Sam Smith talks new album and what they learned in quarantine: “I had to do everything myself”
Capitol RecordsSam 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 …
By ABC Audio on October 22, 2020
Capitol RecordsSam 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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