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Sam Smith's fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes, is out today via Capitol Records UK — three years in the making, deeply personal, and anchored by lead single "My Guy."
Five-time GRAMMY®, Oscar, and BRIT Award-winning artist Sam Smith has officially unveiled their fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes, released today, 21 August 2026, via Capitol Records UK.
Written over the course of three years alongside a close circle of trusted collaborators, Hazel Eyes represents one of Smith's most personal, romantic, and creatively liberated projects to date. Working alongside long-time collaborator and friend Simon Aldred, Smith crafted the bulk of the 12-track LP in New York City — the place they now call home — with sessions captured at the legendary Electric Lady Studios, and took on production duties across the whole record themselves for the first time.
The album navigates an eclectic tapestry of genres, seamlessly interweaving baroque pop, British folk, outlaw country, and left-field R&B, all anchored by Smith's powerhouse vocal performance and soul-baring lyricism.
Key creative contributors include indie-pop artist Feist — who co-wrote lead single "My Guy" and lends guest vocals to the sultry "Moondance" — along with acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and composer Shahzad Ismaily, known for his work with Yoko Ono and Damien Rice.
Speaking on the record, Smith shared:
"This album is an incredibly special record to me. I have been writing it for over three years with a very small group of beautiful, dear friends of mine. This album is very personal, and I feel I have deepened myself as an artist through the making of it, through being a producer on the record, to walking alongside this record from the start to the finish and pushing myself at every single turn. This record and this music is incredibly romantic. I've learned so many life lessons through making this album, and I've documented it all through the music."
Audiences received an early glimpse of the record during Smith's intimate global residency series, which opened at Brooklyn's Warsaw before heading to San Francisco's newly refurbished Castro Theatre and Mexico City's Auditorio Nacional. These dynamic sets blended signature hits with raw, unreleased tracks like the country-infused "Constant Companion" and the soulful one-take recording "To Be Free," complemented by surprise appearances from high-profile guests including Hozier, Ed Sheeran, Brandi Carlile, Sienna Spiro, and Kim Petras.
Smith also marked the new era with an intimate performance at the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in New York to open Pride weekend, celebrating queer resilience and history at the sacred site.
Hazel Eyes and lead single "My Guy" are available to stream and download worldwide today.
Collier Schorr
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