Sam Smith

Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992 in London) is an English singer and songwriter associated with pop and soul. Smith is notable for a series of internationally successful singles and albums from the 2010s onwards, alongside major industry recognition including Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. 

Smith first gained attention through featured vocals on electronic tracks in the early 2010s, before launching a solo career. The debut album In the Lonely Hour (2014) became a major commercial success in the UK, and Smith was recognised early in their career with the BRITs Critics’ Choice Award (2014).

The most commercially successful phase of Smith’s career began with In the Lonely Hour and its singles, followed by subsequent hit releases in the later 2010s and early 2020s. “Unholy”, a collaboration with Kim Petras, reached number 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart, and the Official Charts Company has described In the Lonely Hour as the UK’s biggest debut album of the 2010s decade; the album has also been associated with long-running UK chart performance and substantial UK sales totals.

Smith continued releasing studio albums and singles across the 2010s and 2020s, including projects that moved between pop ballads, dance-pop and more experimental production. Alongside recording, Smith has remained visible through collaborations and soundtrack work, notably “Writing’s on the Wall” (co-written with Jimmy Napes) for the James Bond film Spectre. 

Smith’s honours include multiple Grammy Awards in 2015 and the Academy Award for Best Original Song (2016). Widely reported estimates place Smith’s career sales at more than 40 million albums worldwide, and their catalogue continues to receive significant streaming and airplay, reflecting sustained popularity over more than a decade.