2015 was a great year for many artists but a major stand out musician has to be Sam Smith – even with the many ups and downs he endured during 2015.
Sam Smith announced his first headlining tour in the US in October of 2014 and while it only lasted just less than a month he definitely made a name for himself through the country. Smith’s break out song was Stay With Me – an emotional ballad about being vulnerable in love.
Smith nailed all of his North American shows and left fans crying, emotional, and wanting more as the they walked out of the theaters and arenas once his set list was finished. His tracks all told a story that he narrated through breaks between the songs, about love that he tried to hold on to that never quite belonged to him. Something a lot of fans praised him for being strong enough to write so openly and honestly about.
Tracks like Not The Only One, Latch, and Lay Me Down began to ignite a craze surrounding the singer/songwriter who was also hailed a story teller.
As his North American tour wrapped up on February 4th, Smith released a music video for Lay Me Down that held meaning far beyond being an accompaniment to the song. In the video Smith is seen in a church lit by patrons holding candles at an altar singing along to the lyrics; it’s poignant and sentimental at the same time as it grips your heart. At first the setting looks like it’s one plagued with mourning and loss but around the bridge of the song you see Smith and another man with joined hands serenading one another at the altar – complete with a cheering and accepting congregation.
This video meant a lot to fans of Sam Smith and the LGBTQ+ community because of Smith incorporating a religious environment into a same sex marriage ceremony. In a day and age where all love should be celebrated
The end of the video shows Smith knelt at a pew as if it was his prayer, his wish, his dream to be married in a chapel with not only God’s love but the acceptance from the church as well.
Also in February, Smith won 4 Grammys: Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. He absolutely smashed it!
Smith unfortunately suffered a vocal hemorrhage which left him requiring surgery on May 14th and unable to use his voice for weeks after; his singing was put on hold for even longer – forcing him to cancel his May and June tour dates.
During his vocal rest Sam Smith won 3 Billboard Music Awards -Top Male Artist, Top New Artist, and Top Radio Songs Artist. He was unable to attend the award show but he did video a thank you message – complete with written posters thanking his fans for all of their incredible support.
He returned to the stage on July 17th in Louisville, Kentucky at Forecastle Music Festival where he smashed his set before being rushed off stage in the middle of an unexpected storm. While the rain put a damper on the end of Smith’s set list; his fans were indescribably happy to hear him use his voice again.
The rest of his tour went well as he definitely felt the positive effects of resting his vocals instead of trying to continue and perform while injured. Smith also announced in September that he would be writing a song for Spectre – the newest James Bond film.
Smith read the script and wrote the song as a personal point of view coming from Bond himself which has rarely been doing it in the past. This set Smith’s song apart from previous ones written for James Bond films.
After Smith’s very busy year begun to wind down he made the announcement that he would be taking a hiatus from performing at the end of his 2015 schedule. Smith wants to focus on his personal life and work on his follow up to ‘In The Lonely Hour’ during this time.
Smith had great success pulling from his personal life for his first album and if a hiatus will give him some time to focus on himself, enjoy being young, and write another killer album – we’re definitely okay with having to miss him for a little bit in the mean time!
Congratulations on an incredible 2015 – and career so far Sam – we look forward to seeing more of you once you’ve enjoyed your well earned time off!