In a new interview, out British
singer-songwriter Sam Smith discussed their sexuality and music.
In March, Smith, who identifies as
non-binary, said that they were working on their fourth studio album.
“This next record is different and
there may be things you will be surprised to hear, but I feel so
lucky to know that in your hands my work is safe,” Smith said in a
letter to fans.
Speaking with men's glossy GQ,
Smith – whose latest single with Kim Petras, “Unholly,”
launched at number 1 on the Billboard Global charts – said that
they felt “a bit trapped” dressing up in male clothing at the
start of their career.
“This is what I think people don't
understand: That the first five years of my career, I almost felt
like I was a woman, at times, dressing up in male clothing,” Smith
said. “It didn't feel like I was regressing in any way. It just
felt like I was trying new things out. That's when I realized that I
felt a bit trapped. Like, 'Oh, wow, people think this is who I am and
what I've always been.'”
“I’ve always felt queer. I’ve
always felt gender non-conforming. And I’ve always felt non-binary
trans. My whole life. And it wasn’t until I had to sit in
interviews every day and tell people my story again and again and
again that I realized this narrative that was being created was only
a small fraction of who I was,” they said.
Smith added that their songs have “always
been queer.”
“The subject matter of my songs [has]
always been about men I’ve been in love with. They’ve always been
queer. And I don’t enjoy the fact that to be queer, it has to be
dance music,” Smith said. “I think queer music can be country, it
can be folk, it can be jazz, it can be anything.”