Sam Smith is a singer and songwriter from the United Kingdom. When his track ‘Latch,’ featuring Guy and Howard Lawrence on electronic musical instruments, reached the eleventh spot on the ‘UK Singles Chart,’ he became famous. His popularity as a singer expanded with the release of his next single, ‘La La La,’ which featured music from the film ‘Naughty Boy,’ the following year. He was nominated for the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2014’ competition as well as the ‘Brit Critic’s Choice Award,’ and he won both. His debut album, which had a significant number of singles, was a huge smash in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He also got well-known for being nominated for and winning four Grammy Awards. His singing style spans a variety of genres, including pop, soul, R&B, and others. He is also a well-known social media personality with a sizable fan base on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Childhood and Adolescence
Samuel Frederick Smith was born in Bishop’s Stortford, England, on May 19, 1992, to Fredrick Smith and Kate Cassidy, a stock broker.
He was a student at Bishop’s Stortford’s ‘St. Mary’s Catholic School.’
He began singing at the age of eight under the tutelage of a jazz pianist named Joanna Eden in Saffron Walden, Essex, and later joined a jazz band.
He began singing at a young age and was a member of the ‘Cantate Youth Choir’ and the ‘Bishop’s Stortford Junior Operatics,’ which eventually became the ‘Bishop’s Stortford Musical Theater Society.’
Career Of Sam Smith
On October 8, 2012, Sam Smith received his first break when his single “Latch” was released. The record debuted at number eleven on the ‘UK Singles Chart.’
In February 2013, his debut album, titled “Lay Me Down,” gave him a boost in his career as a singer.
On May 1, 2013, ‘Naughty Boy’ provided musical support for his single ‘La La La,’ which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart that year.
In 2013, Sam published his first EP, titled ‘Nirvana.’ ‘Safe With Me,’ ‘Nirvana,’ Latch, and ‘I’ve Told You’ were the four tunes on the album.
The first song, ‘Safe With Me,’ was initially broadcast on the ‘BBC Radio 1Xtra’ show hosted by ‘Mistajam’ on July 24, 2013.
On December 27, 2013, Amazon.com announced that the song “I’ve Told You Now,” performed by Sam in the “St. Pancras Old Church,” will be available as a free promotional download from the internet.
Sam Smith’s second album, ‘Money on My Mind,’ was released in February 2014, and it helped to improve his image as an up-and-coming vocalist.
With the support of ‘Capitol Records,’ he published his debut studio album, ‘In the Lonely Hour,’ on May 26, 2014. The record, which was inspired by his unrequited love life, instantly rose to the top of the UK Albums Chart. It also reached number two on the ‘Billboard 200’ in America and sold record copies in both the US and the UK by November 2014 and January 2015.
To keep up with Amazon.com, the ‘iTunes Store’ began providing the song ‘Make It To Me’ as a free promotional download from the internet on January 13, 2014. Smith embarked on his first American tour in the spring of 2014, bringing his vast catalog of new and old classics with him.
Smith was featured on the cover of the 92nd issue of the journal ‘The Fader’ in June 2014, and his tune ‘Stay With Me’ was named the ‘Song of Summer’ by Variance Magazine in August 2014.
When it was re-released in March 2015, the single ‘Lay Me Down’ placed seventh from the top of the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart.
Another version of the same song, performed by him during the UK’s ‘Comic Relief’ charity telethon, became the country’s number one hit.
On July 27, 2015, the single ‘Omen,’ featuring Smith on vocals and ‘Disclosure,’ featuring instruments, was released.
On September 8, 2015, Smith confirmed that he and Jimmy Napes collaborated on the theme song ‘Writings On The Wall’ for the 24th James Bond film ‘Spectre,’ which debuted at number one in the UK charts.
Performances on TV and in Person
On January 20, 2014, Sam Smith had his first appearance on American television when he played his smash tune ‘Latch’ on the ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ show, accompanied by ‘Disclosure’ on electronic musical instruments.
On March 29, 2014, he had his second television debut, performing another of his tracks, ‘Stay With Me,’ on the show ‘Saturday Night Live.’
On August 24, 2014, he gave his first live performance at the ‘2014 MTV Video Music Awards’ at ‘The Forum’ in Inglewood, California. Smith joined a number of Irish and British bands, including ‘Band Aid 30,’ to raise funds for victims of the ‘2014 Ebola epidemic’ in western Africa. The trio performed at the ‘Sam West Studio’ in Notting Hill, London, and recorded a song called ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’
Achievements & Awards
Sam Smith received eight nominations for his performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 8, 2015. For his song ‘Stay With Me,’ he received three ‘Grammy Awards,’ including ‘Record of the Year,’ ‘Best New Artist,’ and ‘Song of the Year,’ as well as one ‘Grammy Award,’ for ‘Best Vocal Album,’ for his studio album ‘In The Lonely Hour.’
At the ‘2015 Brit Awards’ competition held at ‘The O2 Arena’ in London, England on February 25, 2015, he won the ‘British Breakthrough Award’ for the track ‘Lay Me Down.’
On May 17, 2015, he was honored with the ‘Top New Artist,’ ‘Top Male Artist,’ and ‘Top Radio Songs Artist’ accolades at the ‘2015 Billboard Music Awards’ ceremony.
On October 19, 2015, he was awarded a ‘Guinness World Record’ for creating the theme song for the film ‘Spectre,’ which debuted at number one in the ‘UK Charts,’ and a second ‘Guinness World Record’ for the album ‘In The Lonely Hour,’ which spent the most weeks in the ‘UK Top Ten’ list.
On January 6, 2016, he received the ‘Award for Best Original Song’ for ‘Writings On The Wall’ at the ’73rd Golden Globe Awards’ ceremony.
On January 14, 2016, he was nominated for a ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Original Song’ and a ‘2016 Brit Awards’ for ‘Best British Video’ for the same song.
Smith received the ‘Best Original Song’ prize for ‘Writings On The Wall’ on February 28, 2016 at the ‘Academy Awards’ celebration.
Personal History and Legacy
In October 2014, Sam Smith was involved in a legal battle with Tom Petty over the use of lyrics and phrases from his song ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ which he recorded in 1999 for the single ‘Stay With Me.’ Sam reached an out-of-court agreement with Petty, in which Petty would get 12.5 percent of the profits on the sale of ‘Stay With Me’ copies.