In The File: The Inimitable Sam Smith

I have been blessed to have known Sam for years and can hand on heart confirm how super beautiful, sensitive, and unexplainably funny, Sam is. As much as they love performing and giving their all to the world; they love listening, understanding, and connecting with people. They haven’t lost their awareness of the bigger picture, and even though fame and their career have taken them away from a reality they once knew, and one not many people can truly understand, they have kept their essence and always remained appreciative and sensitive to everything around them. As they move and merge into different expressions, it’s evident that Sam is in fact, always the same. Always full of adoration, and a huge sense of unity, as they bring people together via the clarity, harmony, and power of their voice.

Sam brings a humongous joy into every facet of life, lighting up any room, or stage. But the most treasured moments in Sam’s life still seem to be being with people they love, being in nature, and often away from anything their life presents itself to be. 

They treasure moments with themself, and have a ritualistic approach to their daily life, making self-care and self-nurturing the footprints to handle whatever comes their way. Knowing what their body needs to withstand the hurtling forces of the industry and world as we know it, Sam makes sure their morning and evening routines are the foundations of their days. The older they become, the more passionate they are about looking after themselves, and have amassed a superb curation of the best products and tricks they have picked up, along the way.

Arriving at Sam’s hotel room, they were giggling and apologizing for not being ready as their breakfast trolley arrived at the same time as us. I sat down with them as their grilled sardines and eggs were laid out on a table in the corner of the stunning hotel suite in Paris.

As Sam does, they cut straight to the chase, opening up about topics that aren’t the usual over-eggs convo. So we started rolling, not to miss an ounce of the wisdom they share.

Bon appetit!

I’m trying to figure out methods of how to beat jet lag and keep my face hydrated, and my body healthy. On the plane, I make it a thing to just load my face with as much skincare as I can.

Every year I learn different tricks. To not eat on the plane is a big one. You have your last meal wherever you are coming from, and when you land, you have the first meal there, whether it’s dinner or breakfast or lunch, whatever – so you switch your body off when you’re traveling, and onto the new timezone.

It’s good for me to have my own space in the morning, just an hour to get myself ready. I wake up, look at my phone (because I’m addicted), and then I get up. I spend more time on my routine in the mornings, and believe really good skincare is just like wearing makeup. I like to get my skin really glowy and plump. The glow is not just your skin though, it’s also all around you. Before you leave the house, it’s beautiful to make sure that the space around your body is clear and feels good so that when you meet that first person in the day, you can give them some good vibes. Some days it doesn’t work out, and I’m a dinosaur.

At the moment, I’ve been active in stabilizing my nervous system. Cold water in the morning, and being in hot water at night, are really, really important for my body.

Phone at night time for me is an absolute no. I can sleep for a long time, so the nighttime regime has become a big part of my health and mindfulness.

When I turned 21 and my music started to pick up, that’s when I started to travel.  And by my early twenties, I was constantly traveling around the world.

Some people, if they become famous and make money and become pop stars, they end up celebrating it and really leaning into it. I was the opposite. I just immediately missed my family and was kind of mourning a life that I lost when I was younger.

As I get older, I’m able to see the positives more and more, and what’s been so beautiful about my job and my life and what’s happened. Even though at times life felt like it was in a tailspin, the music, the work, and the art have almost pulled me through every single step of the way. Every heartbreak, every time I was shamed or spoken about badly or publicly, music was a refuge and a safe space for me, art was a safe space for me.

Through my twenties I struggled with my gender expression and by the end of my twenties it was music and the songs and the writing that really helped me kick the door down. I now feel comfortable kicking doors down. I love the process of it. It’s not the outcome of the work now that’s the most important thing.

I am a collaborator, I don’t like to work or write music alone. I have ideas alone, but when it comes to actual writing, I’m always with someone. I like to have people around me feeling like, oh God, is this the worst thing we’ve ever done? That’s my favourite feeling because then I think you’re onto something good. I really do.

When I was younger, I remember doing interviews and I always said, if I had the chance again to do this, I wouldn’t, but now I don’t agree with myself. I think if I had a chance to do this again, I would because being to someone what Aretha Franklin was to me, or what Rihanna, or Gaga, or Natasha Bedingfield, or any of these people I grew up loving as a kid, If I can just be a fraction of that to someone else and I hope I have, then it’s completely worth it. 

I’m a millennial. I grew up online. My whole life was online and I’ve had to address that relationship over the last few years because of the comments and stuff like that, I couldn’t help myself by reading them.

After two hours of that type of adrenaline, it’s so important to come down off of the high, gradually and safely. When I was younger if I had time off, I’d have a drink after a show. But because my shows are so vocally demanding, I actually can’t drink heavy amounts of alcohol whilst touring. 

I always say sing your heart out. And what I mean by that is not to actually sing, I mean just live, be, express, and make mistakes. In this age, we’re so concerned about how we look. The more mistakes you make, the more fabulous you are. I genuinely believe that. So flaws –  just lean into your flaws.

I’ve always been a big fan of looking the ugliest thing about your life dead straight in the face. I just feel like you learn so much about yourself by doing that. Every mistake could be the inspiration.

I feel most insecure when I’m singing those words live in front of people, it’s just a scary thing, because I’m not playing a character. Even when I am playing a character now with the stuff I’ve been doing recently, it’s still a part of me. I think every artist feels pretty naked in that arena with that many people looking at you. Just before I go on stage, my brain says, can you do this? Are you going to be able to do this? And over the years, sometimes I’ve buckled under that pressure and haven’t been able to do it, but now I’ve got to a point where I can calm myself down.

My most insecure moments used to be when I would take my top off and go swimming and stuff like that. But I’ve worked on this and I’m so proud of myself, and all the work I’ve done over the years on my body, because now I love my body. I can’t keep my top on.

Beauty for me means nature. It means movement. It’s not one thing. It’s constantly moving and changing and growing. I think some of the most beautiful things in the world are the oldest things in the world. And for me, beauty honestly gets better with age.

So I guess beauty in a way for me means change.

‘My routine changes all the time. I’ve learned one of the keys for me and my skin is to keep things moving. I’ve realized how sensitive my skin is, and how dry it gets. So my main thing at the moment is keeping my skin hydrated as much as I can.’