Sam Smith thinks their IMAGE changed, was ‘afraid’ to express themselves

Sam Smith is getting candid.

As they strutted their stuff for a jaw-dropping cover shot, Sam Smith talked about how their image has evolved over the course of their career.

The 30-year-old singer talked about their ascent to prominence with their first studio album, In the Lonely Hour, when they were 22 years old and how they were trying to 'fit in' at the time.

Sam, a non-binary person who identifies as they/them, stated they grew tired of trying to fit in as they spoke while posing for a Rolling Stone UK photo shoot.

They told the outlet, “In the time that people have known me — from In the Lonely Hour, at the age of 22 — was a time when I didn't want to dress up as much; it was a time when I wanted to take a break and fit in.”

“And then I got fed up with fitting in and wanted to go back to how I was when I was younger.”

The Too Good At Goodbyes singer continued by acknowledging that at the beginning of their career, they were "afraid" to express their "sex" and "happiness" through their songs.

They claimed they felt the urge to "break out" from that because they were hesitant to sing about such "private" subjects.

They continued, “I ran into this world and it was not the world I thought it was. I was afraid to express certain things… my sex in the music, my happiness within the music.”

“Those themes were sometimes incredibly private and I felt more comfortable showing other sides of me, I wasn't feeling repressed, but I was definitely feeling like I needed to break out, for sure, towards the end.”

Sam and Kim Petras, the first non-binary and transgender stars, respectively, to score a number one hit, recently topped the global charts with the Grammy-nominated song Unholy.