Sam Smith's first Seoul tour is emotional, inspiring
The U.K singer-songwriter Sam Smith performs during “The Thrill of It All” tour held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hyundai Card
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Making his first visit to Seoul as part of his “The Thrill of It All” tour, British singer-songwriter Sam Smith performed to over 20,000 fans in a one-night only concert at the Gocheok Sky Dome presented by Hyundai Card on Tuesday.
During the opening “One Last Song,” the Grammy-winning artist, clad in a striking powder blue suit, strolled across the stage, waving at the crowd.
After singing the chart-topping “I'm Not the Only One,” the winsome singer said to the audience “Oh, my goodness, hello everyone! This is honestly a dream come true for me. I've been walking around Seoul for two days and I love it here so much. This is the first of many shows to come. I'd love to come back here many times.”
Having arrived two days before the show, Smith was spotted at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwangjang Market in Seoul, according to local news reports.
Smith also claimed at the beginning of his show that “my music is a little bit depressing and sad, but I hope people here are happy tonight and have a good time.”
His performance fulfilled every fan's desire for an intimate and heartwarming show, as he kindly gave brief explanations about many of his set lists.
As for the award-winning track “Lay Me Down,” the 26-year-old artist said that “this is the first song I wrote” and while performing “Take Your Time,” he added that “it's one of the few songs I've first released.”
In his introduction to “HIM,” Smith proclaimed that he wrote this song as a message to anybody listening to it, and that message is that “love is love.” A massive screen turned rainbow-colored to show support of the LGBTQ community.
The U.K singer-songwriter Sam Smith performs during “The Thrill of It All” tour held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Hyundai Card
His rich, powerful vocals filled the vast stadium as he powered through songs “Omen,” “I've Told You Now,” “Writing's On the Wall,” “Like I Can,” “Say It First,”“Midnight Train” and “Promises.”
His repertoire consists of songs that mostly touch on darker sides of love, but the love the ardent audience turned his show into an upbeat party. As the artist asked the audience to sing along with him on his songs, the entire room danced to the rhythms of “Money on My Mind” and “Baby, You Make Me Crazy.”
In between the show, Smith also requested the audience put on their light and said that “it's the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life.”
Smith's warm demeanor on stage proved why the artist is at the top of his game, as he introduced each and every member of his band, calling out their names one by one and referring to them as “incredibly important people in my life.”
Shortly after performing “Too Good at Goodbyes,” he returned to the stage for an encore. Smith performed three more songs ― “Palace,” “Stay with Me” and “Pray” ― to mark an end to a 22-song, 100 minutes set of pop soul music.
He will continue his Asia tour in Japan on Oct. 12 and 15 and in Thailand on Oct. 28.
Smith debuted in 2012 featured on electronic duo Disclosure's single “Latch” and rose to fame with his first studio album titled “In the Lonely Hour” in 2014.