Sam Smith

Sam Smith is an English singer and songwriter who became internationally known for soulful pop ballads and a distinctive voice. Smith, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has won multiple Grammy Awards and an Academy Award, and has been a prominent figure in contemporary pop music since the mid-2010s.

Early life

Smith was born on May 19, 1992, in London, England, and grew up in the surrounding area. They studied singing and performed from a young age, working toward a music career as a teenager and young adult before achieving a breakthrough through collaboration with electronic and dance producers in the British music scene.

Career

Smith first reached a wide audience as the featured vocalist on the dance track 'Latch' by the British electronic duo Disclosure, which became a hit, and on the chart-topping single 'La La La' by the producer Naughty Boy. These collaborations established Smith's voice with the public ahead of a solo career. Smith's debut studio album, 'In the Lonely Hour,' was released in 2014 and became a major international success, driven by singles including 'Stay with Me,' which won Grammy Awards including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

In 2015 Smith and co-writer Jimmy Napes wrote and performed 'Writing's on the Wall,' the theme song for the James Bond film 'Spectre,' which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as a Golden Globe. The achievement placed Smith among a small group of artists to win an Oscar for a Bond theme. Smith released subsequent albums, including 'The Thrill of It All,' that continued to chart strongly and explored a broader pop sound while retaining the emotive ballads that first defined their work.

Recent work

In 2022 Smith returned to widespread chart success with 'Unholy,' a collaboration with the German singer Kim Petras, which reached number one in multiple countries and won a Grammy Award, marking a notable milestone for the artists involved. The single appeared on Smith's album 'Gloria.' Smith has continued to tour internationally with large-scale stage productions and to release new music, while remaining a visible advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in the music industry and speaking publicly about their identity as a non-binary artist. Across their career Smith has been recognized for combining commercial pop appeal with an emotive vocal style, and is counted among the most successful and widely recognized British vocalists of their generation.