walking upstream…
Sam Smith
Sam Smith emerged from the London scene as the featured voice on Disclosure's 2012 house single 'Latch' before their 2014 debut, In the Lonely Hour, turned aching, confessional balladry into global stardom. Smith pairs a high, gospel-tinged tenor with lyrics of heartbreak and longing, drawing openly on a lineage of soul and R&B divas they idolized growing up. Grammy- and Oscar-winning and one of the few openly non-binary artists at pop's top tier, Smith has moved between torch-song intimacy and dance-pop across records like The Thrill of It All and Gloria.
the sound in question
2014
Stay With MeSam Smith
walk the tributaries ↓
Whitney Houston1980s · R&B / Pop / Soul
Smith has repeatedly named Whitney Houston as a childhood idol, describing her as a singer they obsessed over as a kid and counting her among the greatest R&B voices; they have also performed a stripped-down cover of Houston's 'How Will I Know.' The debt surfaces as a taste for the big, controlled, gospel-rooted power-ballad — a voice held in reserve, then released into a soaring climax.
listen: upstream & here
1993
I Have NothingWhitney Houston
2014
Lay Me DownSam Smith
listen forPut Houston's 'I Have Nothing' next to Smith's 'Lay Me Down' — in both, a restrained verse gives way to a final chorus that opens into a church-scale vocal swell, the singer leaning into a long, held note as the arrangement lifts underneath.
Chaka Khan1970s · Funk / R&B / Disco
Smith has said they grew up listening to Chaka Khan alongside Mary J. Blige, and counts Khan among the divas whose vocal command shaped their own singing. You hear it in Smith's melismatic, soul-phrased delivery — the way a plain line gets bent and ornamented over a slow groove rather than sung straight.
listen: upstream & here
1975
Sweet ThingChaka Khan
2014
I'm Not the Only OneSam Smith
listen forCue Khan's tender, run-laced lead on 'Sweet Thing' against Smith's 'I'm Not the Only One' — notice how each singer decorates the ends of phrases with small gospel-soul melismas, letting the vocal ache float above a patient, mid-tempo backing.
Beyoncé2000s–2010s · R&B / Pop / Hip hop
Smith has cited Beyoncé as a source of inspiration and empowerment and, in interviews, singled out how much they return to her records. It reads as a taste for contemporary R&B balladry built on layered, choir-like vocal stacking and a slow, deliberate emotional build toward a full-throated chorus.
listen: upstream & here
2008
HaloBeyoncé
2017
Too Good at GoodbyesSam Smith
listen forPlay Beyoncé's 'Halo' next to Smith's 'Too Good at Goodbyes' — both stack backing vocals into a cushion under the lead and let the arrangement grow from a hushed opening into a gospel-inflected, wide-open final chorus.