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Sam Smith is reflecting on their journey with gender identity, revealing that they have always considered themselves non-binary but only discovered the language to describe it years into their career.
During a candid interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, released Wednesday, Aug. 19, the 34-year-old singer discussed their experience navigating fame, identity and the music industry.
Smith recalled being one of the first openly queer artists to come out at the beginning of their career. After the success of their 2014 debut album, In the Lonely Hour, which featured hits including "Stay with Me," Smith said their following albums became a period of personal recovery and self-discovery.
The singer explained that becoming famous at just 21 brought significant changes to their life. They also faced pressure from the music industry while attempting to meet audience expectations and understand who they were becoming.
Smith came out as non-binary in 2019 at age 27 and began using they/them pronouns. Looking back, however, they said their gender identity had been present throughout their career, even before they had the words to explain it.
"The whole time from In the Lonely Hour on, I've always been non-binary. It's always been who I am," Smith told Lowe.
They explained that they only discovered the vocabulary to describe their identity when they were around 27, making that realization another significant coming out experience.
Smith said they now feel completely comfortable with their identity and described the freedom that comes with no longer feeling like they have another aspect of themselves to reveal.
"There's no more coming out for me now, which is a really freeing thing," they said.
That sense of freedom has also influenced Smith's upcoming album, Hazel Eyes. The singer described the project as a record created with love, saying that feeling runs throughout the album.
Smith credited several people and experiences for influencing the new music, including their fiancée, fashion designer Christian Cowan. They also highlighted musician and collaborator Simon Aldred, whom Smith described as the first openly gay man they met in the music industry when they were 20.
Smith said meeting Aldred helped them step away from expectations and simply focus on expressing themselves through music.
"It was nice to just take a minute to step away from the rules and just sing my heart out," Smith said, describing the experience as freeing.
Now, Smith appears to be entering a new chapter with greater confidence in their identity and artistic direction. Their reflections suggest that Hazel Eyes will capture that sense of freedom while drawing from the love and personal growth that have shaped their life in recent years.
