They are both huge British recording artists and to be honest, they look like they could be siblings. Does that mean that Sam Smith and Adele Adkins are related?
No, Adele is not related to Sam Smith. Both artists are from London, however different parts of the Greater London Area. Although at one point, both did live in the northern area. In 2018, a conspiracy theory spread across the internet that the two singers were actually the same person. While Smith does have some other famous cousins, Adele is not one of them.
You can read more about Sam Smith and Adele’s backgrounds, as well as the conspiracy theory below.
A Little Background on Sam Smith and Adele
Sam Smith was born in 1992 in London England, although which area of the city is still unknown. They did attend St. Mary’s Catholic School in Bishop’s Stortford, an area northeast of London in Hertfordshire, England.
Adele on the other hand was born in 1988 in the London borough of Tottenham, eventually moving to Brighton and then settling in south London’s West Norwood. She attended the famous London high school and college known as the BRIT School. Adele’s big break came when her demo was discovered on MySpace only months after posting it.
Unlike Adele, Smith got their big break in 2012 when they were the featured singer on the song Latch by British electronic group Disclosure. Only four months after the release of Latch, Smith released their first single Lay Me Down. Smith is cousins with singer Lily Allen and actor Alfie Allen. Lily Allen, similarly to Adele, got her big break by being discovered on MySpace. Alfie Allen is famous for his role as Theon Greyjoy on the hit HBO Series Game of Thrones.
When Did the Conspiracy Theory Begin?
On February 6, 2018, a twitter user, jesse21valona, posted a video where they slowed down Adele’s song Hello on a record player. The slowed down version of the song sounded exactly like Sam Smith’s singing. People online started freaking out stating that the two British singers were the same person.
Some people were quick to point out that Adele and Sam Smith have never been seen together. This seemed strange because they are both famous pop stars that live in London. It would make sense for them to have met at least once before. Sam Smith has even been quoted saying that Adele is one of their biggest inspirations. Wouldn’t they have tried to meet up with one of their idols after the amount of fame they’ve garnered? After all, Adele was quick to do so, having met her all time favourite pop group, Spice Girls, on multiple occasions.
You can watch the below Clevver News YouTube video explaining the conspiracy theory and providing fans reactions below.
Their Career Similarities
On top of this whole conspiracy theory is the fact that the two have careers that are fairly similar. Well, if you generalize at least. In comparison, Adele’s career has been far more successful than Sam Smith’s.
Both stars have won Grammys, Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and the list goes on. Adele has won a total of 147 accolades and awards over her career, while Smith sits with just 29. However, both artists do hold an Academy Award for Best Original song. The songs that won were both written for James Bond films. Adele’s song Skyfall written for the Bond movie of the same name won in 2013. While Smith’s song Writing’s on the Wall made for the movie Spectre, won in 2016.
Alas, Sam Smith and Adele are not related in any way, nor are they the same person, despite some career similarities. Maybe one day soon we will see the two together and the conspiracy theories can be laid to rest.