Sam Smith: The Twitter Q&A

Sam Smith has had a banner year. The British pop star won a bevy of industry awards, sold millions of albums, garnered more than a billion YouTube views, and is headlining an arena tour. Not bad for a dude with a single album, In the Lonely Hour, under his belt. In advance of his upcoming Miami show, we submitted some questions to him via email. Unfortunately, his busy schedule didn't allow for them to be answered by presstime, so we answered them ourselves using his actual tweets — found @SamSmithWorld —  which may or may not have had anything to do with our actual questions.

"I actually can't deal with selfie sticks."

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New Times: With Roy Orbison gone, would you consider filling his role in the Traveling Wilburys if Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne asked?

Sam Smith: Oh yeah, he still got it.

Um, he's dead actually, but his music lives on, which is maybe what you meant. Anyway, what have you found the biggest differences to be between the U.K. and the U.S.?

Michael Jackson's sofa.

Cool. So who looks after Henry the cat while you're out on tour?

Willis Earl Beal.

The singer? Interesting choice. How did you find the experience of not talking for several weeks after your vocal cord surgery? Did you enjoy the forced quiet, or was it mostly frustrating?

My first words shall be "Fuck me that was shit."

Yeah, I imagine it was frustrating. You've been rumored to be singing the theme for the next James Bond film. What's your favorite film in the franchise?

Whenever I get into a hotel room with shutters that block out the light, I pretend I'm Kate Winslet in The Holiday. Hahahaha.

I must have missed that one. "Sam Smith" is a rather ordinary name. Was there ever pressure from a manager or record company to change it? If so, what did you consider?

Bombarda Maxima.

To have so much success with a debut album is rare. What has been the biggest adjustment to performing as you've gone from clubs to theaters and now arenas?

I actually can't deal with selfie sticks.

That does sound kind of awful. Less painful, however, you've won a ton of industry awards over the past few years. Is there one you find particularly meaningful?

My new bean bag is everything to me right now.

Ah, an award of a different stripe but no less important. Have you started writing for a new record yet, or have you been too busy on the road? Are you worried you'll need to get your heart broken again?

I make music about love, for love, and with love.

Any chance you'll put on your trunks and hit the beach while you're in Miami?

Palest guy in the game. Gimme that.