and then my public life. It's exhausting and especially in England." Someone spat at me in the street. "It was in the f****** news. Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Sam said: "I think all the only negatives in the struggle have been in my public life and my job.

Sam Smith is "being abused ... verbally " after coming out, the singer says in a new interview, noting that it's happening more than before.

Someone spat at me in the street. and having people shouting at me in the street. “I was like, ‘I’m at the White House. “So that was the hardest part, I think, was being at home in the U.K. I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would’ve identified as that in school.” is it’s happening in the street.

It looks like Sam Smith may have come across comedian Hwang Jae Sung's viral "Unholy" short!Previously, after showcasing his Sam Smith p…

. Hwang Jae Sung then revealed, "I received a message from Sam Smith's Korean promoters. Here, fellow comedian Lee Eun Ji pointed out, "You got a message from Sam Smith on Instagram, didn't you?" A few weeks ago, Hwang Jae Sung obliged his fans' requests, and the parody videos have since gone viral!

With R&B and pop and disco and chorales, Sam Smith has reinvented their career with the wide-ranging 'Gloria.'

And it feels like a coming of age.” With songs that are both sacred and profane, with R&B and pop and disco and chorales, “Gloria” is all of that and more. But the spiritual themes of a song called “Gloria” sung by a medieval-sounding church choir could not be more obvious. The song features just the choir for the first minute, until Smith’s voice comes soaring in, evoking images of angels on a church ceiling; although they’ve described it as “my queer anthem,” the lyrics are fairly elliptical and again are counterintuitive to the music — demons and monsters in the first verse, empowerment in the second. 1 and the song of this summer, “I’m Not Here to Make Friends.” A collaboration with Reyez and DJ titan Calvin Harris, it’s embellished with a Chic groove, sparkling strings and a sassy title that will inspire countless don’t-f-with-me finger-pointing on dancefloors, but the real payoff comes in the response: “I’m not here to make friends/ I need a lover.” (And may we respectfully suggest that a remix featuring Dua Lipa would be stunning.) The album opens deceptively with “Love Me More,” a gospel-inflected self-care song that places its empowering but sometimes dark lyrics — “Every day I’m trying not to hate myself” — over a sincere, sing-song melody that seems more suited to a John Legend or Jon Batiste (or, honestly, a TV commercial). Smith’s fourth album, “Gloria” is not that at all — it’s a wild, wide-ranging night out that’s tinged with adventure and some danger, but still gets you home safely.

Sam Smith staged one of pop music's most groundbreaking queer reinventions. The confident Gloria doesn't quite live up to that.

That description captures the spirit of this album, which, after the striking breakthrough of Love Goes, feels more like a work of stretched boundaries in which Smith hasn’t quite caught up to themself. Accompanied by spare guitar strings, Smith sings about covering for a lying, angry ex-partner, building up to an affecting chorus: “Nobody taught you how to cry / But somebody showed you how to lie.” It’s arguably the strongest ballad Smith has ever recorded. The penultimate song, “Gloria,” would have worked as a less obvious, more confident closing statement. It’s actually not so much a song as a vibe — it’s less than two minutes long — featuring Smith singing ethereally about demons on their shoulder and monsters in their head. Gloria opens with “Love Myself,” a neo-soul midtempo track where Smith sings about not liking what they see in the mirror, but finding it less painful to deal with society’s reflection. They’ve metamorphosed out of their earlier cultural wallpaper era, when they sadly begged a lover to stay with them (in 2014’s “Stay With Me”) and declared themself “too good at goodbyes” (in 2017’s song of that title). “You’re no god, no leader,” they sing defiantly. In “Not God,” they adopt an accusatory tone addressing an entitled authoritarian ex-partner who likes to hear themself speak. The album’s other bid for dancefloor domination, “Not Here to Make Friends,” is comparatively underwhelming. Smith declares: “Thirty almost got me and I’m so over love songs,” but the overall vibe isn’t exactly euphoric — in part because the chorus, which leans on the titular reality TV catchphrase, feels stilted and doesn’t memorably rework the meme in any way. The album showcases Smith’s musical range; they tackle everything from ’90s Europop to neo-soul and attempt to expand their songwriting to include themes of sex, self-empowerment, and even a tinge of politics. And I feel like Gloria is the album I needed that I never had.”

Sam Smith has opened up about their experience with transphobia in the UK, admitting that they face more public abuse at home than abroad.

[In a four-star review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/sam-smith-gloria-review-the-most-vital-work-of-their-career-3387484), NME’s [Nick Levine](https://www.nme.com/author/nick-levine) described ‘Gloria’ as “the most surprising, satisfying and vital work of [Smith’s] career”, and declared that the singer “has never sounded better because they’ve never been more themselves”. According to Smith, the problem is prevalent “especially in England”, while cities like New York and Los Angeles are far more accepting of people that do not physically appear to be cisgender. “That’s a wild feeling,” Smith added, “because America is a complex place. Smith went on to say they’ve ultimately felt “joy in abundance” as an openly non-binary person, and described coming out as “a coming home”. Smith then pointed to the larger issue of systemic transphobia faced by people in the UK on a regular basis. Smith and Lowe found a common ground in the fact that as a famous person, avoiding hate is nearly impossible. Touching on the downsides of being an openly transgender person in the public eye, Smith said: “I think the only negatives and the struggle[s] have been in my public life, and my job. They continued: “If that’s happening to me – and I’m famous, I’m a pop star – can you imagine what other queer kids are feeling? Like I’m being abused in the street, verbally, more than I ever have. “It was in the fucking news,” Smith quipped, “[so] it was hard not to look [at the negative comments]. And it was really hard.” Explaining how their life has changed since coming out, Smith told Lowe: “We’ve got two sides, really: my personal life and then my public life.

