Sam Smith is such a huge star. He’s won Brit Awards, Grammys and countless other accolades. That ‘difficult’ second album The Thrill Of It All has gone bananas in charts around the world.

In his hectic schedule I was lucky enough to grab a chat with Sam whilst he was taking a break from doing his Christmas shopping.

Naturally we got chatting about his sensational new record and Sam seems to be in shock at how well it’s done.

“I can’t believe it. I was so nervous about this dreaded second album. Coming back after that album was pretty tough and I was prepared for it not to work.”

His debut album In the Lonely Hour is certainly a tough act to follow. To date over 12 million copies have been sold around the world.

“It was just about remaining in people’s minds and hoping people wanted to hear me sing again. I guess I was scared.”

Sam’s music is essentially based on heartache. He seems to have had more than his fair share but out of this adversity has come some great music.

“It’s a silver lining. I’d rather not have had my heart broken and written some happy ones.”

Sam Smith is so easy to talk to. You wouldn’t think he is some huge star, there are no airs and graces. He told me that remaining grounded is very important to him.

“I just work really hard at trying to constantly check myself and remember how many aspects of my life aren’t exactly real life. The music industry is quite a small world and it’s easy to get caught up in it. I just lift my head when I can and remember that we are just making music and it doesn’t have to be stressful.”

You may have noticed Sam’s svelte figure of late. I did try and get his secret out him.

“I’m worried about putting it all back on now. As it gets colder I’m just eating so much black pudding and bread and drinking lots of wine. I don’t mind putting on a stone over Christmas for extra padding and losing it again in January.”

Sam Smith is spending 2018 touring the world on his biggest series of concerts to date and he is literally chomping at the bit to get back on stage.

“I’m pulling out all the stops, it’s going to be amazing. I’m really excited about it. I’m trying to create something that is really romantic, beautiful, different and theatrical. The routine of touring is my favourite thing in the world.”

You can listen to my full chat with Sam Smith on The Bay’s website and his new album The Thrill Of It All is out now.