A powerful voice combined with powerful lyrics brings us a sound that pop music has been lacking, as of late.
By now, you surely have heard Sam Smith’s voice on the radio, most likely on his hit single, “Stay With Me,” or possibly one of the popular tracks he is featured on, such as, “Latch” or “La La La.” Maybe you even caught him on his breakout performance on Saturday Night Live on March 30, which helped to familiarize the United States with one of Britain’s rising stars. Now, Smith is a global star and it looks like he is here to stay.
So, how has Sam Smith skyrocketed to fame so quickly? And how can we know that his success isn’t just temporary?
When you compare Smith's still
young career to that of another British pop star, Adele, it is quite easy to
draw comparisons. Other than the obvious
external similarities (they are both early-to mid-20 year olds hailing from
across the pond), all it takes is one listen for Smith to remind you of that soulful Brit, Adele, who burst onto the music scene just a few years ago. Ten Grammys later, Adele is one of the most
successful artists we’ve seen in the last few years. I’m not guaranteeing the
same level of achievement for Smith, but it doesn’t take a stretch of the
imagination to see it happening.
Sam Smith is bringing something to mainstream music that we
have been missing -- soul. Take a look at the titles of other current chart-toppers
and you’ll see songs like “Fancy,” “Wiggle,” “Boom Clap,” “Turn Down For What”
and the like. I’m not saying there is
anything wrong with these songs -- they are all catchy in their own right -- but, there seems to be a lack of depth on the radio these days.
Smith fills that
void with passion and soul in all of the songs on his debut album, The Lonely Hour. Harken back to the glory days when Adele’s
powerful voice delivered such anthems as “Someone Like You,” “Set Fire To The
Rain,” and “Rolling In The Deep.” She
was unafraid to belt out her pain and make us sing along.
What both Adele and Smith give us are two lyricists and
vocalists who don’t need synth and bass drops and features from other artists
to convey honesty through soul and power. Sam Smith can hit high notes that no other popular male artist, at the
moment, can.
If you haven’t given his new
album a listen, I highly suggest you do. Much like Adele, Smith is a singer-songwriter who flawlessly combines
pop, R&B and soul music to create goose bump–inducing tracks that are
equal parts chilling and catchy.
London
has blessed our radios with a sweet relief from the cookie-cutter pop/trap/electronic
songs that have clutter the airwaves. When Adele releases her third studio album
later this year, it will cement 2014 as a year in which we took an important
step towards music with soul and substance over simply a catchy hook.
