Sam Smith’s success story is the archetypal success story; the kind of journey that many up and coming popstars would crave to emulate…
Working first in a pub, Smith managed to get attention slowly managed to gain attention of labels. Fast forward a bit, and Smith featured on Disclosure’s single ‘Latch’ as well as the infectious #1 single ‘La La La’. Yet this all happened in 2013; it is this year that Smith really burst into stardom and “burst” might even be an understatement.
Scooping up a BRIT, being elected the BBC Sound of 2014 and having his first single hit Number One in the first two months of the year proves that Smith really could be a star in his own right.
As does his album ‘In The Lonely Hour’. Although it’s safe to say that ‘Money On My Mind’ was stuck in the public’s head for months on end, it certainly isn’t representative of the album as a whole. Second single ‘Stay With Me’ is much more of an indication of how Smith’s debut sounds; cold, lonely and somber.
Smith’s lyrics read much like a diary, and with the exception to his sexual orientation which Smith has yet to comment on, everything is laid bare. This of course lends itself to sounding even more fraught with heartbreak.
Yet sometimes, despite how captivatingly honest Smith is about his emotions, you wish that on a few occasions he would be just a touch more subtle. On the titular track Smith laments “I need someone that I’ll look to, In the lonely hour, that we all go through, to give me comfort and love me through”. Whilst many may relate to his unhinged approach to writing, it can also come off as a tad cheesy.
Regardless, Smith’s voice and spirit sounds strong enough on this record to justify the stardom he has already achieved and the superstardom that he will achieve.