Sam Smith taught us how much awesome you can do with a broken heart

We’ve all had our hearts broken and we all know just how that made us feel: basically like someone had taken everything we love and smashed it into tiny pieces, oh yeah and like absolutely nothing was possible. Well if you’re Sam Smith you take all that heartbreak pain and record one of the best first albums that ever was — oh yeah, and you win four Grammys for it.

“In the Lonely Hour” is one of the saddest albums we’ve ever heard. It’s virtually impossible to get through “Leave Your Lover” without a long, hard, ugly-cry. In the past, the 22-year-old Sam has talked about the inspiration for the devastating (but gorg) album telling Fader “In the Lonely Hour is about a guy that I fell in love with last year, and he didn’t love me back.” Well, now he’s thanking that very guy for the painful experience of unrequited love because it motivated him as a musician. 

Last night while accepting one of his FOUR Grammys, Sam took a moment to thank that guy. Sam said, “I want to thank the man who this record is about, who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart, because you got me four Grammys.”

So what can we learn from this break up tour de force? When your heart is broken don’t wallow for too long — eat your ice cream, watch Sleepless in Seattle, spend a solid day crying and then motivate. Channel that pain and turn it into something beautiful — write, record, draw, dance, create. That’s what Sam Smith did, and look where he is now.

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