http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/22-things-we-learned-hanging-out-with-sam-smith-20150204?page=3
The following are extracts from the interview which I think could be relevant when I do my visual essay on the Sam Smith video Lay Me Down.
1. He wasn't afraid to speak up for equality at his Catholic school. - "From what I can remember, they believe that you can be homosexual, but you just can't practice it, which is ridiculous," he says. "I would just say, 'I am proof that it's genetic. It has to be, because it wasn't a choice.' And that's it. That's my only argument, you know? You love who you love, and I can't help that I like guys."
2. He's not sure he ever wants to get married. - "My views on marriage actually don't come from what's going on in the gay community. They actually come from my mom and dad splitting up," Smith admits. "I'm a bit unsure as to whether I want to [get married]. I don't understand why you have to wear a wedding ring to warn people off. You should be able to be faithful to that person without anything on your body to show that you are with someone. You know what I mean? [But] I'm a 22-year-old boy, I have no idea what I want yet. In terms of marriage, I change my mind every week. I've changed my mind every week on what my type is. I change it all the time. But it depends on the person I've met. If I fall in love with someone who really wants to get married, then I think I'd do that for them."
16. He considers himself spiritual - "I believe in God, but I don't know what it is — if it's a he, she, a he-she, or anything. [Laughs] Who knows what it is. All I know is that I feel like there's something else there."
18. The Catholic Church influenced his style. - "I went to Catholic school 'til I was 18. There's a connection there, you know?" he says. "For a lot of things I do, it's a symbol. . .I used to change my earrings up all the time, every day. I'd have different pairs for each day. The day that I shot the acoustic video to 'Lay Me Down,' it just so happened that I wore cross earrings. And I remember when I watched the video back, I was like, 'That can be my thing.' There's a little meaning behind wearing crucifixes in my ears, you know? But I would never go into it."
20. Don't expect him to play Russia. - "I don't hate Russia, but I just will never go to Russia [because] what they do to gay people there is just disgusting and it makes me very angry," Smith says. "I've even said, no matter how many billions of pounds you could offer me, I just couldn't, which makes me sad because I have Russian fans. They contact me on Twitter, it makes me sad."
21. He wants his next album to be more personal than his first. - "I'm very passionate about being relatable. On my second record, instead of looking like I have more money, more airbrushing, I want to actually be more raw and more honest on my second album than my first," he says. "I want to be a pop star that isn't really skinny, a pop star who doesn't have a perfectly even face, where in my music video, I don't look my best, [but] I look raw and human. I want to change what a pop star is. I think that's deep down what I really want to do in music. I want to change that whole idea of, 'When I'm older, I want to be perfect.' I want to change people's idea of what perfection is. That's what I really want."
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