Sam Smith joined Zane Lowe via FaceTime on Apple Music for a two-hour special and chatted about their love for Rihanna, Robyn, George Michael, Alanis Morissette, Kate Bush, Scotland and more. Sam also previews their new collab with Demi Lovato (“2020 Abba”), which is out today, and talks about what to expect from their upcoming albums and how they believe they’ve had Coronavirus.
On Getting Sick & Quarantining With Their Sister…
I didn't get tested but I know I have it, 100% have it. I'm just going to assume that I did because everything I've read completely pointed to that. So yeah, I think I definitely had it. And then as soon as I had it, my sister five days after me started getting the same symptoms who's living with me. So me and her just isolate for three weeks because we knew. It was clear. Because I've got an older nan and stuff, so we didn't want to risk anything. I got it about two weeks before the UK really hit. Well, I think I got it. I don't 100% know, but. I got it and then as everyone was kind of really on lock down, that's when I got over it, luckily. I suddenly just had this want to sing actually. The first two weeks I was like, "I just want to sing. I don't want to sing my songs, I don't want to sing and film it, I just want to walk around the house and sing." And when I was younger I used to put backing tracks on in my living room and I used to sing along to backing tracks by myself after school. It was weird, but I just loved it. And I started doing that basically. I started sitting in my living room singing along to backing tracks of old Corinne Bailey Rae tunes. All these songs I used to just love singing. Old Stevie songs. And yeah, it just felt really good. But then I lost that a week later. I didn't want to sing.
On Their Collab With Demi Lovato Out Today…
It's 2020 Abba. Do you know what I mean? It's like, we've had fun doing this. I haven't taken myself seriously. I'm nervous about the song because the song for me is a song that's reaching. And whenever I have those... You know what I say when a song's reaching, when it's like you're reaching for the stars in the melody, you're reaching for the stars in all of it. It almost sounds a bit musical theatre at times. It feels cheesy at times. And I'm trying to own that because that is a genuine feeling that comes out sometimes in the studio and it's fun. It's really fun to go to that place. With us, with me and Demi singing, I know that we're so inspired by those things, those musical theatres. What people would in our music world we're called cheesy is places that I go to that I enjoy going to sometimes, you know? And it's about feeling no shame. I think this song really, for me, is about feeling no shame in some of the things that I make because I'm releasing music in a climate where music's really cool a lot of the time. It's really, really cool. And it's basically just one of my inspirations is musical theatre and these types of songs that reach. And I think it's me saying that I'm going to reach and it's okay, you know? And it's okay to play around and have these moments without feeling ashamed for being really pop, you know? When you see the video, you're going to scream. I'm dancing.’
On Listening to Music in Isolation…
When I was putting together the playlist yesterday, I was looking at the playlist and the affect this has had on what I'm listening to is wild. It's really wild. Music has taken a whole different shape. It really has. It's really beautiful. It's a really interesting time. I have written a bit the last few weeks, and it's weird what comes out. It's going to be a weird time.
On Rihanna…
Like the rest of the world, I'm sitting here waiting for Rihanna. Anything she jumps on, I'm supporting 100%. Anything she does, I'll be watching. Partly the reason why I'm still such a huge fan because she's just such a sensational character and just so kind and I just felt like she's a kind person and she is true to herself, and I don't know, she's just really an inspiring person. To me, I find it very inspiring. I remember the first time we met, I was like, "Oh my God." But she has this amazing way of just making you feel calm and this amazing way of just reminding you that she's a human being and all of the stuff you know of or is part of her job, you know? That's what's so beautiful.
On Robyn…
That tour changed my life. I'm not even joking. I've never witnessed anything that I was in a field in... God, can't remember what the festival's called. It's one of those bougie festivals. The one in the countryside, outside London. It was proper bougie day. And then we got dressed up and I went into the crowd and I was literally in the middle, like in the mosh pit in the middle and just the energy and the excitement, we just got transported to this crazy place. Her presence on stage, when she walked on stage at the beginning - Well, she immediately, from the minute she walked on the stage, she was like, "This is my show. This is the vibe. Get on the vibe or you're not going to like it." And it was so good.
On George Michael…
I mean, to be quite honest, this area that we both lived in. Where I live in North London, it nods back to my childhood growing up in the countryside. And so it feels, I know where he lived, and I know where it is and everything. And so yeah, we probably at moments had similar experiences of London in the summer and stuff like that. And the only other thing, it's a queerness, you know? It's the queerness. It's the fact that George Michael was gay and he was one of the only people that was gay at that time. And him being out about his queerness was so inspiring to me growing up. And now when I'm in the position I'm in, which struggling with fame and trying to execute my way through my life, I look to him. And I look at the way he dealt with things. Because he had dealt with it with class and grace and humour and talent, and everything that I... As a human being to me, he was a good human being. And as a role model, I definitely look up to him for sure. He grew up at a time when being gay, it wasn't okay. And he was one of the first people to step out and say it. And he was a sex figure, right? At the beginning of his career. And all the ladies loved him. And it must have been really, really tough. It must have been really tough for him. So I just think he's a good human being. And I just love his music.
