SAM SMITH BIOGRAPHY

Samuel Frederick Smith (London, May 19, 1992), better known as Sam Smith is a British singer and songwriter.Born in London, he grew up in a rural town in England; He began attending singing lessons eight years while participating in works of musical theater. Throughout his teenage years , several artistic representatives tried tolaunch his career, but to no avail. At eighteen, inspired by the story of Lady Gaga, she moved to London to focus on his musical career. In October 2012, she rose to fame when she appeared on the single "Latch" Disclosure, which reached number 11 on the British singles. Their next collaboration, "La La La" Naughty Boy, was even more successful and stood at No. 1 on the list of British singles in early 2013. Subsequently, Steve Barnett of Capitol Records, impressed by her voice for a concert, offered him a record deal. The following year, he won the Sound of 2014 poll conducted by BBC, and received the award Critics' Choice at the Brit Awards 2014. In February and April, launched its singles "Money on My Mind" and "Stay with Me" of their debut album In the Lonely Hour (2014), respectively. Both issues came at No. 1 singles list UK; the second one marked his entry into the American music market and entered the 2 position of Billboard Hot 100. Smith received good reviews, especially for his vocal prowess. In the 57th edition of the Grammy Awards she won best new artist awards, song of the year, record of the year and best pop vocal album. On the other hand, at the Brit Awards 2015 awards won the British artist revelation and overall success thanks to its international sales. It has sold over 8.5 million albums worldwide. Biography and artistic career 1992-2011: early life Samuel Frederick Smith was born on May 19, 1992 in London and grew up in the rural county of Cambridgeshire, England. He is the son of Frederick Smith and Kate Cassidy, one broker. His mother was one of the first women bankers in London and the source of household income, while his father was engaged in household chores. He has two sisters, Mabel and Lily Smith. He is third cousin of singer Lily Allen and actor Alfie Allen. It is also godfather to Jackson, the son of his best friend and collaborator Jimmy Napes. He studied at St Mary's Catholic School in Bishop's Stortford. He is a graduate of the Youth Music Theatre UK, the production of "Oh! Carol "starred in 2007. Smith was a member of associations Bishop's Stortford Junior operatics and Cantate Youth Choir. During his childhood and adolescence he attended rehearsals of musical theater, and formed bands of jazz , acombination that "not only taught him discipline and technique to harness and control his voice, but also push his vocal range to the limit." He also argues that "had a passion for pop music." At age eight, he started taking singing lessons and composing songs with a singer of jazz in your area call Joanna Eden after his parents heard singing a song of Whitney Houston when delivered to the school. His singing instructor used to take him to a club where she sang to accompany her in the chorus. At eleven, an amplifier was purchased and used a small greenhouse in his house, which is accessed by steps, as makeshift stage; Smith sang at the request of his mother at dinner parties for friends and partners. Since he was twelve, he had six different artistic representatives, who encouraged illusions of fame that were never carried out. In 2008, he was the opening act Adele concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and met Elvin Smith, who would later become one of his managers. The following year, his mother lost his job because the company he worked for too long considered lost managing the career of his son. In order to pursue a musical career, and motivated by the story of Lady Gaga, she moved to London at eighteen, and worked as a waiter in several bars in the city for two years. 2012-2013: Early in his career with collaborations At the end of 2012, even without signing a record deal, Smith met the duo Disclosure as coescribía "Lay Me Down" along with his manager Elvin Smith and Jim Napes. Those loved the subject, and as they were working on their debut album, invited him to collaborate on the composition of "Latch" for which he also lent his voice. Following its launch in October 2012 he entered position 11 of the popularity list British singles and marked the beginning of his musical career. "Lay Me Down" went on sale in February 2013 and caught the attention of both domestic and foreign criticism sincerity in its composition and the sound of the voice of Smith. According to Emily Tan, a reporter for The Line Of Best Fit , Smith "quickly showed he was on track to be the next big star." Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington, employees of London Records admired his vocal talent and proposed a contract for two months; in this regard, Raphael said he remembered "having heard" Latch "and thinking," No person may cover as many ranges vocal at a time without going through a computer "," meanwhile, Charrington said that "we have never heard a voice like in our twenty years of working together. " Smith also participated as a vocalist in "La La La" Naughty Boy. The subject became another commercial success and entered the position 1 of the British singles list, and proved that success with 'Latch' 'was no fluke. " At the end 2013, the issue ranked as the best selling of the year in the UK; however, Andrew Hampp of Billboard , said Smith remained "a mystery" because it did not appear in any movies. In 2013 Smith released his first extended play (EP), Nirvana , consisting of four songs. The first, entitled "Safe with Me" it was produced by Two Inch Punch and premiered at the show BBC Radio 1Xtra of MistaJam on 24 July 2013. The second issue of the EP was produced by Craze & Hoax and Jonathan Creek; the singer Adele promoted the song through Twitter, calling it "very good". The play extended also includes an acoustic solo version of "Latch" and a live version of "I've Told You Now." In late November 2013, it took place the launch of "Together", a theme that Smith Disclosure collaborated with Nile Rodgers and Jimmy Napes. Mobo awards in 2013, was nominated for Best New Artist, and "La La La", a subject on which he collaborated with Naughty Boy, received the awards for Best Song and Best Video. Smith was spotted at a club in West London by Steve Barnett, an employee of Capitol Records, who offered him a record deal with the label in 2013. According to the businessman, attended a concert by the artist in March of the same year and he noticing her vocal prowess, sent a text message to its partners where he said he was "seeing someone who could change the future of [Capitol]." 