Smith echoed these sentiments in a Facebook post accompanying the video’s release. “I’m walking in, I’m going, ‘Why? Why are a man and a man not allowed to get married in this room?’ Because it’s the most natural thing.”
“Going to the church today, it’s like, ‘This is the first time we’ve let people with big noses in.’ That’s the equivalent to me,” Smith adds. 'Silence of the Lambs': The Complete Buffalo Bill Story
In 2019 Smith announced a nonbinary identity and tweeted that “my pronouns are they/them.Black Sabbath on the Making of 'Vol. The song “Him,” a plea for acceptance of Smith’s love for a man, was especially acclaimed. Smith’s second studio album, The Thrill of It All, was released in late 2017 and won both popular and critical praise. The singer expressed regret for the gaffe afterward and took a brief break from the spotlight. During the acceptance speech, Smith misquoted an interview with actor Ian McKellen, incorrectly implying that Smith was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar. Also in 2015 Smith sang “Writing’s on the Wall,” which Smith wrote with Jimmy Napes, for the James Bond film Spectre the duo later won an Academy Award for best original song. The revelation in early 2015 that the singer had settled out of court with musician Tom Petty over melodic similarities between “Stay with Me” and Petty’s 1989 single “I Won’t Back Down” was tempered by a statement from the rocker expressing goodwill toward Smith and praising the quickness with which the situation was corrected. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. At the 2015 Grammy Awards, In the Lonely Hour was named best pop vocal album, and “Stay with Me” was awarded record of the year and song of the year. The young vocalist steadily accrued accolades for dulcet stylings, earning comparisons to crooners ranging from Frank Sinatra to Adele. Those themes defined In the Lonely Hour, an album that Smith, who was homosexual, had composed in the wake of a romantic rejection by a heterosexual man. Smith cited the influences of singers such as Houston and Aretha Franklin, who both propelled their powerful, soaring voices to the high end of their registers as they evoked love and loss. The breakout single from In the Lonely Hour, “ Stay with Me,” a keening falsetto ballad that wistfully implores a one-night stand for affection, became a radio staple following its release in 2014. Smith’s vocals were also featured on the propulsive electronica track “La La La” (2013), by producer Naughty Boy. By early 2013 the singer had released “Lay Me Down,” the first single from Smith’s debut album, In the Lonely Hour. The collaboration landed Smith a record deal. That recording was released in 2012 and emerged as a hit. The first big break came when Smith teamed with house duo Disclosure on the track “Latch,” which featured Smith’s liquid falsetto vocals astride an effervescent electronic beat.