Sam Smith Defeats Critics As New Album Gloria Hits No. 1

Sam Smith scored a third Number 1 album on Friday when his latest record, Gloria, topped the UK charts.

The 30-year-old singer-songwriter, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was left ‘overwhelmed’ by the success of the album, which dropped just a week earlier on January 27.

Talking with official graphicsshared: ‘Thank you to all my amazing sailors who have made Gloria the #1 album this week.

I am truly overwhelmed and could not have done this without you. I love you all, this is for us.’

And the nod comes amid a wave of controversy surrounding Sam and the raunchy music video for Not Here To Make Friends, a song featured on the album.

Grateful: Taking to Instagram after the success, Sam wrote: ‘Thank you sailors. This is for us x’

The video was the subject of backlash from critics, as many called for it to be age restricted on platforms like YouTube due to its controversial content.

Sam dances alongside a host of performers wearing corsets, suspenders, and nipple tassels during the video in question.

In other scenes, the dancers are filmed slowly pushing up on a bed wearing only black leather underwear and then encircling the performer, dancing provocatively.

The video caused many to wonder if it was too much, as some he said the video should be kept out of the reach of children and is similar to a Playboy photo shoot.

One tweeted: ‘It’s vulgar… Sam Smith has a great voice but his video is offensive. I certainly don’t want my son to see it…’

‘Less is more Sam. How this can be seen as ’empowerment’ is beyond me. A sign of these crazy times if anyone thinks that’s a good thing!

while others were He’s quick to point out how global artists like Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax have released equally edgy videos. VirginIt’s like a prayer Miley Cyrus‘ Wrecking Ball and Queen’s I Want to Break Free.

Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to discuss the music video and defend the singer, radio presenter Shivani Dave also highlighted how past stars like Madonna would not have received similar criticism had they released such a video.

Backlash: And the nod comes amid a wave of controversy surrounding Sam and the raunchy music video for Not Here To Make Friends, a song featured on the album.

Bold: Sam dances alongside a host of performers wearing corsets, suspenders, and nipple tassels during the video in question.

They said, ‘Miley Cyrus has done this, Nicki Minaj has done this, a lot of people have done this.

“I think the difference here is that Sam Smith was assigned male at birth and we’re not used to seeing people who are assigned male at birth dancing around in lingerie and corsets and things like that.”

They added: ‘Madonna has done that. There were some people who said it was over sexualization and it wasn’t on TV in the morning; people didn’t debate it in the same way.

Journalist Alex Phillips called the music video “unhealthy” for society, adding that it amounted to “extreme extreme pornography” in parts.

She told presenters Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley: ‘You had to edit a lot of that video to get it on TV.

“The point is that teenagers and young people are the audience that is seeing this stuff and it doesn’t come with a block. They are fully available on YouTube and TikTok.’

Either way, the chart success is another win for the star, who also hit No. 1 with 2014’s record-breaking In The Lonely Hour and 2017’s The Thrill Of It All, while 2020’s Love Goes hit a respectable number. 2.

While Gloria also scored No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts, that’s a close second to Sam on the Down Under Charts.

And another: Sam also scored No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA chart (pictured)