2014-2016: records and international success with In the Lonely Hour and "Writing's on the Wall" Despite having begun his career between 2012 and 2013, Smith did not begin to be widely recognized until February 2014, when the video for his second single, "Money on My Mind", released his face and his own identity as soloist. So much success with his first two collaborations, even before the release of her debut studio album, caught the attention of critics and the British public by winning the Sound of 2014 poll conducted by the BBC. At thesame time, received the award Critics ' Choice at the Brit Awards 2014. To create interest among the American public, his label presented it at the 56th edition of the Grammy Awards. On January 20, 2014 Smith made ​​his debut on American television with "Latch" Disclosure on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon . She also played "Stay with Me" and an acoustic version of "Lay Me Down" on Saturday Night Live in late March, fully conquered the audience. In addition, it included the promotion of MTV Networks and VH1 to appear in their TV commercials as the "artist to watch" and "artist you should know 'respectively. His debut album, titled In the Lonely Hour was put on sale in British music markets on May 26, 2014 through Capitol Records label. The content mixes pop genres, soul and R & B, and is inspired by an unrequited love. In the Lonely Hour reached No. 1 on the British album and the number 2 in the popularity list US Billboard 200. Overall, it received favorable reviews from critics. Attention focused on the vocal prowess of Smith and the magazine Rolling Stonecommented that it was positioning itself as a "male Adele". At the end 2014, the album was listed as the most sold in the United States with 1.21 million copies third, just behind the soundtrack Frozen and 1989 of the singer -songwriter Taylor Swift. He also became the second best - selling album in the UK in 2014, just behind x Ed Sheeran. In mid-2015, it was announced that In the Lonely Hour had lasted more than a year in the top five of the list of albums in the UK, a feat that had only managed The Beatles. In the report album sales 2015 UK, In the Lonely Hour is ranked third, with 893,000 copies, behind only 25 , Adele, and x of Sheeran, and the report of the United US 2015, ranked as the best selling 1.74 million units with eighth. in the Lonely Hour has sold 2.1 million copies in the UK and 2.9 million in the United States. In September 2015 it was announced that In the Lonely Hourhad exceeded 8.5 million copies worldwide. Smith initially promoted to In the Lonely Hour in various clubs in UK, Europe and the United States. At the same time, he starred with other artists like Taylor Swift and Mary J. Blige. In 2015, he embarked on his first musical tour, In the Lonely Hour Tour , North America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and South America. However, he had to postpone several shows due to problems in the vocal cords. The single "Stay with Me" he entered the number 1 on the list of British singles and position 2 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, respectively. A new version duet with Mary J. Blige out the music market, supported by a music video that premiered in the program First Listen to NPR. In August, Variance Magazine named "Stay with Me" song of the summer. At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, she was nominated for an artist to watch and best male video for "Stay with Me" and held a staging of the subject. In January 2015, an agreement was announced between Sam Smith, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne for which the first gave them 12.5% ​​of the royalties from "Stay with Me" because of similaritudes between the theme of Smith and "I Will not Back Down "(1989) Petty and Lynne, who also received credit as co - authors, despite manifest that the similarity between the songs was accidental. In late August 2014, it took place the launch of the fourth single from the album, "I'm Not the Only One , " which reached number three in the UK and number five in the United States. In March 2015 he reissued the song "Lay Me Down" and put up for sale as the fifth single In the Lonely Hour ; the subject reached position 8 of the Billboard Hot 100, making him the third single from Smith to reach the top ten on the list. That same month, he recorded another version of the song with John Legend, for British charity Comic Relief telethon, and reached number one on the charts in the UK. Similarly, with several British and Irish artists he recorded a new version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" To help those affected by the ebola epidemic in West Africa. In June 2014 Smith first appeared on the cover of the magazine The Fader in its 92nd edition. After two months of dating, in January 2015 he broke away from the model and actor Jonathan Zeizel. At the 57th Grammy Awards, along with Mary J. Blige she sang "Stay With Me" and received awards best new artist, song of the year, record of the year and best