Music News

Sam Smith talks new album and what they learned in quarantine: "I had to do everything myself"

M Samsmithlovegoes 091720
Capitol Records

Sam Smith‘s known for sad songs like “Too Good at Goodbyes,” but the singer says their new album Love Goes is their first official breakup album — because they’d never had anyone to break up with before.

“I think the first few records that I made, [there] was this unrequitedness and this longing that I was going through,” Sam says in a video interview with British Vogue.  “This album…marks my first proper relationship I had, which was a wonderful experience. And I feel so much more grown-up after it.”

But while Sam’s heart was broken, they didn’t record Love Goes while reaching for the Kleenex.

“Normally I go in the studio, sit with the piano and just cry out and, like, write really sad stuff,” Sam explains. “But [this time], I went in the studio and [it] became this safe space where I could just, like, express myself and dance and write.”

“A lot of the songs…they’re sweet small pop songs…what I was feeling at the time was so heavy that it was so nice to have, like, a relief in the studio.”

Love Goes is due out October 30, after being delayed by the pandemic. But Sam tells Vogue the quarantine experience has been a positive one overall.

“Before lockdown, I hadn’t really been home for about eight years properly,” they say. “And it…started to catch up with my mental health…I was getting really down.” 

“When COVID happened…I had to be home…and I had to clean [up]after myself. I had to clean the house. I had to do everything myself!” they laugh.

“And I’d been relying on a lot of people for a long time. I basically got to root myself in the ground again and it’s been wonderful for that.”

By Andrea Dresdale
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