Sam Smith has admitted they hit 'rock bottom' as they struggled with fame and gender identity.
The I'm Not The Only One star, 30, is one of the UK's most successful singers, but faced backlash when they came out as non-binary in 2020.
Sam revealed they were neither male nor female, but somewhere in between, and would like to be referred to by they/them pronouns.
However, not everyone approved of their status.
Speaking to Cerys Matthew's on Radio 2's First and Last, Sam said: "I was at my lowest in my life writing my third album. I was coming to terms with gender stuff. I felt like I had to live up to this character of Sam Smith.
"Fame is probably the biggest issue I have had in my life. It is this horrible one as you can't moan about it as I know I am very, very lucky to be in my position, but life does get turned on its head."
During an interview with James Corden on The Late Late Show, after revealing their non-binary status, Sam said they were happy in their own skin, but had found the backlash after coming out a "struggle" and "really hard".
"Being able to tell everyone that and feel so much more open about certain parts of my personality and my life has been absolutely incredible," they said.
"It's been amazing, but it's also been really, really hard to see all the backlash and the amount of people that are still so unsupportive of gender nonconforming people and trans people all around the world.
"It's definitely more of a struggle than I was expecting, but I feel good in my skin, which is the prize and the wonderful thing."
Sam is now preparing to release their eagerly-awaited fourth album Gloria, which will drop in January next year.
A big inspiration behind the offering is said to be none other than US body-confidence queen Lizzo.
Sources told us Sam has finally found the confidence to express themselves unashamedly on the new record – and that 2 Be Loved star Lizzo is a major reason for that.
“Sam’s album Gloria will be them being brave, raw and unashamedly authentic. It’s taken them a few years to reach that stage but Lizzo’s been a major influence," they said.
“Sam is a huge fan. Seeing Lizzo being so visually and vocally body-confident and unapologetic about her beauty has really resonated with them.
“Sam spent a long part of their career trying to work out how to fit into the industry.
“Now they are busy creating their own place instead, just like Lizzo has."
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