Sam Smith‘s rise to global stardom is a pop star story that reflects the strides made in gay acceptance. It’s impossible to imagine Elton John, Ricky Martin, Boy George or George Michael becoming the iconic singers they are if they’d come out from the start of their careers.
Sam, who we still have to keep reminding ourselves is only 22, has made no secret of the fact that the object of his heartache on his debut album In The Lonely Hour is a man. And yet, there are still teen girls flocking his sold out arena shows screaming their faces off. The radio plays him constantly. And record sales haven’t been anything to laugh at.
But that doesn’t mean the choice to break out as a gay artist was the obvious one. Sam recently told The Telegraph that though he, “came out as a gay man at a very, very young age,” doing so in the music industry was a calculated risk. “We all had that reservation before the record,” he admits. “Past gay artists, things have happened to them that haven’t been great. All I can say is I’m so unbelievably surprised and happy at how far the world has come, because there have been no issues.”
As for how he’s doing with all that love sickness?
“Obviously I want to fall in love and stuff, but I don’t yearn for it every day like I used to. It sounds so cheesy but my fans have completely filled that hole.”
Tookietookie123
I wouldn’t blame him for being hesitant, hell, I was hesitant to come out to my family, I can’t imagine how it’d be coming out to the entire world. Props to you Sam, you’re a brave guy for what you did, and if anyone else in the comment says otherwise, they’re idiots. I’ve seen so many people get angry at celebrities for coming out “too late” and it has always irritated me, as if it’s not their choice when to come out at all. It’s no one’s business but that person themselves.
Evji108
His fans fill his hole? Seriously?
jason smeds
The pop music business is VERY conservative. It won’t accept openly gay male performers unless there are strict conditions placed on them. In Sam Smith’s case, the condition is that he remain asexual. Adam Lambert found out the hard way that if a gay man attempts to be sexual in the pop music field, he’s banished.
It’s interesting that the same pop music business that rejects sexual gay men is quite willing to accept women who blur the lines between gay and straight in their sexualized acts. Look at Madonna, look at Britney, look at Katy Perry. These women have all been hugely successful at the commercial level and have been widely accepted for their lesbian imagery, even if it’s totally fake.
You’ll never see a male Madonna or a male Britney with the same level of commercial success that these women had. That’s because there’s a double standard. Women are hugely responsible for the double standard. They use it to oppress male homosexuality.
nf0603
@jason smeds: let’s be honest, Adam’s career didn’t get bigger because he was a novelty artist. He professed to be this daring glam rocker, a modern Bowie if you will, yet his music was generic top 40 that any pop star could do. He lacked the edge in his music to go along with his image. He went on and on about being a “rock god” even though musically he was as far removed from rock music as Katy Perry is. It wasn’t being gay that doomed him as much as that the music didn’t live up to the image he was projecting.
I’m not 100% sold on Sam, he kind of reminds me of a male Adele holding people over until the real deal comes back with a new album, but I do love that he came out at the start of his career, after his singles were climbing the chart and that it didn’t really do any harm whatsoever. He has more genuine talent than Adam, someone who sold an image about being so radically different yet his music was just as generic as anything on top 40 radio.
alterego1980
@nf0603: While I agree with you about Lambert’s overall talents, you must admit that it was his gay kiss and “over-sexualized” performance on the Grammys(?) that got his performance cancelled the following week on Good Morning America. The general tone on Adam Lambert was that he was getting his 15 minutes of fame and he was cool and people were along for the ride. And the gay kiss/performance cut all that short and prevented him from getting some other opportunities. He overestimated his audience.
But as it is, for every gay media casualty who pushes suburbia’s comfort level, it paves the way for someone else down the road. And here we are with openly gay Sam.
nf0603
@alterego1980: I dunno if I agree that the kiss ruined him though. That was in late 2009 and “Whatdya Want From Me” became a big hit in early/spring 2010, a song written by Pink that sounds like a typical Pink song. I think that he projected himself about being a modern day version of a Bowie, Mercury or Prince, but completely forgot that underneath the flamboyance and flashy showmanship, those artists were genuinely talented and gifted and the image was just an added bonus, not THE only selling point. Adam had his biggest hit after that performance, and he also had another minor top 40 hit with “If I Had You”, I think what doomed him in the long run was that the novelty of this flamboyant guy wearing eyeliner wore off when he musically didn’t have anything to separate him from the pack.
Besides Sam, Frank Ocean is another artist who came out on the onset of his career and it didn’t really harm him in any shape or form. Like Sam Smith, Ocean is seen as a unique and individual talent of his own and people could overlook “the gay thing” when he releases an album like Channel Orange that was universally acclaimed.
jason smeds
Britney and Madonna get applauded because they kissed each other at the MTV Music Awards in 2002. Adam Lambert got censored by ABC because he kissed a guy on stage. See the double standard?
When are you guys going to realize that women are being given special privileges over us men? Women are the biggest threat to male homosexuality.