Sam Smith: ‘I ‘came out’ when I came out of my mum”

Sam Smith has dismissed the idea that he “came out” earlier this year, insisting that he has always been “out”.

The British soul singer revealed in May that his debut album was inspired by feelings of unrequited love for a man. It was subsequently reported in the media that the 22-year-old had “come out”, but Smith has now rejected this suggestion.

“I didn’t come out. I came out when I came out of my mum,” Smith told The Guardian. “No, that side of things to me is just normality. I find it weird when people use the expression ‘coming out’ like it’s a massive party of relief.”

Smith went on to discuss the man who inspired his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, admitting that he has only recently told the man in question how influential he was.

“I told him a week before the album came out. He’d heard the record, but didn’t have a clue it was about him,” Smith explained. “He just said, ‘Are you OK?’ It was a lovely response. The reason I told him was because it was like closure to me. When I fell in love with this guy last year, it was the third person in my life I had had really strong feelings for and they’d never loved me back. And this album was almost a way for me to break the cycle.”

“I will never let myself fall in love with someone again in that way,” Smith added.

Smith’s debut album entered the UK’s Official Albums Chart at Number One upon its release and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. He is now reportedly in the frame to record the next Bond theme – read more here.