Sam Smith has shared a fierce new power anthem, “Oh Mother” featuring The TwoCity Chorus, the second single lifted from their upcoming fifth studio album Hazel Eyes, out 21st August via Capitol Records.
Where lead single “My Guy” leaned into blissed out romance, “Oh Mother” takes a sharp turn into darker territory, built around a spellbinding call and response between Sam and the 28 member TwoCity Chorus. Sam says the choir represents “the fury of a mother witnessing her child’s betrayal” and channels a “divine feminine energy”, with additional vocals from their friend Dante, who Sam describes as “a mothering presence” during their twenties.
The track opens with the line “You remind me of my mother’s greatest fear” and builds through thundering piano, fuzzed out guitar riffs and stomping hand percussion, alongside cinematic strings from composer Gabe Noel (Sombr, Father John Misty). Sam co-produced the song, and the whole of Hazel Eyes, alongside David Odlum (Glen Hansard, Josh Ritter) and Simon Aldred (Avicii, Liam Gallagher), with the track ultimately shifting from a story of betrayal into what’s billed as “a transcendent affirmation of a mother’s love.”
Hazel Eyes marks Sam’s follow up to 2023’s Gloria, the album that housed global smash “Unholy” with Kim Petras. Three years in the making, the 12 track record was recorded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios with collaborators including Feist, Shahzad Ismaily (Yoko Ono, Damien Rice) and string arranger Rob Moose (Bon Iver, The National).
Alongside “Oh Mother” and “My Guy”, the album will also include previously released tracks “Love Is A Stillness” and “To Be Free”, the latter of which gave its name to Sam’s ongoing global residency series. Launched last autumn at Brooklyn’s Warsaw, the To Be Free residencies have already featured surprise guest appearances from Hozier, Ed Sheeran, Brandi Carlile, SIENNA SPIRO and Kim Petras.
The residency continues next month with a show at Guadalajara’s Auditorio Telmex on 14th August, followed by four nights at Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional on 17th, 18th, 20th and 21st August. Sam has also confirmed a UK residency for September, their first multi night UK run since the Gloria tour in 2023, comprising two shows at Manchester’s Albert Hall on 3rd and 4th September and eight nights at the London Coliseum on 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th September.
Sam Smith UK residency dates 2026
- 3 September, Manchester Albert Hall
- 4 September, Manchester Albert Hall
- 8 September, London Coliseum
- 9 September, London Coliseum
- 11 September, London Coliseum
- 12 September, London Coliseum
- 15 September, London Coliseum
- 16 September, London Coliseum
- 18 September, London Coliseum
- 19 September, London Coliseum
A five time GRAMMY winner, Sam holds two Guinness World Records, one for the most consecutive weeks in the UK Top 10 album chart with 2014 debut In the Lonely Hour, and another for the first James Bond theme to top the UK charts with the Oscar and Golden Globe winning “Writing’s on the Wall.” Across their catalogue, Sam has amassed more than 64 million equivalent album sales, 392 million single sales and over 57 billion career streams, with “Unholy” alone spending three weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and four weeks atop the UK Official Singles Chart.
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