On Alanis Morissette…
You know what? I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't familiar... I obviously knew the hits, but I wasn't familiar with Alanis as an artist. My friend Tren, I said to him, "I've always, I want to be an Alanis fan because everything I hear sounds amazing. But I need you to sit me down and just give me the history." And for two hours we went through Alanis history of how she started. Her original career, where she had... Where was she brought up again? I can't remember. There, she had a original pop career in Canada. And then I watched the Grammy performance of “You Oughta Know” and oh, my gosh. I've never seen anything like it. And now I'm obsessed. I can't stop listening and I just... Even her new stuff, I think she's amazing. I really do, I just adore her.
On Kate Bush & Their Love of Scotland…
Adore, just adore. I've spent a lot of time in Scotland last year. Scotland's like my favourite place in the world. It's where I'm going to live in like... I'm going to live very soon. I just love... I went there when I was eight years old and some of my family grew up there and it as a place, I don't know, I want to spend my days there. I want to live there. I want to bring up a family there. It's where my heart is. I've never felt my body connect to a place like that ever before in my life. It was in Scotland we were driving around and we went on this tour where we stayed in all these hostels and stuff and listened to Kate Bush driving through the mountains, and it was just so amazing and I just fell in love with her, that's the perfect soundtrack. I think you need to be in the right place. I think that her music is incredibly dramatic. So when I'm driving through Scotland, it's dramatic. The weather, whatever the weather is in Scotland, it's a drama queen weather storm and I think that's what it is. You need to fill... And you need to be in a theatrical space to enjoy it because it's very theatrical. It's really intense.
On Changing Their Next Album Title & Release Date…
100% yeah [got a new title]. And it's actually better than To Die For. No idea actually [when announcing it]. And I don't even know if I'm going to put Dance With a Stranger on there. And How Do You Sleep and To Die For. I think might take them off and do something completely fresh and it'll be a completely new album...I love them too, but they're still there. It's just like I feel weird bringing out an album that's... Dance With a Stranger by January will be two years that's been released and I find it weird bringing out an album with that on there. But I think it just, I'm ready to just gauge how I feel and how it feels but... That's there, album three is there that's ready to go whenever it's right. And then number four, I started writing and it's a whole different vibe. It's amazing. It's great.
On Album Number Four…
I've got an album title for album four and I just know the vibe I want. I just want it to be sexy, really, really sexy. I want it to be in the album that you can put on and you can have a whole night f*cking to or you can be in the bar and you listen to it. Do you know what I mean? Or you have a wine night.
On Getting Sick & Quarantining With Their Sister…
I didn't get tested but I know I have it, 100% have it. I'm just going to assume that I did because everything I've read completely pointed to that. So yeah, I think I definitely had it. And then as soon as I had it, my sister five days after me started getting the same symptoms who's living with me. So me and her just isolate for three weeks because we knew. It was clear. Because I've got an older nan and stuff, so we didn't want to risk anything. I got it about two weeks before the UK really hit. Well, I think I got it. I don't 100% know, but. I got it and then as everyone was kind of really on lock down, that's when I got over it, luckily. I suddenly just had this want to sing actually. The first two weeks I was like, "I just want to sing. I don't want to sing my songs, I don't want to sing and film it, I just want to walk around the house and sing." And when I was younger I used to put backing tracks on in my living room and I used to sing along to backing tracks by myself after school. It was weird, but I just loved it. And I started doing that basically. I started sitting in my living room singing along to backing tracks of old Corinne Bailey Rae tunes. All these songs I used to just love singing. Old Stevie songs. And yeah, it just felt really good. But then I lost that a week later. I didn't want to sing.
On Their Collab With Demi Lovato Out Today…
It's 2020 Abba. Do you know what I mean? It's like, we've had fun doing this. I haven't taken myself seriously. I'm nervous about the song because the song for me is a song that's reaching. And whenever I have those... You know what I say when a song's reaching, when it's like you're reaching for the stars in the melody, you're reaching for the stars in all of it. It almost sounds a bit musical theatre at times. It feels cheesy at times. And I'm trying to own that because that is a genuine feeling that comes out sometimes in the studio and it's fun. It's really fun to go to that place. With us, with me and Demi singing, I know that we're so inspired by those things, those musical theatres. What people would in our music world we're called cheesy is places that I go to that I enjoy going to sometimes, you know? And it's about feeling no shame. I think this song really, for me, is about feeling no shame in some of the things that I make because I'm releasing music in a climate where music's really cool a lot of the time. It's really, really cool. And it's basically just one of my inspirations is musical theatre and these types of songs that reach. And I think it's me saying that I'm going to reach and it's okay, you know? And it's okay to play around and have these moments without feeling ashamed for being really pop, you know? When you see the video, you're going to scream. I'm dancing.’
