THE CROONER gushes about performing in faraway Manila.Jasper Lucena for MMI Live
Three years ago, Sam Smith fell in love with someone who didn’t love him back. The only way he could go through it, he said, was to express himself through music. And from that “incredibly sad” place he was holed in, the British soul singer wrote “In the Lonely Hour”—his award-winning debut record that encapsulated his unrequited affection and longing.
But recently, standing before thousands of screaming fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Smith declared that he was over that person, and that performing some of his songs didn’t hurt him as much as they did before. “I’m happier these days,” he said, “which is amazing.”
While he could now sing the elegant and poignant ballad “Lay Me Down”—his album’s “heart and soul”—with a tinge of smile, the 23-year-old music artist’s delivery still cut like a shard of glass.
The song began softly, with Smith singing the verses as if whispering to himself, the microphone picking up his every draw of breath. And as the music swelled into the chorus, his vocals took full command. His belted notes were rich and raspy—and seamlessly connected to a piercing falsetto.
His timbre was arresting, with a quiver that, at times, made him sound like he was on the verge of crying.
“Can I lay by your side / Next to you…,” Smith, gently swaying from side to side, crooned, as everyone sang each word with him—the kind of sight a singer hopes and lives for. “I can’t explain how amazing it is to come to a place that’s so far away from home, and have a room this big!”
Much of his repertoire was composed of retro soul-inflected tunes that delved on heartache and its many permutations: “I’m Not the Only One,” a midtempo lament about an unfaithful lover; “Stay with Me,” an anthem made rousing by Smith’s layered background vocals that evoked a surging gospel choir; and “Make it To Me,” in which the singer pleads to someone to return to him.
“The album signifies me being me. It’s a diary,” related the four-time Grammy winner, who had to reschedule this concert (mounted by MMI Live) from May to late November, because he needed to undergo surgery to repair his hemorrhaged vocal cords.
Smith carried himself onstage with the unflappable poise required of him to effectively put across the story behind the songs. But every so often, he broke the balladry with some good ol’ funk that had him doing a little choreography with his backup singers.
Disco vibe
Fans clapped as Smith sang the funky “Together” and “Restart,” which exuded a sprightly ’70s-disco vibe. And for added variety to his set whose content was culled from his sole record, he turned such classic hits as “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” “Finally” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” into his own.
Smith likewise sang an acoustic version of “Latch,” to which he owes a good chunk of the success he’s enjoying right now. After being featured as a guest artist in the synth-pop song—composed by the electronic music duo, Disclosure—Smith seeped into mainstream consciousness in 2012.
Two years later, the singer-songwriter dropped “In the Lonely Hour,” which finally catapulted him into stardom, and took him on a journey around the world. “One of the most magical things about what I do is getting the opportunity to meet and talk to you face to face,” he said.
apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph