Sam Smith is entering a new chapter in both music and personal life. The Grammy-winning singer confirmed their engagement to fashion designer Christian Cowan after three years of dating, revealing that their upcoming album, Hazel Eyes, is inspired by their relationship.
Smith confirmed the news to The New York Times, explaining that the album takes its title from Cowan’s eye color. Songs including “Everlasting Love” and “My Guy” also draw from their relationship.
Smith said they began writing the opening track, “Everlasting Love,” the night before their first date with Cowan and finished it as their relationship developed.
Reflecting on writing openly about queer love, Smith told The New York Times, “For me, there’s something radical about being queer in this time, in this world and singing love songs.”
They added, “I’m not going to allow the poison that I read and that I see to affect my way of loving.”
The relationship behind the album
Smith and Cowan grew up about 10 minutes apart near Cambridge, England, but did not meet until connecting online in 2022.
According to People, Cowan accompanied Smith to the White House in December 2022, where Smith performed on the South Lawn after then-President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law. The couple publicly debuted their relationship at the 2024 Met Gala.
Cowan also designed Smith’s dramatic 52-pound feathered black ensemble for the Met Gala. In an Instagram post, he described the look as a tribute to fashion illustrator Erté and to Smith, writing that it featured 255,000 individual crystals and beads and required 2,000 hours of hand sewing. He called it “a love letter to the king of fashion illustration and to my love, Sam.”
Engagement speculation intensified after the gala when Cowan was photographed wearing a ring.
Page Six later reported the couple had been overheard discussing an engagement before arriving, with Cowan reportedly wearing a Cartier diamond ring while Smith’s left hand remained covered by a glove.
Smith did not share details about the proposal, but told The New York Times, “I feel good, I feel happy.”
Inside ‘Hazel Eyes’
Hazel Eyes is Smith’s fifth studio album and is scheduled for release on August 21, through Capitol Records. It follows 2023’s Gloria and was announced alongside its lead single, “My Guy.”
Described as an ode to New York, where Smith now lives, the album is billed as “a modern fairytale of requited love, capturing themes of emotional vulnerability, artistic freedom and self-reflection.” It was created with longtime creative partner Simon Aldred, singer-songwriter Feist and multi-instrumentalist and composer Shahzad Ismaily.
Smith co-produced the album with Aldred and David Odlum. They also collaborated with Feist, Ismaily and Rob Moose across the album’s 12 tracks, some of which were recorded at Electric Lady Studios.
Speaking about the project, Smith said, “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.”
During a San Francisco concert on their residency tour, Smith said Hazel Eyes marks the first time they have written “about requited love,” a departure for an artist best known for songs about heartbreak.
The 12-track album includes “Everlasting Love,” “Hazel Eyes,” “Moondance” (feat. Feist), “My Guy,” “When He’s Gone,” “Thief,” “Love Is a Stillness,” “Sugar Rush,” “Oh Mother” (feat. The TwoCity Chorus), “Constant Companion,” “Hold On” and “To Be Free.”
The album’s second single, “Oh Mother,” featuring the 28-member vocal group The TwoCity Chorus, was released on July 22.
Smith described the choir as representing “the fury of a mother witnessing her child’s betrayal,” summoning what they called “a sort of divine feminine energy.”
They also said the song features vocals from their friend Dante, whom they described as “a mothering presence” during their 20s as a queer person.
Co-produced by Odlum and Aldred, the track also features cinematic string arrangements by composer Gabe Noel.
