Sam Smith

Ed Sheeran proves to be a good fit for the soft, queer-tinged love song, as the pair trade lyrics on each verse singing about the more mundane aspects of ...

More important than simply sounding like a genuine pop hit of 2023 (especially with the inclusion of veritable hit-maker Calvin Harris on the track), “I’m Not Here To Make Friends” sounds like Sam Smith finally allowing themselves to have some fun. Singing to a prospective partner about how they want to “ease your appetite,” the star revels in the pure euphoria of the strings and synths surrounding them. “No God” doesn’t backtrack Smith’s classic sound — it brings it to its natural conclusion. As the beat picks up, so do Smith’s pleas for love, making this a thrilling addition to the star’s already-stellar dance pantheon. Gone are the soft suggestions of how their heart was broken, now replaced with a stunning ode to a toxic person who left their life in shambles, all because “nobody taught you how to cry/ But somebody showed you how to lie.” but I’m working on it.” The production, meanwhile, just toes the line between “Old Sam Smith” and the one we see today — emotional and profound, but with a flair for fun thrown in to show just how far they’ve come. It’s a feat for Smith to reel you in with their lusting voice, and then declare that “I’m the dark type/ Forever lonely.” Smith may say that “there’s no loving me,” and yet “Six Shots” will make you fall deep under their spell. But if you take a listen to the lyrics, you hear the story of a person struggling with their own history of heartbreak. While “Who We Love” rehashes familiar ideas from both artists’ discographies, it still champions a message that bears repeating. Gloria is Smith’s proof of concept — they contain multitudes, not just the sad broken heart of the person from [In the Lonely Hour](https://open.spotify.com/album/08jWgM4vSkTose4blKBWov?si=mWF1erQOQW60whbDzMldkg). This is not a pop star merely trying to make headlines or fulfill a promise of something “new” — Gloria sounds like it’s coming from an artist who finally feels comfortable enough to take risks with their sound in the name of honesty.

With R&B and pop and disco and chorales, Sam Smith has reinvented their career with the wide-ranging 'Gloria.'

And it feels like a coming of age.” With songs that are both sacred and profane, with R&B and pop and disco and chorales, “Gloria” is all of that and more. But the spiritual themes of a song called “Gloria” sung by a medieval-sounding church choir could not be more obvious. The song features just the choir for the first minute, until Smith’s voice comes soaring in, evoking images of angels on a church ceiling; although they’ve described it as “my queer anthem,” the lyrics are fairly elliptical and again are counterintuitive to the music — demons and monsters in the first verse, empowerment in the second. 1 and the song of this summer, “I’m Not Here to Make Friends.” A collaboration with Reyez and DJ titan Calvin Harris, it’s embellished with a Chic groove, sparkling strings and a sassy title that will inspire countless don’t-f-with-me finger-pointing on dancefloors, but the real payoff comes in the response: “I’m not here to make friends/ I need a lover.” (And may we respectfully suggest that a remix featuring Dua Lipa would be stunning.) The album opens deceptively with “Love Me More,” a gospel-inflected self-care song that places its empowering but sometimes dark lyrics — “Every day I’m trying not to hate myself” — over a sincere, sing-song melody that seems more suited to a John Legend or Jon Batiste (or, honestly, a TV commercial). Smith’s fourth album, “Gloria” is not that at all — it’s a wild, wide-ranging night out that’s tinged with adventure and some danger, but still gets you home safely.

Sam Smith's album Gloria leans into the singer's musical contradictions and ideological dualities, coming out with the sharpest full length in their catalog ...

