Sam Smith is a British singer and songwriter born in London in 1992. He gained recognition after featuring on Disclosure's single "Latch" in 2012. His debut album "In the Lonely Hour" was released in 2014 to critical acclaim, winning four Grammys including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for "Stay with Me". Smith cites influences like Aretha Franklin and draws from soul, R&B, and pop genres in his music known for emotional lyrics about relationships and heartbreak. He has found success on social media platforms where he connects with fans.

1. Star Construction: Sam Smith
By Aminatta Sylva 13H

2. Biography
Sam Smith was born Samuel Frederick Smith on
19th May in London, England to parents
Frederick Smith and Kate Cassidy. Kate Cassidy
was banker making over a million dollars a year
when she was fired in 2009- after her company
claimed she was spending too much time
working on her son's career. He is Lilly Allen’s
third cousin.
He was a student at Youth Music Theatre UK,
starring in musical “Oh! Carol” in 2007.
He was taught singing and song-writing by jazz
singer Joanna Eden. He went to St Mary’s
Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, East
Hertfordshire. He was a member of the
Bishop's Stortford Junior Operatics (now
Bishops Stortford Musical Theatre Society) and
the successful Cantate Youth Choir.

3. Sam Smith and music 2012-2013
Sam Smith and Disclosure teamed up on the UK
Garage track ‘Latch’ in 2012 and the single
reached #11 on the UK singles charts
Sam Smith then released his first single from his
debut album ‘Lay Me Down’ in February 2013.
Sam Smith has also featured on Naughty Boy’s
single ‘La la la’ which was released on May 2013
and peaked at number 1 on the UK Singles chart.
The same year he released his EP Nirvana, with
four tracks, the EP also included the acoustic
version of ‘Latch’. Later that year, Sam Smith
released a single that featured Disclosure and
Nile Rodgers, titled ‘Together’, it was released on
November as the only single from Settle: The
Remixes.

4. Sam Smith and music 2014- present
• Sam Smith released a second single from his
album In The Lonely Hour, ‘Money On My
Mind’ in February 2014.
• Sam Smith then released his debut album In
The Lonely Hour on 26th May 2014, through
Capitol Records, the same record company
that Lana Del Rey is working at.
• He describes the album as "all about
unrequited love" because he has never been
loved back by any of his love interests.
A live version of the album track ‘Make It To Me’ was
made free on Amazon Music and iTunes for download as
part of the promotion for his album.
He appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show, in which he sang
‘Latch’ with Disclosure on January 2014.
In June 2014, Sam Smith first appeared on the cover of
The Fader in its 92nd issue. In August 2014, Smith's single
"Stay with Me" was named Variance Magazine's Song of
Summer.

5. Music Ventures
First EP released on 24 July 2013,
some of the tracks were featured
on his debut album In The Lonely
Hour.
Nirvana peaked at number 97 on
the UK Singles Chart in October
2013.
Genre: R&B
The album includes the hit singles "Money on
My Mind" and Stay with Me, both of which
were number one in the UK; and the later
becoming a hit worldwide, peaking in the top
ten in over ten countries, including the United
States.
Genres: R&B, Pop and Soul

6. Musical Style and Influences
• For most of his teenage years, Sam Smith
balanced study with music by soaking in
the raw and passionate approach to
performance exemplified by his favourite
artists, such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie
Wonder, and Chaka Khan.
Sam Smith was influenced by these artists to
progress towards the R&B/Soul genre,
through his falsetto voice and his song-writing
skills.

7. Appearance and Style
Sam Smith is known for his comb back 1950s
haircut, as well as long coat/trench coats, shirts with
metal collars and formal shoes.
This is the way that he dresses up as most of the
time. A big part of Sam’s identity is the silver cross
earrings he’s never usually seen without
. He believes that they are his “signature”. In an interview
with MTV Sam Smith stated that ‘his shirt is American
Apparel and his shoes are Jimmy Choo.’ He believes that
clothes “affect[s] your mood, performance, everything.”
Sam Smith on makeup- “All men wear make-up, it’s 2014, it’s fine. I personally
have rosacea, but my make-up artist is great at sorting it out.

8. Target Audience
• Sam Smith is targeted at young adults and people,
because of the content of the songs; his songs have
meaningful lyrics that younger listeners may not
understand. His music could be judged as easy-listening,
due to the tempo/instruments involved in
the composition.
Most of his music, often have a message at the
end of it that makes the listener really think
about song, this could include, relationship
breakdowns, sadness & loneliness and
relationships. Teens may use his music as a
tool to solving their personal problems.

9. Target Audience
Sam Smith also appeals to the older
generation, because of his musical style and
how it can go from being new contemporary,
to old school soul music that may appeal to his
mature target audience.
Sam Smith came out as gay, earlier this year, which
increases his target audience from majority being
women, to an increased population of male fans.
These male fans may just like him for him music, but
others may look at him as an advocate for LGBT
teenagers.

10. Social networking websites
• Many artists that are well established can be
found on various social networking websites.
• This is free promotion for their music.
• Also allows fans to connect with the star; this
increases the popularity of the star, if they are
socializing with fans, rather than just ignoring
fans.
• Fans get an insight into the personal life of
their favourite star.

11. Facebook
We can tell that Sam Smith is popular on Facebook,
because he has over a million likes world wide. Liking the
profile of an artist, is like subscribing to hear their latest
news, music, tour dates as well as media. Fans still get
that intimate and personal feel when he posts something.
This is a recent snapshot of what
Sam posts to his fans on his
Facebook page. As we can see,
he uses it to show new projects
that he working on. The post
seems very colloquial, so fans
may think that it is genuinely
him.

12. Twitter and Instagram
Sam is also very popular on
Twitter and uses it to
promote his music, as well
as thanking everyone that
has helped him achieved
what he has- fans.
Sam is also popular on IG, it
gives fans a more personal,
day-to-day follow up on what
Sam is up to, doing or who he
is with.

13. YouTube
Sam Smith’s YouTube
channel gives us
access to his music
videos interviews and
live recording sessions

14. Official Website
His official website gives us
information on tour dates and access
to official new material such as music
videos.