Artist You Should Know: Sam Smith

By

UK artist Sam Smith is officially making waves across the pond and is poised to be the next big pop breakout in the U.S.  The English soul singer is fresh off a stellar performance on last weekend's Saturday Night Live. ETonline caught up with the rising star at Capitol Records to talk about his debut album, In The Lonely Hour and what fans can expect.

"I've never been in a relationship before," he says of the inspiration for the album. "I spent my whole life listening to albums which spoke about the turmoil of relationships and I wanted to be a voice for people who haven't necessarily felt love in a good way."

Since his SNL debut, his single Stay With Me has climbed its way up the iTunes songs chart at No. 4 and In The Lonely Hour sits at No. 16 on the albums chart well in advance of the June 17th release.

But his recent success is far from his first big break. In January, the 21-year-old topped BBC's Sound of 2014 poll; and in February, he won the Critics' Choice Category at the annual Brit Awards. But it was as the featured vocalist on Latch, the 2012 breakthrough single from British house revivalists Disclosure, that Sam had his first hit.

"I was working in a bar when we wrote that song and even when it was released. And that song has completely changed our lives, all of us," he says of the successful collaboration.

Watch the full video above to find out whether Sam is making plans to join Disclosure for their Coachella set this month and for a look at his Stay With Me video.

You can pre-order his album In The Lonely Hour now on iTunes. And in case you missed him on SNL you can watch the full performance of Stay With Me below.