Grammy winner Sam Smith's tell-all songs inspired by their 'emotional' father
Sam Smith - who won the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy along with Kim Petras for their single 'Unholy' - says their upbringing with their "emotional" dad makes it easy for them to be so open on their songs.
Sam Smith says it's easy for them share their feelings in their songs because their dad is a "very emotional" man.
The 30-year-old singer became a global music star thanks to the raw tracks on their first two albums, 2014's 'In The Lonely Hour' and 2017's 'The Thrill of It All'.
But Sam insists it has never been a challenge to be so open in their lyrics because his father Frederick - who stayed at home and raised his family while his wife Kate went to work as a broker - is such a beautiful and sensitive man.
Speaking to CBC Radio, he said: "You’d have to go back to my upbringing to understand why it’s easier for me. My dad is very emotional, my mum worked and my dad stayed at home. My dad cries, my dad feels all the emotions, and he’s open about his emotions. Me and my family it’s quite wild how we speak to each other, it’s very vulnerable and sensitive."
Sam admits they found it harder to convey feelings like anger and joy in the songs on their new LP 'Gloria' because they had never attempted it before.
The 'Stay With Me' hitmaker said: "Other feelings like anger and opinions, like the way I’ve put them across in 'Gloria', they’ve always been quite scary to me.
“I think as a queer person to lean into the joy can feel quite radical, sometimes. What was scary was the way I moved my body when I’m joyful, or the way that I dance, it felt like doing that in front of thousands of people was always petrifying to me. I can do it in clubs, I can do it with my family, I can do it with boyfriends, stuff like that, but I guess there was always a little bit of shame about the way I moved my body when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older I look for happiness.”
At the Grammy Awards on Sunday night (05.02.23) Sam and Kim Petras accepted the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance prize for their hit single 'Unholy' and their astonishing performance of the track was introduced by Queen of Pop Madonna who praised the pair for being "fearless".
She said: "Are you ready for a little controversy? Come on people, let's make some noise. Y'all are going to sleep over here.
"So, here's what I've learned after four decades in music — if they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative or dangerous, you're definitely on to something.
"I'm here to give thanks to all the rebels out there forging a new path and taking the heat for all of it. You guys need to know — all you troublemakers out there — you need to know that your fearlessness doesn't go unnoticed. You are seen, you are heard; and most of all, you are appreciated.
"So now, speaking of controversy, it gives me great pleasure to introduce two incredibly talented artists who have risen above the noise, the doubt, the critics; into something beautifully unholy. Here are two Grammy Award winners, Sam Smith and Kim Petras."
