British singer-songwriter Sam Smith, who identifies as non-binary, claimed in an interview with CBS Mornings that the music industry is “just not used to queer artists”.
Smith’s latest album Gloria was released Friday and is a departure from the artist’s basic ballads and heartfelt love songs. In Smith’s new album, they opt for an edgier sound, which the artist said they “fought so hard” to achieve.
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Aubrey Plaza, Sam Smith Episode 1836 – Pictured: Musical guest Sam Smith performs with Unholy on Saturday, January 21, 2023 – (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images) ((Photo by: Will Heath/ NBC via Getty Images
“I felt this pressure that I was mostly putting on myself to do that every time, and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s my ‘brand,’ you know, I’m ‘that,’ and then the arts underneath started to close Suffer. ‘ Smith said on CBS.
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“Gloria” includes singles like the smash hit “Unholy,” which gave Smith her first number-one single in the US
Smith said there was “a lot of anxiety” surrounding the release of Gloria.
“I don’t think you can blame people for sometimes thinking that something isn’t beautiful. Some people just didn’t like it, but it was one instance where I had to sit there and say, ‘Wait, maybe you don’t like that because you don’t get it.'”
Sharon Stone and musical guest Sam Smith perform Gloria on Saturday, January 21, 2023 ((Photo by: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images))
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“The music industry just isn’t used to queer artists,” Smith added.
Smith said the biggest risk on the album was “the element of sex”.
Singer-songwriter Sam Smith during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, January 19, 2023 ((Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images))
“I’ve always been very sexual and very open and loved to dance and move my body and sing and make songs that allow my body to move like it does in front of people, that’s easy so exciting,” Smith said.
Kendall Tietz is a production assistant at Fox News Digital.