“No God” sounds like a scathing rebuke to social-media know-it-alls and pundits who stoke division for a living until the bridge gives the song’s subject a break (“I know you’re trying to heal the world / You’re only trying to prove your worth”), a jarring reversal for a tune with a choir in margins of the chorus singing “Ain’t nobody wanna hear your voice” while Sam lays into you: “You’re no God, you’re no teacher / You’re no saint, you’re no leader.” The ferocity of the delivery sells the message better than the words do. It’s a warm note of encouragement [dressed up as a liturgical tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaYJ2vOpw44): “Be yourself so loud tonight they’ll hear you from the stars / Sparkling like dynamite, if that is who you are.” In spite of the flaws you begin to notice on closer inspection, Gloria feels zesty and joyful. [crushed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmZvOhHF85I) in the early years and a smoothing out of the abrasive sound design and spirited iconoclasm that made the goofies suspicious of [SOPHIE](https://www.vulture.com/article/sophie-wake.html) early on, back before the late legend’s ideas about identity and artifice were properly appreciated as expressions of a trans experience. The influence of gospel and choral music on this album feels different than on The Thrill of It All, where it looked like a rapid response to an influx of church choirs and samples of religious staples that followed Ye’s The Life of Pablo and Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book. Gloria is looking to strike a precarious balance, luxuriating in Sam Smith’s truth and sharing lessons they’ve learned on the road to feeling comfortable in their own body amid public scrutiny of their weight, style, and romantic pursuits while providing carefree party anthems and making sure the singer stays abreast of current trends in pop. [TERF Island](https://twitter.com/lbc/status/1490424440454369281)) articulating all this and dropping RuPaul’s Drag Race, Pink Flamingoes, and Paris Is Burning clips into a batch of songs about doing better for ourselves and each other. The slow jam “Six Shots” swoops down into the singer’s low register as they spend a night in the cups alongside a crush; the Calvin Harris bop “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” flips the old reality TV adage into a whooping declaration of interest in bagging someone cute in the club. [history-making chart-topper](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/sam-smith-kim-petras-unholy-no-1-first-trans-nonbinary-artists.html) “Unholy” summarizes the ideas at Gloria’s core. I didn’t want it to be ‘Sam Smith, the gay singer.’ I wanted it to be ‘Sam Smith, the singer who happens to be gay.’” (It took many years of dogged debates and advocacy to get American Democratic leadership onboard with same-sex marriage; David Cameron enraged Tories by forcing a discourse on the issue that the party couldn’t derail.) The pressure Smith felt to fit in and make music that appealed to everyone was a side effect of toiling toward a career in pop music while press hounded Britney Spears, and gay rumors trailed Robbie Williams to the extent that he eventually named his 2013 big-band album Swings Both Ways. [recordings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCt7M_qlhF4) on the Sam Smith Diva Boy collection tell that story.) It eluded the listener’s handle on genre and gender; Disclosure’s Guy Lawrence thought he’d heard a Black woman singing in the demo that landed Smith the spot on “Latch.” These were not the simpler times the current wave of nostalgia for the late 2000s implies, not if you were living outside the cookie-cutter ideas about sexuality and gender expression that prevailed in that era.

The latest album from Sam Smith has prompted mixed reviews from critics with some suggesting it does not quite live up to the promising experimentalism of ...

Will Hodgkinson of The Times gave the record two stars and wrote that it “showcases Smith as a brilliant singer, and someone with a story to tell, but only too willing to let cliche tell it”. The PA news agency’s Imy Brighty-Potts gave the record 4.5 stars out of five and described it as a “glorious portfolio” showing Smith’s “musical versatility and exciting self-exploration”. Smith, who identifies as non-binary, has said the record “feels like a coming of age” and helped them “through some dark times”.

Sam Smith is "being abused ... verbally " after coming out, the singer says in a new interview, noting that it's happening more than before.

Someone spat at me in the street. and having people shouting at me in the street. “I was like, ‘I’m at the White House. “So that was the hardest part, I think, was being at home in the U.K. I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would’ve identified as that in school.” is it’s happening in the street.

The singer-songwriter has opened up about what life has been like since announcing they were non binary.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the 30-year-old singer revealed that while there have been no issues with their new gender identity in their personal ...

There's so much incredible female talent in the UK — they should be on that list.' I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would've identified as that in school. Someone spat at me in the street. It's exhausting and especially in England.' 'It was in the f****** news. And just the amount of hate and s****ness that came my way was just exhausting.

In an emotional interview, Sam said: “What people don't realise with trans/ non-binary people in the UK is it's happening in the street. “I'm being abused ...