On Listening to Music in Isolation…
When I was putting together the playlist yesterday, I was looking at the playlist and the affect this has had on what I'm listening to is wild. It's really wild. Music has taken a whole different shape. It really has. It's really beautiful. It's a really interesting time. I have written a bit the last few weeks, and it's weird what comes out. It's going to be a weird time.
On Rihanna…
Like the rest of the world, I'm sitting here waiting for Rihanna. Anything she jumps on, I'm supporting 100%. Anything she does, I'll be watching. Partly the reason why I'm still such a huge fan because she's just such a sensational character and just so kind and I just felt like she's a kind person and she is true to herself, and I don't know, she's just really an inspiring person. To me, I find it very inspiring. I remember the first time we met, I was like, "Oh my God." But she has this amazing way of just making you feel calm and this amazing way of just reminding you that she's a human being and all of the stuff you know of or is part of her job, you know? That's what's so beautiful.
On Robyn…
That tour changed my life. I'm not even joking. I've never witnessed anything that I was in a field in... God, can't remember what the festival's called. It's one of those bougie festivals. The one in the countryside, outside London. It was proper bougie day. And then we got dressed up and I went into the crowd and I was literally in the middle, like in the mosh pit in the middle and just the energy and the excitement, we just got transported to this crazy place. Her presence on stage, when she walked on stage at the beginning - Well, she immediately, from the minute she walked on the stage, she was like, "This is my show. This is the vibe. Get on the vibe or you're not going to like it." And it was so good.
On George Michael…
I mean, to be quite honest, this area that we both lived in. Where I live in North London, it nods back to my childhood growing up in the countryside. And so it feels, I know where he lived, and I know where it is and everything. And so yeah, we probably at moments had similar experiences of London in the summer and stuff like that. And the only other thing, it's a queerness, you know? It's the queerness. It's the fact that George Michael was gay and he was one of the only people that was gay at that time. And him being out about his queerness was so inspiring to me growing up. And now when I'm in the position I'm in, which struggling with fame and trying to execute my way through my life, I look to him. And I look at the way he dealt with things. Because he had dealt with it with class and grace and humour and talent, and everything that I... As a human being to me, he was a good human being. And as a role model, I definitely look up to him for sure. He grew up at a time when being gay, it wasn't okay. And he was one of the first people to step out and say it. And he was a sex figure, right? At the beginning of his career. And all the ladies loved him. And it must have been really, really tough. It must have been really tough for him. So I just think he's a good human being. And I just love his music.
On Alanis Morissette…
You know what? I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't familiar... I obviously knew the hits, but I wasn't familiar with Alanis as an artist. My friend Tren, I said to him, "I've always, I want to be an Alanis fan because everything I hear sounds amazing. But I need you to sit me down and just give me the history." And for two hours we went through Alanis history of how she started. Her original career, where she had... Where was she brought up again? I can't remember. There, she had a original pop career in Canada. And then I watched the Grammy performance of “You Oughta Know” and oh, my gosh. I've never seen anything like it. And now I'm obsessed. I can't stop listening and I just... Even her new stuff, I think she's amazing. I really do, I just adore her.
On Kate Bush & Their Love of Scotland…
Adore, just adore. I've spent a lot of time in Scotland last year. Scotland's like my favourite place in the world. It's where I'm going to live in like... I'm going to live very soon. I just love... I went there when I was eight years old and some of my family grew up there and it as a place, I don't know, I want to spend my days there. I want to live there. I want to bring up a family there. It's where my heart is. I've never felt my body connect to a place like that ever before in my life. It was in Scotland we were driving around and we went on this tour where we stayed in all these hostels and stuff and listened to Kate Bush driving through the mountains, and it was just so amazing and I just fell in love with her, that's the perfect soundtrack. I think you need to be in the right place. I think that her music is incredibly dramatic. So when I'm driving through Scotland, it's dramatic. The weather, whatever the weather is in Scotland, it's a drama queen weather storm and I think that's what it is. You need to fill... And you need to be in a theatrical space to enjoy it because it's very theatrical. It's really intense.
On Changing Their Next Album Title & Release Date…
100% yeah [got a new title]. And it's actually better than To Die For. No idea actually [when announcing it]. And I don't even know if I'm going to put Dance With a Stranger on there. And How Do You Sleep and To Die For. I think might take them off and do something completely fresh and it'll be a completely new album...I love them too, but they're still there. It's just like I feel weird bringing out an album that's... Dance With a Stranger by January will be two years that's been released and I find it weird bringing out an album with that on there. But I think it just, I'm ready to just gauge how I feel and how it feels but... That's there, album three is there that's ready to go whenever it's right. And then number four, I started writing and it's a whole different vibe. It's amazing. It's great.
On Album Number Four…
I've got an album title for album four and I just know the vibe I want. I just want it to be sexy, really, really sexy. I want it to be in the album that you can put on and you can have a whole night f*cking to or you can be in the bar and you listen to it. Do you know what I mean? Or you have a wine night.
