Grammy Awards 2015: Sam Smith Up Against Industry Vets
— -- Sam Smith’s soulful hit song, “Stay With Me,” was one of the most talked-about tunes of the year.
It hit No. 2 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart, and Smith’s debut album, “In the Lonely Hour,” sold more than 1.3 million copies. It was one of only three new titles to go platinum last year. The other two were Taylor Swift’s “1989” and the soundtrack to the film “Frozen.”
The success has also earned the Englishman, 22, six nominations at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, but he’s squaring off against some of the industry’s hottest stars across major categories.
Beyoncé and Pharrell each have six nominations, putting them and singer-songwriter Smith at the top of the pack. Other artists, including Swift and Iggy Azalea, also have multiple nominations.
Whether Smith’s recent setback over songwriting credit for “Stay With Me” will affect his chances of winning big remains to be seen.
Because of similarities between “Stay With Me” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” it was revealed last month, Petty and Electric Light Orchestra's Jeff Lynne would share writing credit on Smith’s Grammy-nominated song to settle a copyright dispute.
While Smith and his team acknowledged the similarities between his hit and Petty’s 1989 song, they said any likeness was a “complete coincidence.”
Smith appears to be taking all the pressure of the awards in stride.
He tweeted Thursday: “And so the Grammy storm begins.”
The Grammys will be broadcast live Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
ABC News’ Andrea Dresdale contributed to this report.