Sam Smith claims there was 'lots of fear' surrounding the new style in his latest album, 'Gloria,' partly because 'the music industry is just not used to ...

[the arts](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment) started to suffer because of that," Smith said on CBS. "I think that you can't blame people for thinking something's not beautiful sometimes. Smith's latest album, "Gloria," was released on Friday and is a departure from the artist's quintessential ballads and heartfelt love songs.

The singer's fourth album ups the tempo – and makes history – but stops short of fulfilling its potential as a fun-filled stomper.

[In ](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/25/in-the-lonely-hour-review-sam-smith-less-ordinary-name-suggests) [the Lonely Hour](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/25/in-the-lonely-hour-review-sam-smith-less-ordinary-name-suggests) (2014) declared itself to be [a howl of pain at unrequited love for a man at the time](https://www.thefader.com/2014/05/28/cover-story-sam-smith-opens-up-about-life-and-love), it feels as though Gloria may be the end result of a long pupation. [Paris ](https://www.theguardian.com/film/paris-is-burning) [Is Burning](https://www.theguardian.com/film/paris-is-burning), the 1991 documentary on ballroom culture. [Renaissance](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/06/beyonce-renaissance-review-a-breathtaking-maximalist-tour-de-force), Beyoncé’s all-partying shakedown of 2022? Sure, Smith sings about feeling free to love who they love, but you’d think Sheeran might have realised something slinky might have been more apposite on an album dedicated to fun – and liberation from the past. And with Unholy, Smith and Petras have, in fact, made history – topping the singles chart in the US – [a first for an out non-binary artist and a trans singer](https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-smith-and-kim-petras-set-unique-lgbtq-billboard-chart-record-with-unholy-3334838). But then Ed Sheeran crops up on Who We Love, bearing the unnecessary gift of a midtempo wet blanket. [Grammy nomination](https://www.out.com/music/2022/11/15/sam-smith-kim-petras-1-hit-unholy-just-got-grammy-nomination) precisely because its raunchy maximalism marks such a shift from Smith’s damp hanky of a back catalogue. Gloria is the name of an energy – [possibly feminine, possibly of nature ](https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-smith-shares-gloria-title-track-their-queer-love-hymn-3384608)– that Smith says has been freed inside themself. Even more upfront is the mischievous, tropical pop-inflected [Gloria](https://store.samsmithworld.com/?utm_campaign=SamSmithTooGoodAtGoodbyesTooGoodAtGoodbyes20171011&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=Website&utm_linkurl=samsmith.world%2FStore&utm_board=sam-smith&utm_country=GB&utm_referrer=direct), testify to Smith having done their LGBTQIA+ history homework. And largely, the album is persuasive. [Sam Smith](https://www.theguardian.com/music/sam-smith) made a gaffe that became a huge international incident.

The artist topped the charts with 'Unholy' and now follows that with the rest of their fourth studio album.

See our [latest prediction champs](https://www.goldderby.com/best-prediction-scores/awards/league-data/). [here in our forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forum/music/). Can you top our [esteemed leaderboards](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammy-awards-2022-winners-best-prediction-scores/) next? Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our [famous forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forums/) where thousands of showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. [Make your predictions](https://www.goldderby.com/leagues/) at Gold Derby now. [Sam Smith](https://www.goldderby.com/t/sam-smith/) released their fourth studio album “Gloria” on Friday, January 27, a few months after they reached the top of the [Billboard Hot 100](https://www.goldderby.com/feature/billboard-number-one-songs-2023-1205219355/) singles chart with “Unholy” featuring [Kim Petras](https://www.goldderby.com/t/kim-petras/). Download our free and easy app for [Apple/iPhone devices](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1460576753) or [Android (Google Play)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pmc.goldDerby) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for [best prediction accuracy scores](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammys-2023-nominations-best-prediction-scores/). mixing classy downbeat pop with moments of disco catharsis.” He adds that “Smith’s soulful voice is stunning throughout” and that the album is “rich musically, thematically and above all, emotionally.” Though they ruled the awards with their debut collection “In the Lonely Hour,” winning four times including Record of the Year (“Stay with Me”) and Best New Artist, they didn’t receive another nomination until “Unholy” with Kim Petras this year. As of this writing the album has a MetaCritic score of 72 based on four reviews counted thus far: two positive and two somewhat mixed. Will it get Smith back to the Grammys? Is the entire album just as big a hit as that song has been?

The singer, 30, maintained their gender-defying style as they celebrated with friends at London's 34 Mayfair restaurant on Friday night.

There's so much incredible female talent in the UK — they should be on that list.' I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would've identified as that in school. Someone spat at me in the street. [Sam Smith](/tvshowbiz/sam-smith/index.html), 30, maintained their gender-defying style as they celebrated the release of their new album Gloria at London's 34 Mayfair restaurant with a group of friends on Friday night. And just the amount of hate and s****ness that came my way was just exhausting. 'It was in the f****** news.