Out British singer Sam Smith closed BBC
Radio 1's Live Lounge Month on Friday with covers of Alicia Keys' Try
Sleeping with a Broken Heart and George Michael's Father
Figure.
“They asked me to pick two covers and
I picked the Alicia Keys one. For this final cover I wanted to pick
my favorite artist of all time, and that is the incredible George
Michael. I hope you like this guys,” Smith
said in introducing his rendition of Father Figure.
As Smith's cover segued into a bridge
from Michael's Faith, he encouraged the crowd to clap along.
“Come on Radio 1, let's celebrate George right now,” he said.
Michael, who was also gay, died last
year on Christmas Day from natural causes.
Smith also performed his new single Too
Good At Goodbyes, which he released in early September and is
expected to be on his sophomore album. Smith's 2014 album In The
Lonely Hour was widely praised.
In releasing Too Good At Goodbyes,
Smith said that fans won't have long to wait for his follow up album,
which he promised would arrive before Christmas.
(Related: Sam
Smith says he's “insanely single” as he drops new single Too
Good At Goodbyes.)