Smith remembers a “crazy journey of trial and error, bad advice and good advice” that forced them to constantly reconfigure their life around their skyrocketing career. This Sam Smith, who laughs easily and jokes about balancing exercise with their love of fast food (“It helps a little bit to move, but so does McDonald’s”), seems a world away from the Smith of a decade ago, who shot to international superstardom with one of the most singular voices in modern pop music - one most often compared to Adele’s.īut along the way, Sam Smith, Actual Person got a little overshadowed by Sam Smith, The Voice. “I can’t express how incredible I feel every day,” they say with a wide grin.

Sitting on a turquoise couch inside of it, sporting a Balenciaga T-shirt with two gender-neutral stick figures holding hands, Smith - who came out publicly as nonbinary in late 2019 - radiates a newfound sense of comfort: no more hiding, no more questioning, just living life on their terms. Steps away from The Fat Fairy, there’s a building dedicated to a different sort of celebration: a shed-turned-studio space, where Smith has spent the last two years making new music that, as they put it, finally reflects their truest self. After working in London through the week, this is where Smith spends weekends - so it’s nice to have, as they put it, “my own, private queer club in the middle of the countryside.” But I just think The Fat Fairy beat that.”Ī custom-designed spill mat on the bar bears that name, and Smith excitedly rattles off a to-do list for further furnishing: getting a working beer tap, installing wood flooring matching the rustic walls, as a “proper pub” would. “My sister actually wanted to call it The Tadpole, which I think is a fabulous name for a bar.

“I was like, ‘What do we call the pub?’ - I know it’s not really a pub, it’s a little barn,” Smith says, taking in the scene.

Comin out strong future mp3