Sam Smith is looking back at their journey with gender identity and explaining why publicly identifying as non-binary in 2019 did not feel like the beginning of that story.
The 34-year-old singer discussed the subject during a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, saying they had understood themselves that way throughout their recording career but did not always have the language to describe it. Just Jared reported on the comments after the interview was released August 19.
Smith connected that process of self-discovery with becoming famous at 21, when their career accelerated around the period leading into their 2014 debut album, In the Lonely Hour. They recalled trying to understand who they were while simultaneously dealing with industry pressure, a rapidly changing life and expectations from an audience that had first encountered them in their early twenties.
Smith publicly discussed being non-binary in 2019 and announced that September that they would use they/them pronouns. In the new conversation, however, they traced that identity much further back, explaining that what changed around age 27 was not who they were but their ability to put it into words.
Smith Says They Had ‘Always Been Non-Binary’
While discussing the years after In the Lonely Hour, Smith told Lowe, “I’ve always been non-binary. It’s always been who I am.” They said they only found the vocabulary to describe that identity when they were around 27.
The interview transcript places the exchange shortly after the seven-minute mark, as Smith discusses growing from the person they were in their early twenties into the person they wanted to carry forward through adulthood.
Finding that language created what Smith called another coming-out experience. By contrast, they said their life now feels more settled in that respect, explaining that there is “no more coming out” left for them and describing that position as freeing.
Fame at 21 Came With Pressure to ‘Appease the Audience’
Smith placed their gender journey inside a broader account of what happened after sudden fame transformed their life. They described the albums following In the Lonely Hour as part of a period of recovery and figuring out both who they were and what they actually wanted to say as an artist.
At the same time, Smith said they were dealing with loud pressures from the music industry and trying to “appease the audience.” All of that was happening while they were still navigating the enormous personal adjustment that came with becoming famous at 21.
The audience that first embraced their early heartbreak ballads watched as their presentation, gender identity, fashion and music evolved, changes Smith has said sometimes generated intense backlash. Smith told Lowe they now see the different stages of their career as part of the same larger picture.
‘Hazel Eyes’ Arrives as Smith Says They Feel Free to Be Themselves
That sense of freedom runs through Smith’s fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes, which arrived two days after the Zane Lowe interview. The record was created during a period that included falling in love with fashion designer Christian Cowan, becoming engaged and moving from England to New York.
Smith worked closely with longtime collaborator Simon Aldred and David Odlum as co-producers. Aldred had known Smith since the early stage of their career, and Smith told Lowe that reconnecting with him for the project helped create an environment where they could move away from some of the expectations and rules that had accumulated around their music.
The result was also Smith’s first time taking a co-producer credit on an album. The project moves through baroque pop, British folk, outlaw country and R&B while focusing heavily on love, vulnerability and Smith’s relationship with Cowan.
Universal Music confirmed that the 12-track Hazel Eyes was released through Capitol Records on August 21 after three years in development. Its songs include “Everlasting Love,” “Hazel Eyes,” “My Guy,” “When He’s Gone,” “Oh Mother,” “Constant Companion” and “To Be Free.” Smith said making the album brought them closer to themselves and taught them to trust what came naturally as an artist.
