Sam Smith says they have “always” been non-binary, explaining that finding the language to describe their identity helped bring a new sense of freedom into their life and music.
Sam Smith is reflecting on their non-binary identity as they prepare to release their fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes. Speaking with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, the 34-year-old singer said their understanding of themselves did not suddenly begin when they publicly changed their pronouns, but instead came from finally having the words to describe something they had long felt.
In the interview, Smith said they had “always been non-binary” and added, “I just found the vocabulary for that” at around age 27. As People reports, Smith connected that period of self-discovery to the intense changes that followed the success of their 2014 debut album, In the Lonely Hour, including fame, industry expectations and the pressure to understand what they wanted to say as an artist.
Smith publicly came out as non-binary in 2019 and began using they/them pronouns that same year. Looking back now, they told Lowe there is “no more coming out for me now,” describing that feeling as freeing after years of navigating their identity in public while their career continued to grow on a global scale.
That sense of release also runs through Hazel Eyes, which arrives on August 21, 2026. Smith described the project as one shaped by love and a less restricted creative process, with longtime collaborator Simon Aldred playing a major role and fiancé Christian Cowan serving as an important personal inspiration behind the record.
The album follows 2023’s Gloria and finds Smith moving toward a more intimate singer-songwriter approach after the larger pop spectacle surrounding songs such as “Unholy.” Smith has also spoken about co-producing on the new project and leaning into a sound that draws from soul, folk, blues, R&B and country influences while keeping the writing centered on romance and emotional clarity.
Hazel Eyes is set to include 12 tracks, with “My Guy,” “To Be Free” and “Love Is a Stillness” among the songs already connected to the era. For Smith, the album appears to arrive at a point when personal identity, love and creative independence are no longer being treated as separate parts of their public life, but as pieces of the same story.
