SAM'S CLUB
Capitol/EMI is celebrating Sam Smith's Grammy win, fiery performance at the show and 1.6m sales of Gloria worldwide. The artist's British label has a few hosannas for the “Unholy” hitmaker, who's up for BRIT Awards for Song of the Year and British Pop/R&B act.
That 1.6m figure is “massively positive, especially when we have a full year of promotion ahead of us,” said EMI Co-President Jo Charrington and Capitol Records U.K. MD Tom Paul as one. Their target is 5m and beyond.
Following the success of the Grammy-winning “Unholy” with Kim Petras, which has racked up over 2b streams and hit #1 in the U.S. (a first for Smith) and U.K., Gloria debuted at #1 in the U.K., Australia and Ireland last week. It was #2 in the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland and Top 5 in Norway and Belgium.
Smith is also reaching new peaks in Brazil and Southeast Asia, thanks in part to the UMG international marketing team, Nickie Owen and Holly Shaw. “They’ve done an incredible job of spreading it,” said Paul. Charrington added: “We’re getting a lot of new fans for Sam, which is unusual for an artist at this stage in their career. We’re really excited about that.”
Discussing the making of Gloria, Charrington said it lands Smith “exactly where they should be at this moment, culturally and musically, and as a human being. It's a brilliant record and Sam has really taken the reins in making it. It’s probably the most involved they’ve been and that comes across in the music.”
Nick Raphael, who departed the helm of Capitol U.K. at the beginning of 2022 (and has since started a new venture), also deserves props. “None of us would be here without Nick's involvement,” said Charrington. “Nick has left Sam in the most incredible place where Sam can take the reins and we’re here to elevate. I feel like we’ve all done, alongside Nick, a great job at getting Sam to this stage in their career where they’re really flying.”
Capitol/EMI is currently working latest single “I’m Not Here to Make Friends.” Smith will tour the world from April to December, including multiple nights in London, New York, L.A. and Mexico City.
