The evolution of Sam Smith has reached its euphoric peak through the Gloria tour. This curated three-part experience of Sam’s discography takes you from their early days of stripped-back soulful songs of heartbreak, starting with ‘Stay With Me’, through the uncomfortable growing pains of learning to love themself, and to a celebratory round of queer discotheque, ending on a high with ‘Unholy’.
Smith kicked off the two-date Sydney leg of their world tour at the Qudos Bank Arena on Friday, November 3. Featuring Australian-grown Meg Mac as their supporting act – who provided a suitable warm-up with her soulful and emotive music which speaks to Smith’s early work.
Sam is an artist who has lived out much of their personal and professional journey in the scrutinising glow of the public spotlight. A nod to the non-binary singer’s growth and commitment to personal truth in spite of this comes early on, when the lyrics “cause I’m just a man” in ‘Stay With Me’ are updated to “please baby understand”.
Meanwhile, their vocal performance is as strong as ever. As crystal clear as a mastered studio recording, their voice is like brown butter – it goes down smooth, but you can feel every tangy grain of grit and pain. A beacon of megawatt stage presence, Sam simultaneously has a relaxed charm.
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The Sydney dates fall towards the tail end of the Gloria world tour. Despite this, the stage is full of energy. As Smith explained to the 13,000-strong sold-out audience, playing in the Harbour City is somewhat of a homecoming for them. They’ve been visiting our city for many years, long before they headlined Sydney Mardi Gras (in 2020, on the precipice of the global lockdowns which led them to slow down and write the Gloria album). They told us: “Sydney was where I found myself.”
The performance that followed was the actualisation of someone who has in fact found and affirmed themself as a person and as an artist. This is echoed in the stage design, in which a plush, erotic depiction of a masculine body in gold lounges across the entirety of the stage.
For years, Sam’s career has focused on their voice and the emotional connection it prompted in the audience. In a 2023 interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Sam discussed the restrictions of being a young artist, the vulnerability involved in producing an album, and the exposure of having your every move on stage dissected, which left them seeking a sense of safety from the public eye as their burgeoning queer identity started to evolve. Now those restrictions have been fully stripped, and this is reflected in the way in which the Gloria experience has been creatively directed – from the stage design to the evolution of the costumes, which speak to each section and theme of the experience.
The first ensemble they appear in features a white business shirt with a black skinny tie, similar to the types of outfits that they would typically wear during the In The Lonely Hour days. Except, the shirt and tie sits underneath an encrusted gold corset. It’s in this costume that they sing their standard crowd favourites including ‘Good at Goodbyes’, ‘Not the Only One’ and ‘Like I Can’. But this is all just the prelude to three “chapters” and six rounds of an evolving performance interspersed with breaks from the diverse assemblage of talented dancers.
Chapter One is Love, and their outfit is a romantic style, with a billowing white blouse trimmed in lace as the centrepiece. In this section they sing ‘I’m Not Perfect’, ‘My Diamonds’, ‘How Do You Sleep?’ (complete with some of the iconic moves from the music video) and ‘Dancing With a Stranger’.
Chapter Two is Beauty, this section begins with ambient choral music, and Sam enters in a show-stopping glittering ball gown with a generous tulle petticoat spilling out from underneath to perform a cover of ‘Kissing You’ (arguably the best cover song they’ve ever done) – this then leads into ‘Lay Me Down’ and ‘Love Goes’.
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Contrasting the gown, their next look is an all-black denim cowboy 'fit that fulfils our rhinestone “yeehaw” fantasies. Calling on the audience to help turn the stadium into “a big gay bar”, Smith goes on to sing ‘I’m Not Ready to Lose You’ and the electro-fuelled ‘Tonight’ before being adorned in an enormous puffy pink coat for ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends’ – the same one they wore in the explosive music video, which outraged viewers who aren’t used to seeing a body like Sam’s adorned in corsets and nipple tassels.
From there, they appear in a low-key streetwear-style denim jacket and jeans with a rhinestoned white tee-shirt, which leads to a liberating shirtless boogie to Sam’s cover of Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ – a song that inherently evokes queer dance floor euphoria.
The religious references are dialled up as Smith emerges in a white shroud and crown that evoke the Virgin Mary as the hymn that inspired the tour’s title echoes across the stadium – before the fabric is torn away to reveal an outfit made up of not much more than underwear, nipple pasties, fishnets and over-the-knee boots. The phrase from Madonna’s song ‘Human Nature’ “express yourself, don’t repress yourself” is repeated like a motif, a driver of the message that Smith told us up top is what this whole show is about: Freedom.
At one point between slinky dance moves, they grab their exposed tummy and shake it, smiling to themself and to the audience – and Sam looks great. The performer on this stage is miles from the early days of Sam’s career, when there was a sense of hesitation and self-consciousness.
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Like many other queer, trans and non-binary people in the public eye, Smith puts so much of themself into their art, and they do it with so much love, whilst also uplifting and showcasing the other artists they share the stage with. Despite the hatred and vitriol that continues to be fired at them, with this tour, Sam creates a safe and inviting space.
By the final sequence, the “gay bar” has evolved into a queer cabaret. The fishnet ensemble is layered and embellished with a corset and an elaborate devil-horned top hat for the big closer – the Grammy-winning hit ‘Unholy’ – and it’s a howlin’ hoot.
Sam is in league with a trend of great queer pop artists who are playing with religious iconography in a way that can be healing for the queer community, and for anyone who has felt the effects of suppressive binaries and rules.
The comfort that Sam now has in themself is palpable, and it makes their audience feel comfortable, too. A wide array of people from all walks of life filled the arena, and everyone was fully into it (there was probably some shocks for the straight boyfriends who were dragged along, and the unsuspecting middle-aged ladies who liked Sam’s X-Factor era). But Sam is one of those rare queer artists who brings people together from multiple communities.
Their performance never falters. It takes a lot of training and a considerable level of fitness to be able to maintain the power and control behind a voice like that while also keeping up with your dancers and putting on a show – not to mention, also being corseted and stomping around in eight-inch heels.
It’s been five years since Smith has brought a tour to Sydney, and their fans have been yearning for a collective healing cry, yet there were some notable songs missing from the 90-minute set. ‘Love Me More’, the first song off Gloria and an affective self-love anthem, would have been a significant inclusion, and a crystallising transition between the Love and Beauty chapters. Despite this, the Gloria tour is an impressive reintroduction to an artist who continues to evolve while remaining true to themself.
We love Sam in all of their facets, but our favourite Sam is the one who isn’t afraid to show us who they really are, and in turn allows us to be who we want to be, too.