Sam Smith

Biography

Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on electronic music duo Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at No. 11 on the UK singles chart. The following year, they featured on record producer Naughty Boy's single "La La La", which became a number one single in the UK.

Smith's debut studio album, In the Lonely Hour (2014), was released by Capitol Records UK and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The album's lead single, "Lay Me Down", was released prior to "La La La". The album's second single, "Money on My Mind", became their second number one single in the UK. Its third single, "Stay with Me", was internationally successful, reaching number one in the UK and number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, while subsequent singles "I'm Not the Only One" and "Like I Can" reached the top ten in the UK. The album won four awards at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Smith's song "Writing's on the Wall" served as the theme for the James Bond film Spectre (2015), and won Smith a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Smith's second studio album, The Thrill of It All (2017), debuted atop the UK and US album charts. The album's lead single, "Too Good at Goodbyes", reached number one in the UK and Australia and number four in the US. Following the 2018 single "Promises" (with the Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris), which peaked at number one in the UK, Smith released "Dancing with a Stranger" (with the American singer Normani) in 2019, which peaked within the top ten in the UK and the US, also receiving a nomination for Song of the Year at the Brit Awards 2020. The singles, along with "How Do You Sleep?", would precede the release of their third studio album, Love Goes (2020). In 2022, Smith's single "Unholy" (with the German singer Kim Petras), would become their first number one single in the US and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song would precede their fourth studio album, Gloria (2023).

Smith's numerous accolades include five Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, and an American Music Award, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. On the UK Albums Chart, In the Lonely Hour was the best-selling debut album of the 2010s and the sixth best-selling album of the decade, while collectively Smith's albums spent the fourth-most weeks at number one in the 2010s, behind Ed Sheeran, Adele and Eminem. Smith is the first openly non-binary musician to both release a song that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to win a Grammy Award.

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