I came on this podcast a couple of weeks ago and I told you that I want the legendary DJ Fat Tony.” The cover of a record in the video shows the constellations of Sagittarius and [Pisces ](https://www.thesun.ie/fabulous/2207170/pisces-horoscope-dates-star-sign-compatiblity/)– star signs of Taylor and partner [ Joe Alwyn.](https://www.thesun.ie/who/joe-alwyn/) “If you were in that lavender haze, that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow.” “But literally I truly believe that the power of cosmic ordering is so fabulous that you can make it happen.” [Naomi Campbell](https://www.thesun.ie/who/naomi-campbell/), Kate Moss, VB (Victoria Beckham) and now The GC. The three-time Brit winner told Apple Music 1: “It’s been crazy to be in New York and LA, because I feel like I can dress and be myself more in these cities than I can at home. “I went to the “And it’s just so sad that we’re in 2023 and it’s still happening.” In an emotional interview, Sam said: “What people don’t realise with trans/ non-binary people in the UK is it’s happening in the street. [The Unholy singer](https://www.thesun.ie/who/sam-smith/), who uses the [ pronouns they/them](https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/4543258/sam-smith-wants-to-be-called-they-instead-of-he-by-family-and-pals/), said their personal life has improved immeasurably since then, but in public the vile abuse continues. SAM SMITH has claimed anti-LGBTQ feelings in the UK is so bad that they have been spat at in the street since coming out as non-binary in 2019.

Sam Smith has opened up about their experience with transphobia in the UK, admitting that they face more public abuse at home than abroad.

[In a four-star review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/sam-smith-gloria-review-the-most-vital-work-of-their-career-3387484), NME’s [Nick Levine](https://www.nme.com/author/nick-levine) described ‘Gloria’ as “the most surprising, satisfying and vital work of [Smith’s] career”, and declared that the singer “has never sounded better because they’ve never been more themselves”. According to Smith, the problem is prevalent “especially in England”, while cities like New York and Los Angeles are far more accepting of people that do not physically appear to be cisgender. “That’s a wild feeling,” Smith added, “because America is a complex place. Smith went on to say they’ve ultimately felt “joy in abundance” as an openly non-binary person, and described coming out as “a coming home”. Smith then pointed to the larger issue of systemic transphobia faced by people in the UK on a regular basis. Smith and Lowe found a common ground in the fact that as a famous person, avoiding hate is nearly impossible. Touching on the downsides of being an openly transgender person in the public eye, Smith said: “I think the only negatives and the struggle[s] have been in my public life, and my job. They continued: “If that’s happening to me – and I’m famous, I’m a pop star – can you imagine what other queer kids are feeling? Like I’m being abused in the street, verbally, more than I ever have. “It was in the fucking news,” Smith quipped, “[so] it was hard not to look [at the negative comments]. And it was really hard.” Explaining how their life has changed since coming out, Smith told Lowe: “We’ve got two sides, really: my personal life and then my public life.

Sam Smith claims there was 'lots of fear' surrounding the new style in his latest album, 'Gloria,' partly because 'the music industry is just not used to ...

[the arts](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment) started to suffer because of that," Smith said on CBS. "I think that you can't blame people for thinking something's not beautiful sometimes. Smith's latest album, "Gloria," was released on Friday and is a departure from the artist's quintessential ballads and heartfelt love songs.

Sam Smith has released their highly-anticipated new album Gloria, and the video for “I'm Not Here To Make Friends.” The track was produced by Calvin Harris ...

[Smith will head to the Grammys](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/kim-petras-sam-smith-mary-j-blige-grammys/), where their platinum-certified single “Unholy” is [in the running for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance](https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/kendrick-lamar-beyonce-grammy-awards-nominees/). “Gloria is also a celebration of all the genres and all the female divas, vocalists, and pop writers that I love,” Smith added in a statement. And I wanted to be defiant. “I harnessed all those memories and put them into one album. They win from a grand chandelier as the track crescendos, party-goers fawning around them. Dressed in pink, Smith steps out of a gold helicopter to be greeted by a Bacchanalian-inspired celebration.

The singer's fourth album ups the tempo – and makes history – but stops short of fulfilling its potential as a fun-filled stomper.

