Album review: Sam Smith, The Thrill Of It All

Sam Smith was not an obvious pop star in the making when he put out his debut album early in 2014. He was a shy and romantically inexperienced 21-year-old, who had at that point never been in a serious relationship. When I met him on the eve of the

record’s release, he was still sharing a house with friends in St John’s Wood London and seemed completely fazed by all the attention coming his way.