pop vocal album. Also he opted for album of the year and best pop vocal performance soloist.Brit Awards in 2015 she sang "Lay Me Down" and won awards British artist revelation and overall success, and at the Billboard Music Awards 2015 was hailed as the best new artist and best male artist. In late July 2015, his second collaboration with Disclosure launched, "Omen", which was ranked 13 in the singles chart in the UK. In early September 2015, In the Lonely Hour he broke the record for the longest LP among the top ten list of British albums, totaling sixty-seven consecutive weeks. On September 7, Smith confirmed that he had recorded a song titled "Writing's on the Wall" for the movie Spectre James Bond, in turn announced that it would be released at theend of the month. The issue came into the position 1 británicade simple list with more than 70,000 copies sold during its first week, which made ​​it the first song for the James Bond films that tops this list of British successes. He also became the fifth single number one of Smith in his home territory. In October, the Guinness World Recordsreported that Smith had established two records, being the first artist who plays a theme for James Bond and manages to get into position 1 on the list of British singles, and sixty-nine consecutive weeks in the Lonely Houramong the top ten list of UK, respectively albums. On November 2, 2015 Smith published a "Drowning Shadows" as the lead single for the reissue of their debut studio album, In the Lonely Hour: The Drowning Shadows Edition , released music market 6 March. Smith was nominated for artist of the year awards, favorite male artist pop / rock and favorite album of pop / rock by In the Lonely Hour at the American Music Awards 2015 respectively. In early 2016 Smith won the Golden Globe for best original song for "Writing's on the Wall" of Spectre , which made ​​him the second artist who composes a song for Bond and gets an award at the ceremony, just behind Adele with "Skyfall." "Writing's on the Wall" is nominated for best original song in the 88 edition of the Oscars. Art influences Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga are two of the artists who have influenced Smith. From a young age , he was inspired by the R & B and soul that his mother used to listen in the car. Remember that the first song he sang was "My Love Is Your Love» Whitney Houston, whom he cites as one of his idols. In his own words, why singing at such a high record is that "I've spent my whole life imitating Whitney and Chaka Khan, and [...] it is natural to sing like me." The singer - songwriter Lady Gaga is also a significant influence, and its history motivated him to move to London. He also said "want to be Beyoncé" and make compositions like her. He named "My Love Is Your Love" Whitney Houston, "Through the Fire" by Chaka Khan, "I Say A Little Prayer" Aretha and "All I Could Do Was Cry" by Etta James as his "favorite songs of all the Times". He said: "I want to make music that no longer exists , " referring to Houston and Luther Vandross. In turn, Adele has been an inspiration for a long time, about it he said: "I admire how Adele retained his normal compared to stardom, and kept her honest and genuine music." Voice In 2014 much compared to Adele Smith with his ability as a singer, and a review in Rolling Stone he described it as " the male Adele". His vocal range "can rise baritone under" resulting in a "dramatic effect". According to critics, Smith "represents a return of virtuoso vocalist in popular music" as Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross. The singer says he's very passionate when he sings, and with his debut album, In the Lonely Hour (2014), tried to make his voice the main element. Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone opined that has the "flexible falsetto of Barry Gibb and Mark Ronson's ear." Also Jim Farber of New York Daily News noted that in the strongest notes sounds like Mick Hucknall of Simply Red; the author argued that "there is something modern and courageous in a man who has no fear of sounding feminine." Musical style According to Jim Farber of New York Daily News , "Smith sings soul , but not in the usual way. Where most of the singers of this genre shout, he moans. While anger inspires many, Smith focuses on the pain. His is the sound of a wound, a lament without defenses or shields ". Jim also said that "there is something retrograde in the role of Smith. Its concentration in unrealizable love songs sad sad ballads reminiscent of the era of gay prerelease. The lyrics of the songs from their debut album, In the Lonely Hour (2014), dealt with stardom, love and the man who inspired it . He has been equated with the album 21 by Adele, both being based on "a broken relationship." Smith alleges that he was "brutally honest" when composing songs In the Lonely Hour . Despite receiving praise for his candor, it has also been criticized for the lack of diversity and monotony of the album. Sheldon Pierce, for example ,argues that "without a list of songs, it would be difficult to differentiate." Other activities Philanthropy In addition to his musical career, Smith has devoted himself to philanthropy, helping various charitable projects and causes. In November 2014, he joined the charity group Band Aid 30 and with One Direction, Emeli Sandé, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Bono, among others, recorded a version of the song "Do They Know It's Christmas? "Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, to raise money for the purpose of donating it to those affected by the ebola epidemic in West Africa. Also in 2015, along with John Legend, he recorded a new version of its theme "Lay Me Down" to support the telethon British charity Comic Relief at the same time it was released in digital format as single of the Red Nose Day. It has also been declared for the rights of LGBT.