Sam Smith continues to tease their highly anticipated forthcoming album with the release of the project’s mesmerizing title track, “Gloria.”
Produced by Smith alongside Jimmy Napes and David Odlum, the “Too Good At Goodbyes” singer wrote the song while in lockdown during the pandemic before bringing on folk/blues musician Foy Vance to help add the final touches. Sam elevates the vocals on “Gloria” with the addition of local choir London Voices, recording the single at St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden in Essex — the church Smith attended as a child.
The chart-topper describes “Gloria” as “my queer love hymn, saying life is a song to Gloria, the thing I can’t put a word to. I don’t know if it’s nature or a feminine energy inside me that I’m setting free.”
“Gloria” is the latest track from Sam’s highly anticipated fourth studio album, Gloria, set to drop on January 27 via Capitol Records. They shared track “Gimme,” a clubby lover’s call with Jamaican reggae/rap hitmaker Koffee and Colombian/Canadian R&B-pop star Jessie Reyez, on January 11. “Gimme” earned its first UK play on BBC Radio 1 as the Hottest Record In The World, making a massive splash.
Smith describes the bold single as “filth!” adding, “I’m a sexual person, I like sex. It’s something I’m teaching myself to not be ashamed of. Me and Jessie were basically drunk, drinking whiskey in Jamaica, two in the morning, running around absolutely wasted, like two girlfriends having a laugh.”
The tune follows their chart-topping, Grammy-nominated hit “Unholy” featuring Kim Petras. The global megahit held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks, as well as the top spot on the UK Official Singles Chart for four weeks.
The track also climbed to the top of the Mediabase Top 40 Airplay chart, remained #1 on the Global Spotify chart for 29 consecutive weeks and topped Apple and Shazam’s worldwide tallies. With more than one billion combined global streams, “Unholy” earned the title of the sole pop collaboration from last year to be certified RIAA Platinum and one of three collaborations across all genres to achieve this honor.
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In support of their upcoming album, the multi-Platinum artist will hit the road for their first North American trek since 2018 on GLORIA The Tour. The 27-city run is set to kick off at FTX Arena in Miami, FL on July 25. Smith will take the stage at some of the country’s most iconic venues, including New York City’s Madison Square Garden and Inglewood, CA’s Kia Forum before wrapping up on September 14 in Cuidad de Mexico, MX. Jessie Reyez will join Smith as the tour’s special guest for all dates, excluding August 4.
2023 North American Tour Dates:
7/25 — Miami, FL — FTX Arena
7/26 — Orlando, FL — Amway Center
7/28 — Duluth, GA — Gas South Arena
7/29 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
8/1 — Raleigh, NC — PNC Arena
8/2 — Philadelphia, PA — Wells Fargo Center
8/4 — Washington, DC — Capital One Arena
8/5 — Boston, MA — TD Garden
8/8 — New York, NY — Madison Square Garden
8/11 — Toronto, ON — Scotiabank Arena
8/12 — Montréal, QC — Bell Centre
8/15 — Chicago, IL — United Center
8/16 — Saint Paul, MN — Xcel Energy Center
8/18 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena
8/19 — Salt Lake City, UT — Vivint Smart Home Arena
8/22 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena
8/23 — Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena
8/25 — Portland, OR — Veterans Memorial Coliseum
8/27 — Oakland, CA — Oakland Arena
8/28 — San Francisco, CA — Chase Center
8/31 — Inglewood, CA — Kia Forum
9/3 — Phoenix, AZ — Footprint Center
9/5 — Austin, TX — Moody Center
9/7 — Fort Worth, TX — Dickies Arena
9/8 — Houston, TX — Toyota Center
9/12 — Monterrey, MX — Arena Monterrey
9/14 — Cuidad de Mexico, MX — Palacio de los Deportes
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Fans can catch Smith on January 21 as they are set to make their third appearance on the “Saturday Night Live” stage as a musical guest.
