SAM SMITH has had an incredible reinvention in the past six months thanks to the No1 megahit Unholy.
Now the superstar will be celebrating in style — performing at the Brit Awards next month.
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I’m told Sam has signed up to take to the stage at London’s O2 Arena for the televised ceremony on February 11.
And they won’t be alone, as Unholy collaborator Kim Petras will be up there with him too.
Nominations for the awards will be announced in a YouTube livestream from 4pm tomorrow.
Sam is expected to be among the hopefuls so it could be a huge night for the Lay Me Down singer.
A source said: “It has been a tricky few years for Sam but a big performance at the Brits cements an incredible reinvention and ushers in a new era of success.
“They want to deliver really impressive staging to wow fans so work is well underway.
“Sam’s new album Gloria is being released at the end of this month so there will be new music which could be weaved into the performance.
LET’S CELEBRATE
“But Sam is bringing their pal Kim along so Unholy will definitely be sung.”
Sam will premiere the next single from the album, Gimme featuring Jessie Reyez And Koffee tonight from 6pm on Radio 1.
Kim has also been teasing a new tune, which is set to be released this month.
Sam scooped four Grammys in 2015 following the release of debut album In The Lonely Hour and has scooped three Brits, including the Global Success Award the same year.
The Brit came out as non-binary in 2019 and in 2021 criticised the Brit Awards for failing to scrap gendered categories.
Sam said at the time: “Music for me has always been about unification, not division.
“I look forward to a time where awards shows can be reflective of the society we live in.
“Let’s celebrate everybody, regardless of gender, race, age, ability, sexuality and class.”
Gendered awards were scrapped last year, when they were replaced by genre categories and a British Artist of the Year Award.
As the biggest night in music, I’m sure it will be a special one for Sam.
And of course, Bizarre will bring you all the news from the night.
KATY TAKES A POD AT RUSS
Katy Perry has taken a thinly veiled swipe at her ex-husband Russell Brand in an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow.
Discussing the men she used to be attracted to, the Roar singer quipped: “Narcissists. I loved a hot narci.
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“They are prolific in our industry and they are great for people who do have bad self-esteem or think we are not enough.”
Katy and Russell were divorced in 2012, after which she met actor fiance Orlando Bloom, with whom she has two-year-old daughter Daisy Dove.
She gushes about Orlando in the chat on Gwyneth’s Goop podcast, even comparing him to the patron saint of animals.
She said: “He was the first man that I met that was kind of a loop breaker for me.
“I kept on showing him my absolute worst.
“I was like, ‘Do you really love me? Because a lot of people love me on the surface.
“But I’m about to show you how crazy I am.’
“And he could take it. And animals and babies love him.
“He’s like Francis of Assisi.”
Katy, who will continue her Play residency in Las Vegas until April, went on to joke that her shows are best enjoyed while on psychedelic drugs.
She said: “You don’t have to be on mushrooms to enjoy it, but if you are it’s even better.”
I think I’ll swerve them, but thanks for the tip.
PAUL HAS WORK FOR 20 YRS
MOVIE shoots often drag on for months, but Paul Mescal has signed up for a film which will take decades to complete.
The Normal People actor has been cast in an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along, which will be shot over 20 years.
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Read Related Also: Ireland Baldwin snubs dad Alec after he forgets her in tribute to his 7 other kids
Paul – who last week landed the lead role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel – is replacing actor Blake Jenner after he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife.
He will play the lead Franklin Shepard, who abandons a career composing on Broadway to make movies in Los Angeles.
Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein were cast in the project in 2019 when it first started filming.
It is being directed by Richard Linklater, who shot the 2014 film Boyhood over 12 years, resulting in six Oscar nominations.
Only time, and a lot of it, will tell if this can achieve similar success.
ELLIE’S ALBUM IS ON HOLD
ELLIE GOULDING is delaying her upcoming album – but has hinted of another treat to come.
Higher Than Heaven was due on February 3 but will now be released on March 24.
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Ellie wrote on Twitter: “I know you’ve all been so patient with me but we’ve had some exciting opportunities appear behind the scenes which I cannot wait to share with you in due course.”
The delay could be a bonus, given she would have had tough competition from SHANIA TWAIN and RAYE on her original release date.
Ellie has also teased that she has already shot a video for her next single, Like A Saviour.
Her most recent album, Brightest Blue, topped the charts in 2020, so she has a lot to live up to.
ELLA TO TAKE THE PLUNGE WITH BOYFRIEND JACK
MY huge congratulations to Ella Henderson after she got engaged to former Team GB swimmer Jack Burnell.
The Ghost singer took to Instagram to share the below snap of her diamond ring after Jack got down on one knee at a five-star resort in Mauritius.
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Captioning the post, Ella wrote: “So this happened . . . here’s to life with you and all its adventures Jack Burnell.”
The athlete also posted a snap of himself jumping over a message he wrote in the sand saying: “She said yes.”
Ella and Jack met on a dating app at the start of 2020 and the former X Factor contestant dedicated the song Northern Lights to her man.
JESSIE IS STILL LINKED IN LOVE
JESSIE J has put rumours to bed that she might have split from her basketball player boyfriend after announcing her pregnancy.
I first revealed she was dating Chanan Colman in March last year, after she whisked him off on a romantic holiday to Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the Caribbean.
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But they hadn’t been seen together much recently, so when she said she was pregnant with her first child last week, there was uncertainty about whether they were still an item.
But they looked very much in love as he put his arm around her during a walk in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
In a video on Instagram recapping her first weeks pregnant, she said: “I can’t even explain to you how sick I feel.”
It looks like that stage is finally over now. Good for her.
AMANDA LOOKING TANTASTIC
IT was back to earth with a bump for Amanda Holden as she returned to a rainy Britain after a sun-soaked trip to Mauritius.
But – any excuse to show off her tan – the Britain’s Got Talent judge wore this short skirt while out and about in London yesterday, despite it being just 10C and pouring.
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She was back on her Heart Radio breakfast show and quizzed guest Gordon Ramsay over whether he could add to his five-child brood with wife Tana.
The sweary chef replied: “Last time I looked there were five, there could be one more on the way.
“She would love one more baby and I’m like, ‘No, no, no’.”
He added about his youngest child Oscar, three: “It’s already hard enough when I take Oscar to school and they say, ‘What’s your grandad’s name?’.”
But Amanda added: “I hope she’s up the duff again, that would be brilliant.”
US GWEN: I’M FROM JAPAN
GWEN STEFANI has puzzled fans by claiming she is Japanese.
The No Doubt singer was born to American parents in California.
Recalling the first time she visited the Asian country, she said: “I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it’. I am, you know?”
In the Nineties she was accused of appropriating Japanese culture with her Harajuku Girls backing dancers.
He latest odd comment was made in an interview with Allure magazine in the US.
She added: “If (people are) going to criticise me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn’t feel right.
“(It) should be OK to be inspired by other cultures, because if we’re not allowed then that’s dividing people, right?”
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