Brinley Hineman // Contributing writer
Sam Smith let his fans in on a big surprise at the beginning of October: he would be re-releasing his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in a double-disc format complete with new songs.
Smith announced the release of this album, The Lonely Hour: The Drowning Shadows Edition, via Twitter to fans on October 2. He also announced the release of a new song, “Drowning Shadows,” which is filled with suffocating regret and sadness.
In a series of tweets, Smith states, “This album, this journey has changed my life.” Like many artists, Smith uses his music to experience emotional growth and to reflect certain periods of his life. This is especially prevalent in In the Lonely Hour. The entire album is a story of heartbreak presented through stripped-back, emotionally charged songs.
“My debut album is just a diary from a lonely 21-year old,” Smith stated in a previous interview with Digital Spy, discussing the pains of unrequited love and his journey to recovering from heartbreak. He went on to state, “Hopefully I’ll be happier soon and I’ll write about that.”
There’s no question why Smith’s songs are so well received. Not only do they provide unquestionable talent, with his smooth voice and catchy music, but the 23-year-old singer also writes his own music.
Since the release of his debut album in 2014, Smith has blown up. He has an unmovable and devoted following and has quickly become one of America’s favorite artists.
This doesn’t compare to his success in the U.K. At the mere age of 21, Smith appeared as featured vocalist on “Latch,” a track by electronic duo Disclosure. In no time at all, the song shot to number 11 in the U.K.
In the Lonely Hour topped not only album charts in the U.K. but also the United States. His album also topped charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. Smith has created quite the name for himself in his short career and is revered all over the world — quite the feat for someone in his mid-twenties.
The album’s second disc contains covers of Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. Fans can find this highly anticipated album re-release on either iTunes or Spotify now.
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To contact Lifestyles Editor Rhiannon Gilbert, email lifestyles@mtusidelines.com.
The re-release of Sam Smith’s “In the Lonely Hour” album says a lot about this young man’s popularity. Sam Smith has become an enormous star over the past year and the re-release solidifies that his album sees it. The idea of re-releases only happens when the label sees potential to make additional money off a project. They usually reissue albums from years and years ago to introduce a new generation to an older project and reintroduce older fans to projects they once enjoyed, but to re-release an album that came out only a year ago shows that “In the Lonely Hour” has created a wave that Smith’s label intends to ride for quite some time. Smith’s album is now platinum and often times when a pop star reaches such popularity, their fans are willing to pay whatever they can for something new from that artists. The re-release usually consists off the same album with a couple new tracks in a shiny new package to make it seem like it’s something brand new and that is exactly what Smith and his label has done. With Smith’s growing fan base, I am not surprised by the re-release and I definitely expect it to do numbers.
Sam Smith has been one of my favorite artist this year. Although his songs are a bit sad and really gets you thinking about how much you really love your spouse, I think its great road trip music and even shower songs. My roommate, I think, is one of his biggest fans. He was the one who actually started me off listening to Sam Smith. Every day, every morning I swear he never missed a beat when it comes to playing his music, maybe a missed note when he sung the songs but that’s really just about it. Sam Smith has really grew on me, and it kind of brought my emotional side out. I can honestly say I respect him as a person, because not only listening to his music watching his interviews, bio, and etc. I’ve really learned how he grew into the person he is today. I still think he’s a weird guy, but I guess that’s what makes him Sam Smith. His album shows his true talents with all the notes he can do, and different levels of octave’s he’s got. Seeing the many sells he’s got after his release shows that he impacted a lot more people than expected.
I really enjoyed this article, mainly because there are some people giving Sam Smith a little bit of backlash for re-releasing an album. As a new artist there seems to be more pressure when releasing any music, whether it be an EP or an album. Sam Smith broke the charts with his first single, “Stay With Me” and was criticized for the ongoing debate of whether or not it sounded similar or he copied Tom Petty’s song “Won’t Back Down.” Needless to say, Sam Smith had a rocky, but ironically, successful start. He was able to make a come back with releasing “Lay Me Down” and “I’m Not the Only One.” Teaming up with Naughty Boy with “La La La,” let him express himself as a more diverse artist, rather than just be cornered as a power ballad singer. With the unwanted attention and the longing fame, he’s already made an impressive mark on popular music today. With re-releasing his first album, not only did he up his sales on that album, but he made is a more diverse piece of work. Covering Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston allowed him to become a more approachable artist to an older crowd and a more bluesy like crowd. However, there are some people who say that they wanted to hear new stuff and a new album- almost like this came off as a copout or laziness. I would disagree whole-heartedly; this was a very smart time-management decision. It allowed his first album to resonate more with a wider audience. I think that this was just a build up for when he does decide to release a new album.