Although the first solo single from soul-inspired, London-born artist Sam Smith was issued in early 2013, it was his soaring vocal contribution to Disclosure’s October 2012 U.K. garage track Latch that brought him the most attention. For most of his teens, Sam balanced study with music, soaking in the raw and passionate approach to performance exemplified by his favourite artists at that time such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Chaka Khan. Latch hit the upper reaches of the U.K. singles chart when Sam Smith was 21, and many were surprised when his debut solo track took a more tempered path. The production on February 2013’s Lay Me Down – also courtesy of the ordinarily dancefloor-focused Duos Disclosure – recalled the stripped-back material that had proved successful for Adele in the preceding years. Next, Shahid Khan – aka Naughty Boy – decided to follow his Emeli Sand fronted U.K. Top Ten hit Wonder with the infectious, Bollywood sample-driven La La La. Featuring Sam’s powerful lead vocal, it became an instant May 2013 U.K. number one single, following his spring tour in support of Sand. That October he issued the Nirvana EP, which included an acoustic reading of Latch, and by the end of February 2014 he was at the top of the U.K. singles chart once again with Money on My Mind, an infectious track that inventively married his relaxed vocal with a frenetic beat. Sam Smith’s debut full-length, In the Lonely Hour, was released that May in the U.K. It arrived in the U.S. the following month.
