Sam Smith no longer compares themself to other artists.
The 34-year-old singer has previously been linked to George Michael, but Sam has stressed that they come from a “different type of lineage”.
Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Sam shared: “I’m a femme queer and when it comes to that, and the people that came before me in the UK, it’s a different type of lineage.
“What I’ve experienced as a queer femme artist on the global pop stage, I don’t think there’s others that I can compare my career to.”
Sam recalled feeling isolated earlier in their career, but they now look at the situation through a different lens.
Sam said: “I’ve learned to see that as a strength when, at times before, I just found that incredibly isolating. I’m trying not to compare or to look left and right in that sense any more.”
The pop star believes the overall situation has regressed for the UK’s LGBTQ community, following a period of progress.
Sam explained: “For trans people in the UK, it’s incredibly hard.”
Sam moved from the UK to New York three years ago to be with their fiance, designer Christian Cowan, and the pop star has described the Big Apple as a “sanctuary”.
They said: “When I got here and was able to walk in the street and feel no judgment, I realised that I was very happy to have found a sanctuary in New York City as a queer person.”
Sam also rubbished suggestions that they quit life in the UK because they were running away from something.
The singer – who released their debut album, In the Lonely Hour, in 2014 – said: “I moved to New York for positive reasons. I wasn’t running away from anything.”
Sam’s new album, Hazel Eyes, is due out later in August, and the singer acknowledges that they’ve become a “political artist” in recent years.
The chart-topping star explained: “I’m a political artist, whether I want to be or not, so my audience is in flux at times. I am singing for me, ultimately, and I’m singing to the sky and whoever hears it.”