The past few weeks for Sam Smith have been nothing short of incredible.
Not only did he bag himself the highly sought after Critic’s Choice award at last week’s Brit Awards, he also gained his first solo number one single with Money On My Mind.
Of all the gigs he is yet to do this show at The Ritz is perhaps one of the most important. Here he had to prove he is the next big act in British pop and that he is worthy of his successes so far.
Opening with title track of his début EP, Nirvana set the standard for Sam’s set – which turned out to be a stunning and rich vocal experience.
Not once did his vocals let up even after admitting that the previous day he had a camera down his throat due to waking up with a squeak in his voice.
But it seemed to be a fast recovery as he tackled songs from his upcoming début album, In the Lonely Hour with panache.
If the songs are anything like the way Sam performed them, it’s an album that is bound to send quakes through the charts.
He performed upcoming album tracks such as Leave Your Lover, Restart and the emotional Not In That Way – a track Sam claims defines his album.
EMOTIONAL: Sam Smith sang tracks from his upcoming album
The album Not In That Way, which tells a tale of unrequited love, is due for release in May which meant that most of the songs didn’t allow sing-a-long moments from the crowd.
However he saved his hit Disclosure collaboration Latch, his number one smash Money On My Mind and a fitting cover of fellow Brit Award-winning act Arctic Monkey’s Do You Wanna Know? towards the end so fans could join in.
Smith has already accomplished so much already in his fledging career, even topping the BBC Sound Of 2014 list this year.
His massive hit song with Naughty Boy warranted the biggest sing-a-long of the night with the catchy hook-laden ‘La La La’ proving popular and spurring his audience on for a riotous finale.
With an encore consisting of a stripped back version of Lay Me Down and new track Stay With Me, this sensational vocal master demonstrated that it’s the simplest of songwriting that can be most effective.
Leave Sam alone on a stage and he could fill the emptiest of rooms with his magnificent sound.
With a soulful voice that never falters, Sam Smith proved just how much he justifies the amount of success and attention he has achieved so far.
This show gave lucky Manchester fans a tantalising glimpse of what will be a stunning début album.
Featured image courtesy of the ITV via YouTube, with thanks
