I’m Not The Only One

It was one of the last tunes we actually did. When we did Stay With Me, Jimmy (Napes, producer) and I had a feeling the drums were just (about) coming through, which gave the song such an authentic feel. Then when we wrote I’m Not The Only One, he just played the piano and I felt right to have the drums behind. The two songs stay with me like a twin. The song is from the perspective of someone who is married and one of them is cheating and the other person knows it. I think when people first hear the song, it sounds like I am being horrible or mean to the person who is cheating. I want to make it clear, when we were writing we were actually looking at the person who was staying… as a bit of the muck.

I’ve Told You Now

We had such a battle with this tune with my label for various reasons. Because the demo was so amazing, we didn’t want to take away from it. We tried so many different things; we tried more production. At the end, we really simplified it and I am really, really happy with it. And the song is like probably four-five songs on the album, which are about a certain person who I loved and who didn’t love me back. And it captures the moment when you let it slip. That you love them.

Like I Can

I love it. For me it’s just like a really big pop song, which I hope everyone can sing and will enjoy singing. The idea behind it is almost pure jealousy. You are looking at someone you love and just thinking why, why are you just doing that. Nobody will love you the way I will. It’s sad, but the sound has got attitude and there is hope. I have been a very big fan of Oleta Adams’s Get Here, the way she lists all the ways her lover should get there. I was so attached to the song, I wanted to make it almost like a list of all these different people the person you love is being with and at the end you say, he will never love you like I can.

Life Support

This one shows my growth as a songwriter, I guess. The song feels like an experiment; it feels brave melodically.

With Lily Allen

Not In That Way

It’s the saddest song I’ve ever done. My manager said he loved it. The same with my mother. We released a little teaser and my mum rung me and said that she loves it…. but it just makes me so sad. And I apologise if it makes you too sad. But it had to go on the album. I have spent my whole life finding that one song that describes unrequited love. And I think I Can’t Make You Love Me (by Bonnie Raitt) definitely did. Not In That Way does the same thing. Whenever I am going to feel like that again, which I hope I don’t, I am just going to listen to this tune and hope everyone does that too.

Lay Me Down

It’s such an incredible song. Lay Me Down changed all of our lives. The song is a story that Jimmy said about his fiance… her grandparents’ death. The song is about death. I was thinking about my grandma who died. It has a morbid tone to it. We also tried to make it sound like a love song. First, I was not even sure of the song because it was so different from something I have ever done. But now looking back, how people react to it and the messages I get on Facebook, makes it the most special song I have ever done.

Restart

For me the 10 tracks on the album have a theme. It talks about loneliness, my situation when I was in love. But Restart for me is a breath of fresh air after listening to what is quite an intense album. I panic at times, because it may be too depressing, but it is what it is. Restart for me was the end of that relationship… just let me restart; recharge my batteries, because it feels so good to be finished.

Meet the man

Age: 22

Born: London

Sometimes dubbed: The male Adele

Hits: Stay With Me, Money On My Mind, I’m Not The Only One, Lay Me Down

Influences: Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

First lesson in music: He received vocal lessons once a week with jazz singer Joanna Eden. During his first lesson he sang Frank Sinatra’s Come Fly With Me and Judy Garland’s Get Happy.

Awards: MOBO Awards (2013 and 2014), BBC Sound of 2014, Q Awards (2014) and Young Hollywood Awards (2014).

Lily Allen connection: He is third cousin to Lily Allen.

Bonding with Bond: New York Post claims the 22-year-old has edged out Lana Del Rey and Rita Ora as the title track singer of Skyfall’s sequel. Next year’s Bond flick, the 24th in the franchise, will showcase Daniel Craig as 007 with director Sam Mendes calling the shots again.

Sexuality: This is what he told Fader in May. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’ve only been in unrequited relationships where people haven’t loved me back. I guess I’m a little bit attracted to that in a bad way. In The Lonely Hour is about a guy that I fell in love with last year, and he didn’t love me back. I think I’m over it now, but I was in a very dark place. I kept feeling lonely in the fact that I hadn’t felt love before. I’ve felt the bad things. And what’s a more powerful emotion: pain or happiness?”

Daisy Lowe: The singer has killed all claims that he is dating model Daisy Lowe. In February, the two walked the red carpet at the Brit Awards and then in April, Sam uploaded to his Instagram account a picture of Daisy in a black bra (above) in a Paris hotel room with the message: “I have fallen in love with this woman. No f****ng filter @daisylowe.” However, in an interview on Nova radio in May, he said: “No she’s not (my girlfriend). Daisy is one of my closest friends at the moment.”