Four-time GRAMMY Award-winner and president of the Lonely Hearts Club, Sam Smith has just announced that his new album, To Die For, will drop on May 1st. Of course, Sam has been dropping heat in anticipation of the summer LP. Singles include “How Do You Sleep?,” “I Feel Love” for the Target Holiday Campaign, the smash “Dancing With A Stranger” featuring Normani and “Fire On Fire” from the Watership Down soundtrack. The singer is now sharing the title track from the album.
“To Die For” is a ballad about yearning for a connection with someone. Sam Smith explains, “I wrote the song with Jimmy Napes and Stargate in L.A. during a time of self-discovery and heartbreak. This is for all the lonely hearts out there on another Valentine’s Day xx.”
The track opens with an audio sample from the film Donnie Darko about not wanting to die alone. Then, over a sound bed of piano and percussion, Sam lets us know that he’s searching in the daytime with a flashlight for the love of his life. “I long for you, just a touch of your hand / You don’t leave my mind,” he croons. The longing and wanting of the singer is highlighted by the use of digitization of his soft, yet melodic vocals.
His loneliness is brought to life in a creative visual courtesy of Grant Singer. In the clip, Sam plays the role of a mannequin's head in a wig shop window. The singer's bald mannequin looks out the window at other people living their lives while he’s wasting away, singing the sad song. While the clip could easily get monotonous, there are a few visual gags to keep things interesting, like putting a tiara on and a ski mask over Sam’s head, and numerous window shoppers who pass by. Finally, Sam is seen alone in the window display until fate intervenes and he's literally broken free.
To Die For will be Sam’s third album, following his 2014 debut The Lonely Hour and 2017’s The Thrill Of It All, and it is available for pre-order or pre-save now on numerous digital platforms.
