Adele， whose 2011 album 21 recently reached 30 million in worldwide sales， is still taking her time to make new music. While her fans are anxiously waiting， a “male version Adele” is quickly rising to stardom in the UK， singing his soul out and touching listeners hearts， just like Adele.

Sam Smith， winner of the 2014 BRIT Critics Choice Award and the BBCs Sound of 2014， grabbed the spotlight even before his debut album In the Lonely Hour was released in June. At the age of 22， he seems far beyond his years， with a charm that stems from years of professional training.

Born in the rural county of Cambridgeshire， England， Smith was put in formal vocal training at the age of 8 after his parents heard him singing along to Whitney Houstons My Love Is Your Love one morning on the drive to school. Thereafter， much of his childhood and adolescence was spent in theater rehearsals.

Smith moved to London at the age of 18 and became a pub singer. In October 2012， he was featured on British house duo Disclosures breakthrough single Latch， which also became Smiths breakthrough. Not only did Smith rise to fame along with the song， it also helped him find something he hadnt yet explored musically： contrast. His voice has a traditional sound and lends itself well to old standards. But pairing up with Disclosure added a contemporary edge to his voice. Suddenly， he was relevant.

Speaking of Smiths voice—his biggest selling point —it is deep， rich， soulful， and surprisingly mature for his young age. Thanks to that， with only one album， Smith has successfully produced the same brand of soul music with which Adele exploded onto the pop scene.

If Adeles 21 was about a busted relationship， then Smiths In the Lonely Hour deals with a love that never happened at all. And his vocal approach perfectly suits that theme.

2011年，阿黛爾的專(zhuān)輯《21》在全球的發(fā)行量超過(guò)了3000萬(wàn)張，而她現(xiàn)在仍在創(chuàng)作新的音樂(lè)。當(dāng)阿黛爾的粉絲們苦苦等待時(shí)，一位“男版阿黛爾”在英國(guó)迅速躥紅，像阿黛爾一樣，他不僅唱出了自己的靈魂之音，更打動(dòng)了無(wú)數(shù)聽(tīng)者的心。

他就是山姆·史密斯——2014年全英音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)評(píng)論選擇獎(jiǎng)及英國(guó)BBC年度之聲冠軍獲得者，在6月發(fā)布第一張專(zhuān)輯《在寂寞的時(shí)候》之前就已經(jīng)備受矚目。這位年僅22歲的男歌手有著超越年齡的成熟與淡定，而多年的專(zhuān)業(yè)訓(xùn)練也為他帶來(lái)了另一種魅力。

史密斯出生在英國(guó)劍橋郡的鄉(xiāng)村，他8歲時(shí)，父母在送他上學(xué)的路上聽(tīng)到了他唱的惠特妮·休斯頓的《我的愛(ài)是你的愛(ài)》之后，便決定讓他接受專(zhuān)業(yè)的聲樂(lè)訓(xùn)練。自那之后，他的大部分童年與青春時(shí)光都是在劇場(chǎng)的排練中度過(guò)。

史密斯18歲時(shí)搬到倫敦，成為一名酒吧歌手。2012年10月，史密斯為英國(guó)浩室音樂(lè)組合秘聞的成名單曲《據(jù)為己有》獻(xiàn)聲，成為他音樂(lè)生涯的新突破。這首歌不僅讓他一夜躥紅，也讓他發(fā)現(xiàn)了之前從未嘗試過(guò)的音樂(lè)風(fēng)格：反差感。他正統(tǒng)的嗓音似乎更適合傳統(tǒng)音樂(lè)，而與秘聞組合的合作卻為他的聲音增添了一絲現(xiàn)代韻味。瞬間，他的歌就變得平易近人。

史密斯聲音的最大賣(mài)點(diǎn)就是：深沉、飽滿(mǎn)、穿透靈魂，總帶著令人驚訝的成熟味道。正因如此，史密斯才能單憑一張專(zhuān)輯就幫自己打造了如同當(dāng)初阿黛勒闖入流行樂(lè)壇一樣的靈魂音樂(lè)品牌。

如果說(shuō)阿黛勒的專(zhuān)輯《21》訴說(shuō)了一段失敗的感情，那么史密斯的《在寂寞的時(shí)候》則講述了一段從未發(fā)生過(guò)的愛(ài)情。而他的嗓音則完美地詮釋了這個(gè)主題。