IT’S MID-AFTERNOON IN an east London photo studio and Sam Smith is crouched on the floor with leather straps fastened around their calves. Snap. They switch positions, standing at 6ft 4ins tall in chunky, cyberpunk platform boots and squinting down the camera lens. Snap. They remove their sleeveless denim jacket and swing it behind one shoulder for movement”. Snap. They’re wearing a badge reading THEY/THEM” in capital letters, and another reading QUEER”. Snap. Disturbia’ by Rihanna is blasting out of the speakers. Snap. Snap. Snap. And that’s a wrap!” someone yells as Smith exhales slowly, before striding over to introduce themself. Sorry, I just realised I’m not wearing any trousers,” they say, sheepish all of a sudden, one dangly earring glinting in the superficial light of the photography studio.
The Smith in front of me is a far cry from the Smith that we first encountered in the early 2010s. Which makes sense that was a whole decade ago. Back then around the release of their 2014 debut album In the Lonely Hour they’d show up on the red carpet in muted two-piece suits and smart, sensible shoes. They were the kind of artist that you would expect to perform heartbreak ballads on peak-era The X Factor and make your nan tear up on the sofa. This broad mainstream appeal and palatability’ paired with a capital G’ good voice that Beyoncé once described as being like butter” meant that they were always destined to sell an obscene amount of records. Which they did: In the Lonely Hour sold over 20 million copies. They won four Grammys, four MOBOS and three Brit Awards. Insane behaviour for a debut album. But also somewhat expected from an artist who had been so diligently positioned next to the Adeles and Ed Sheerans of the British music landscape.
This story is from the February/March 2023 edition of Rolling Stone UK.
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This story is from the February/March 2023 edition of Rolling Stone UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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