and U.S., behind only respective LPs by Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, In the Lonely Hour led to awards from organizations as varied as the BRITs, Billboard, BET, and the Recording Academy. The number two seller of 2014 in the U.K. The singles "Stay with Me," "I'm Not the Only One," and "Lay Me Down" hit the Top Ten in both the U.K. the following month and peaked at number two there. Smith's debut album, In the Lonely Hour, followed that May in the U.K., and topped the album chart.
chart with "Money on My Mind," a single marrying their relaxed vocal with a frenetic production from Two Inch Punch. That October, Smith issued the Nirvana EP, which included "Lay Me Down" and an acoustic version of "Latch."īy the end of February 2014, they were back on top of the U.K.
#Sam smith in the lonely hour full album series
Top Ten hit "Wonder" with "La La La," featuring a lead vocal from Smith (who had just finished a series of dates in support of Sandé). Only three months later, producer/songwriter Shahid "Naughty Boy" Khan followed his Emeli Sandé-fronted U.K. Produced by Jimmy Napes and Steve Fitzmaurice, "Lay Me Down" recalled the pared-down ballads that had proved successful for Adele, another artist Smith admired. The singer's first major-label solo single, released in February 2013, went in a more adult contemporary direction. Over in the U.S., it took significantly longer to take hold, but eventually hit number seven there and was certified platinum three times over. garage and contemporary dance-pop, the song went to number 11 in the U.K., where it also went platinum. They developed a passionate approach to singing inspired by their Catholic upbringing and numerous soul legends, and in the late 2000s headlined a couple low-profile independent singles, "Bad Day All Week" and "When It's Alright." Smith was barely out of their teens when, in late 2012, they reached a much larger audience as the featured vocalist on Disclosure's "Latch." A powerful and loping mixture of U.K.
singles that led to 2020's Love Goes.īefore their commercial breakthrough at the age of 21, the London-born singer and songwriter balanced their studies and music, sang in choirs and in bands, and performed in musical theater productions. singles as a headliner: "Money on My Mind," "Stay with Me," and "Lay Me Down," followed by the Academy Award-winning James Bond theme "Writing's on the Wall," "Too Good at Goodbyes," and the Calvin Harris collaboration "Promises." The singer entered the next decade with a handful of additional Top 20 U.K. Smith followed up with 2017's The Thrill of It All, a heartsick album favoring Southern soul and gospel, and by the end of the 2010s accumulated six number one U.K. and the U.S., the album also garnered Best New Artist and three additional Grammys among a slew of accolades. Multi-platinum in the singer's native U.K. Taking cues from soul belters like Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan, followers such as Amy Winehouse and Adele, and their own church upbringing, Smith effectively arrived as a headliner with 2014's In the Lonely Hour. Shooting from obscurity to fame as the featured artist on Disclosure's "Latch" in 2012, a global smash hit that showcased their distinctively stirring high tenor, Sam Smith has since become one of pop's most prominent balladeers.