Sam Smith’s “Stay with Me” won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year

Stay with Me Sam Smith

Writer(s): Sam Smith, James Napier, William Phillips, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne (see lyrics here) Released: April 14, 2014 First Charted: April 19, 2014 Peak: 2 US, 12 RR, 16 BA, 12 DG, 16 AC, 12 A40, 16 AA, 10a RB, 11 UK, 17 CN, 5 AU, 10 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.67 UK, 12.31 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1150.0 video, 1808.13 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Sam Smith poured his heart and soul into this gospel-inspired, blue-eyed-soul ballad begging a one-night stand not to leave. He told 4Music that he wanted to write “an anthem for the lonely.” SF He told Tanya Rad on On Air with Ryan Seacrest that he is “willing to show that emotional side…I don’t have…bravado to put in front…I’m just showing my raw self.” SF Nouse’s Isabell Pearson called it a “euphoric, slow building love-song” WK while Digital Spy’s Amy Davidson called the song an “emotional crescendo.” WK Smith told NME the song only took 30 to 40 minutes to write. SF James Napier and William Phillips were co-writers on the song, but after it became a hit, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were given royalty credit as well because the song’s similarity to the melody of Tom Petty’s 1989 hit “I Won’t Back Down.” An amicable agreement was reached with no threat of a lawsuit. Petty said, “All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen.” SF The song topped the charts in the UK, Canada, and New Zealand and went top ten in more than a dozen countries, including a #2 peak in the U.S. WK It was also listed in the top ten of year-end charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. WK USA Today named it the song of the year SF and it took home Grammys for Record and Song of the Year. The buzz around Sam Smith had become so big on the heels of “Stay with Me” that he landed a gig performing on Saturday Night Live right before the song was officially released. SF He had, however, already been featured on Disclosure’s #11 UK hit “Latch” in 2012 and Naughty Boy’s #1 UK hit “La La La” in 2013. Two singles from his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, had already charted in the UK as well – “Lay Me Down” at #46 and “Money on My Mind” at #1. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sam Smith SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 7/19/2023.

The Top 50 Songs of 2014

Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Songs of 2014

These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists. Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here. DMDB Top 1%: Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass” Taylor Swift “Blank Space” Sam Smith “Stay with Me” Iggy Azalea with Charli XCX “Fancy” OMI “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn remix)” Maroon 5 “Sugar” DMDB Top 2%: Sia “Chandelier” Walk the Moon “Shut Up and Dance” Taylor Swift with Kendrick Lamar “Bad Blood” Fetty Wap “Trap Queen” Ariana Grande with Iggy Azalea “Problem” Jessie J with Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj “Bang Bang” Clean Bandit with Jess Glynne “Rather Be” DMDB Top 5%: The Weeknd “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” Enrique Iglesias, Descemer Bueno, & Gente de Zona “Bailando” Ed Sheeran “Photograph” Sam Smith “I’m Not the Only One” Taylor Swift “Wildest Dreams” Calvin Harris “Summer” Taylor Swift “Style” Elle King “Ex’s and Oh’s” Maroon 5 “Animals” The Black Keys “Fever” Coldplay “A Sky Full of Stars” Maroon 5 “Maps” Sheppard “Geronimo” James Bay “Let It Go” Future Islands “Seasons (Waiting on You)” Iggy Azalea with Rita Ora “Black Widow” DMDB Top 10%: Ed Sheeran “Don’t” Nicki Minaj “Anaconda” Fall Out Boy “Centuries” Pitbull with Ne-Yo “Time of Our Lives” Charli XCX “Boom Clap” Ed Sheeran “Sing” Ariana Grande with Zedd “Break Free” Meghan Trainor “Lips Are Movin’” Jason Derulo with Snoop Dogg “Wiggle” Imagine Dragons “I Bet My Life” 5 Seconds of Summer “She Looks So Perfect” Nick Jonas “Jealous” Ariana Grande with the Weeknd “Love Me Harder” Big Sean & E-40 “I Don’t Fuck with You” Foo Fighters “Something from Nothing” Michael Jackson with Justin Timberlake “Love Never Felt So Good” Meghan Trainor “Dear Future Husband” Lillywood & the Prick with Robin Schulz “Prayer in C” Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top Songs and Albums by Year lists Dave’s Music Database: Songs of the Year lists American Songwriter Billboard: Adult Contemporary Songs Billboard: Country Songs Billboard: Digital Songs Billboard: Hot 100 Songs Billboard: Pop Songs Billboard: R&B/Hip Hop Songs Billboard: Radio Songs Billboard: Rock Songs Billboard: Streaming Songs Billboard: Twitter Tracks Cosmopolitan DirectLyrics.com FasterLouder iTunes Loudwire Music VF New Musical Express (NME) New York Times News.com.au Noisey NPR OregonLive.com Paste Magazine Pop Crush PopMatters Pretty Much Amazing Rock on the Net Rolling Stone Rob Sheffield Taste of Country Time Magazine Ultimate Guitar First posted 12/31/2014; last updated 1/18/2023.

Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour hit #1 in UK

In the Lonely Hour Sam Smith

Released: May 26, 2014 Charted: June 1, 2014 Peak: 2 US, 18 UK, 2 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/blue-eyed soul

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Money on My Mind (2/16/14, 1 UK, 51 AU) Good Thing Stay with Me (4/14/14, 2 US, 1 RR, 1 AC, 1 A40, 10a RB, 1 UK, 1 CN, 5 AU) Leave Your Lover (6/7/14, 92 US) I’m Not the Only One (6/21/14, 5 US, 4 RR, 3 AC, 3 A40, 3 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU) I’ve Told You Now Like I Can (12/5/14, 99 US, 27 RR, 17 AC, 26 A40, 9 UK, 53 CN, 20 AU) Life Support Not in That Way Lay Me Down (2/15/13, 8 US, 17 RR, 11 AC, 1 UK, 12 A40, 1: remix with John Legend) Total Running Time: 32:47

Rating: 3.578 out of 5.00 (average of 32 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Sam Smith was a London-born vocalist with a deeply emotive voice” AMG who “grew up listening to R&B giants Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston.” AMG Smith made his first impact on the charts in 2012 in the UK as the guest vocalist on “Disclosure’s loping dance-pop single,” AMG reaching #11. The “breakbeat-driven tearjerker” AMG “La La La” followed the next year. It was a #1 UK hit by Naughty Boy with Sam Smith. It set up lofty expectations for his 2014 In the Lonely Hour album. The album was preceded by three singles. Lay Me Down initially stalled just inside the top 50 on the UK charts, but would eventually become a top 10 hit in the US and a remixed version would reach the top spot in the UK. Money on My Mind, “an upbeat statement of purpose more about the soul than the heart,” AMG hit the UK charts in February 2014 and went all the top way to #1. However, it was Stay with Me, “a torch song with a gospel-inspired chorus,” AMG which gave Smith a worldwide hit that reached the top 10 in twenty countries, WK including #1 in the UK and #2 in the U.S. They cast Smith as “a heartbroken balladeer” AMG and, indeed, the subsequent In the Lonely Hour album was “more about morning than movement” AMG as “deep sorrow informs most of the material.” AMG Instead of capitalizing on the dance-pop of his hits with Disclosure and Naughty Boy, Smith delivered a collection of stripped-down songs, “some with merely piano, acoustic guitar, and conservative strings.” AMG “That puts all the more focus on Smith’s voice and words, the latter of which switch between borderline maudlin (‘What use is money when you need someone to hold?’) and disarmingly brazen (‘Just leave your lover, leave him for me’). If Smith didn’t have such a remarkable voice, they could stay busy composing songs for artists in several genres; the anthemic Like I Can could be easily adapted for a contemporary country singer, while a few others could be turned over to young pop artists in need of material that makes them sound more human. This is an understated and promising first step from an unpredictable and distinctive talent.” AMG Notes: The deluxe edition added bonus tracks “Restart,” “Latch,” “La La La,” and “Make It to Me.” A European iTunes version also added “Reminds Me of You” while a Google Play version added acoustic versions of “In the Lonely Hour” and “Nirvana.” There was also a Target deluxe edition and Japanese versions with bonus tracks and a deluxe edition with remixes. One variation included a full second disc known as the Drowning Shadows Edition.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Sam Smith AMG All Music Guide review by Andy Kellman WK Wikipedia First posted 4/30/2022.