Sweet revenge! Sam Smith took home four Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year and Best New Artist) on Sunday, Feb. 8 for his debut studio album In the Lonely Hour — and couldn’t help but thank the one person who inspired the celebrated album, a beautifully anguished exploration of unrequited love. In a moment that was welcomed by cheers and applause, the British sensation gave a shout-out to an unnamed man after winning Record of the Year.
“This is the best night of my life,” Smith, 22, said to the packed Staples Center in L.A. “Just a quick one — I want to thank the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys!”
The “Stay With Me” singer also won in the Best Pop Vocal Album category. “I just want to say that before I made this record, I was doing everything to try to get my music heard,” Smith said while accepting the award. “I tried to lose weight and I was making awful music. It was only until I started to be myself that the music flowed and the people started to listen.”
Smith’s stellar night is similar to that of fellow Brit Adele. In 2012, the “Rolling in the Deep” megastar won six Grammys for her torch-song-filled second studio album, 21, which she composed about a painful breakup.
Backstage, Smith further opened up about the man that has remained nameless. “I haven’t had time [to call him] because I’m here,” he said in the pressroom. “I’ll be seeing him soon so I can let him touch the Grammys once!” He added: “‘Stay With Me’ is a very simple song in terms of melody, but in terms of lyrics it’s not. I really feel like that’s the thing that is connected.”
Smith previously opened up about his heartbreak during an interview with Fader magazine in May 2014. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’ve only been in unrequited relationships where people haven’t loved me back,” he explained at the time.
“I guess I’m a little bit attracted to that in a bad way,” he continued. “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.” (Smith split from new boyfriend, model Jonathan Zeizel, last month after a brief romance.)
The “I’m Not the Only One” singer also brought some extra soul with him on stage Sunday night when he performed “Stay With Me” with Mary J. Blige. The duo previously sang together at New York’s Apollo Theater in June 2014 and at London’s Somerset House the following month.
Watch Smith’s Record of the Year acceptance speech above!
