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Sam Smith Had the Biggest Debut Album of the Decade

Sam Smith on a red carpet.

And we predict it’s only up from here.

MikelleStreet

It's been quite the decade in music, no doubt! But as we get ready to move into 2020, people are understandably counting up who had some of the largest impacts on the charts. In that mix: one Sam Smith!

According to Official Charts, Smith had the biggest debut album of the 2010s. The singer's The Lonely Hour project was released back in 2014 and according to the site "sold 101,700 copies in its first week on sale, broke the record for most consecutive weeks in the Top 10 for a debut album - spending 69 weeks there from its initial debut in June 2014 - and now has 2.59 million combined sales under its belt." That's a pretty stunning amount of sales. You'll also recall that before debuting, Smith had become known for soulful covers of R&B classics as well as features on songs by artists like Disclosure.

The other top debuts are rounded out by artists like Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Jessie J, Lana Del Rey and One Direction.


Smith has had quite the career since their debut! They released The Thrill of It All in 2017 and recorded "Writing's On the Wall" in 2015, as a James Bond theme song. They've even kept up their penchant for covers, recently releasing "I Feel Love," putting their voice to the iconic Donna Summer track.

As we move into 2020, and by extension the next decade, we are expecting a renewed Smith. This year they revealed to the world that they are not only nonbinary and genderfluid but will also use they/them pronouns moving forward. This exploration of identity has come alongside some of Smith's strongest work to day, namely in their song "How Do You Sleep?" and its accompanying music video.

We honestly can't wait to hear with the Out100 cover star's third studio album sounds like, and it seems that it's already in the works.

RELATED | The Out100 Evolution of the Year: Mx. Sam Smith

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Mikelle Street

Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.

Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.