[In ](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/25/in-the-lonely-hour-review-sam-smith-less-ordinary-name-suggests) [the Lonely Hour](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/25/in-the-lonely-hour-review-sam-smith-less-ordinary-name-suggests) (2014) declared itself to be [a howl of pain at unrequited love for a man at the time](https://www.thefader.com/2014/05/28/cover-story-sam-smith-opens-up-about-life-and-love), it feels as though Gloria may be the end result of a long pupation. [Paris ](https://www.theguardian.com/film/paris-is-burning) [Is Burning](https://www.theguardian.com/film/paris-is-burning), the 1991 documentary on ballroom culture. [Renaissance](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/06/beyonce-renaissance-review-a-breathtaking-maximalist-tour-de-force), Beyoncé’s all-partying shakedown of 2022? Sure, Smith sings about feeling free to love who they love, but you’d think Sheeran might have realised something slinky might have been more apposite on an album dedicated to fun – and liberation from the past. And with Unholy, Smith and Petras have, in fact, made history – topping the singles chart in the US – [a first for an out non-binary artist and a trans singer](https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-smith-and-kim-petras-set-unique-lgbtq-billboard-chart-record-with-unholy-3334838). But then Ed Sheeran crops up on Who We Love, bearing the unnecessary gift of a midtempo wet blanket. [Grammy nomination](https://www.out.com/music/2022/11/15/sam-smith-kim-petras-1-hit-unholy-just-got-grammy-nomination) precisely because its raunchy maximalism marks such a shift from Smith’s damp hanky of a back catalogue. Gloria is the name of an energy – [possibly feminine, possibly of nature ](https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-smith-shares-gloria-title-track-their-queer-love-hymn-3384608)– that Smith says has been freed inside themself. Even more upfront is the mischievous, tropical pop-inflected [Gloria](https://store.samsmithworld.com/?utm_campaign=SamSmithTooGoodAtGoodbyesTooGoodAtGoodbyes20171011&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=Website&utm_linkurl=samsmith.world%2FStore&utm_board=sam-smith&utm_country=GB&utm_referrer=direct), testify to Smith having done their LGBTQIA+ history homework. And largely, the album is persuasive. [Sam Smith](https://www.theguardian.com/music/sam-smith) made a gaffe that became a huge international incident.

The artist topped the charts with 'Unholy' and now follows that with the rest of their fourth studio album.

See our [latest prediction champs](https://www.goldderby.com/best-prediction-scores/awards/league-data/). [here in our forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forum/music/). Can you top our [esteemed leaderboards](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammy-awards-2022-winners-best-prediction-scores/) next? Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our [famous forums](https://www.goldderby.com/forums/) where thousands of showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. [Make your predictions](https://www.goldderby.com/leagues/) at Gold Derby now. [Sam Smith](https://www.goldderby.com/t/sam-smith/) released their fourth studio album “Gloria” on Friday, January 27, a few months after they reached the top of the [Billboard Hot 100](https://www.goldderby.com/feature/billboard-number-one-songs-2023-1205219355/) singles chart with “Unholy” featuring [Kim Petras](https://www.goldderby.com/t/kim-petras/). Download our free and easy app for [Apple/iPhone devices](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1460576753) or [Android (Google Play)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pmc.goldDerby) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for [best prediction accuracy scores](https://www.goldderby.com/article/2022/grammys-2023-nominations-best-prediction-scores/). mixing classy downbeat pop with moments of disco catharsis.” He adds that “Smith’s soulful voice is stunning throughout” and that the album is “rich musically, thematically and above all, emotionally.” Though they ruled the awards with their debut collection “In the Lonely Hour,” winning four times including Record of the Year (“Stay with Me”) and Best New Artist, they didn’t receive another nomination until “Unholy” with Kim Petras this year. As of this writing the album has a MetaCritic score of 72 based on four reviews counted thus far: two positive and two somewhat mixed. Will it get Smith back to the Grammys? Is the entire album just as big a hit as that song has been?

The singer, 30, maintained their gender-defying style as they celebrated with friends at London's 34 Mayfair restaurant on Friday night.

There's so much incredible female talent in the UK — they should be on that list.' I wish I knew what the words were when I was in school, because I would've identified as that in school. Someone spat at me in the street. [Sam Smith](/tvshowbiz/sam-smith/index.html), 30, maintained their gender-defying style as they celebrated the release of their new album Gloria at London's 34 Mayfair restaurant with a group of friends on Friday night. And just the amount of hate and s****ness that came my way was just exhausting. 'It was in the f****** news.