Sam Smith

Stay With Me took about 40 minutes to write. Smith co-wrote it with Jimmy Napes for their debut In the Lonely Hour (2014), an album built almost entirely around being in love with someone who didn't love them back. The Disclosure collaboration 'Latch' had gotten them a record deal two years earlier. 'Stay With Me' did the rest: UK #1, US #2, four Grammys in 2015. At the ceremony, Smith thanked the man who broke their heart: 'Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys.'

'Unholy' with Kim Petras hit number one in the US in 2022, Smith's first chart-topper there, and the Grammy it won in 2023 made them the first openly non-binary artist to win a Grammy. Gloria followed and the public perception got thorny. It debuted at number seven in the US with 39,000 first-week units, their lowest opening to date. Grammy and BRIT Awards performances generated more coverage for devil imagery than for the music. A vocal cord injury cancelled multiple tour dates mid-run. The controversy has consistently outrun the songs.

Smith is the third cousin of both Lily Allen and Alfie Allen, which sounds made up but isn't. Their mother was fired from her job for spending company time managing their early career, which kicked off at 12 with the first of six managers who promised fame and didn't deliver. Smith has said they underwent liposuction at 13 after being bullied for having breasts. The actual upbringing was Catholic school, village choir, junior operatics. That's a long way from performing devil imagery at the Grammys, which is presumably the point.