Myles Smith: Is this Brit Rising Star winner the next Ed Sheeran?

Telegraph

27-02-2025

In just over two years, 26-year-old Myles Smith has gone from relative unknown to TikTok sensation to Brit Award winner. Even though his two gigs at the 2,000-capacity Shepherd's Bush Empire are some of his biggest to date, it may well be the last chance to catch him in a venue of this size. On Saturday, he will play at the O2 Arena, alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Sam Fender, at the Brits ceremony. He will also be picking up his Rising Star Award (following in the footsteps of Adele and Sam Smith) and is up for a further three awards – Best New Artist, Best Pop Act, and Song of the Year for Stargazing. This summer, he will be supporting Ed Sheeran on his stadium summer tour in Europe. The Luton-born folk-pop singer hasn't even released a full album yet.
You can see why he's doing as well as he is. His tracks are largely inoffensive earworms punctuated with as many 'ohh-ohh-ohhs' as humanly possible. Think Sheeran mixed with Mumford and Sons.
Smith has a nice-guy energy that works well on stage. Well, maybe not always that nice. At one point on Wednesday night, the singer shouted the Arsenal football chant 'what do we think of Tottenham?' at the crowd, who responded with the required sweary callback. (Confetti cannons exploded immediately after.) But otherwise, he was full of smiles and messages of positive reinforcement. He seemed genuinely humble and excited to be there, remarking how he had played a pub round the corner during his early performing days.
His fans, mostly young women, seemed enthralled. When Smith asked the audience to be quiet for one song, an overly talkative dad was met with a barrage of shushes. And a surprise appearance from fellow Brit folk artist James Bay for their song Waste drew screeches.
Smith did slow it down occasionally. The song 3am about his strained relationship with his father brought a poignancy to the evening. He pointed out his mother in the crowd, and movingly shared how she was the emotional centrepoint of his music. When I turned to look at her, she seemed to be dancing and singing along word to word to every lyric.
As the show drew to a close, Smith finally launched into Stargazing, his 2024 hit that has so far amassed over half a billion streams on Spotify. Unsurprisingly, it was greeted with a mass sing-along and fans whipped out their phones to capture the moment. After finishing, the young star told them to put their phones down and live in the moment, before playing the song a second time. A gimmick, but one that would have made Bob Dylan proud.
Smith could struggle to stay afloat amid the midst of Sheeran clones, but he knows his audience to a tee. They want to hear upbeat, sentimental messaging packaged in singalong hits with foot-tapping melodies. His treacly sincerity could be a criticism, but Smith seems to truly believe in what he preaches. At one point, he told the crowd to turn on their phone light if they had experienced depression, anxiety, heartbreak or grief. Then he asked fans to turn their light to the person next to them, his unifying message that everyone feels this way. Maybe overly earnest but genuine nonetheless. I may even have been converted.