By Malena Araujo – Staff Reporter

English singer-songwriter Sam Smith continues to climb up the charts with his first studio album “In The Lonely Hour.” The album remains in the Top 20 even months after its release in May. Smith first caught the public’s eye in 2012 with his appearance on Disclosure’s single “Latch.” Smith’s soulful voice reached the song to No. 1 on UK Singles Chart. He then released a sample album EP, “Nirvana,” on October 4, 2013, to experiment with a different sound. This EP contained four tracks, none of which appeared on his debut album.

Smith opens “In The Lonely Hour” with his single “Lay Me Down,” a heartfelt pop song that is known for the beautifully sung long notes in the chorus. This song sets the tone and sound for the entire album. The second single he released was “Money on My Mind,” which is a more upbeat, pop single than the first. The song has an R&B breakbeat sound and has been remixed by many DJs. His third single, “Stay With Me” was the biggest breakthrough for Smith. The song is a heartbreaking pop ballad that tells the story of a person not wanting their significant other to leave. The song was brought to No. 1 with its catchy and emotional chorus that sings “Oh, won’t you stay with me?/’Cause you’re all I need/This ain’t love, it’s clear to see/ But darling, stay with me.”

Smith has said that this album is about recruiting love because many of his love interests didn’t feel the same way. Smith’s inspiration really impacts the entire album because every song has a sad tone and heart-rending lyrics. This could be because it better suits his voice or because it is all he can write about, but the sad tone gets repetitive. The constant depressing lyrics could be off-putting for listeners, which could be detrimental to a new artist like Smith.

Although Smith picks a sad tone for all his songs, he manages to make them all sound different. Smith does a wonderful job in making every song sound one of a kind with a different story or point of view. This style of writing is hard to do, especially for pop artists like Smith. He writes from personal experiences and has become a very relatable pop artist while avoiding the clichés of one. Smith sings with such soul and emotion, that each song sounds like a work of art. He’s been rightfully compared as a male version of Mary J. Blige or Adele because of his talented voice and lyrics.

“In The Lonely Hour” is one of the greatest pop albums of the year. It captures heartache with greatly written songs and wonderful vocals. This album is recommended to anyone looking for new music that might potentially cause sobs. With more time and experience in the music industry, Sam Smith may become legendary.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars