Myles Smith is making his mark, his way

For Smith, music was never Plan A. Coming from a working-class background, he tells me, the idea of being a pop star felt at first too distant to even dream about. But music was, nonetheless, an ever-present part of his life and his upbringing. “For me, it was my older brother and sister being big parts of my life, playing old R&B and hip-hop records from Usher to Ne-Yo to Mario. That was a super exciting way to see how expressive music can be and how much joy and laughter and love it can bring,” he says. He started writing songs around age 10, realizing not only that music was something he could take comfort in but could also possibly create himself.

“As I got further into learning about music – and eventually playing music – I was so inspired by singer-songwriters and people who had impacted me on an emotional level but also by people who impacted me in seeing that it can be done. Whether that be Ed Sheeran being a UK export or Labyrinth being one of the first examples of a black pop artist in the UK that I could remember,” he explains.

But before any of that, Smith tells me, his focus was mainly on the “real world.” After high school, Smith went on to earn a degree in social policy, followed directly after by a corporate job. “It was sort of like monkey bars in the transition from my everyday job to music. I slowly transitioned, and there wasn’t a harsh break,” Smith says. “I literally looked at my sleep app this morning and during that year, it was like, I was getting three hours sleep. I was doing my job and then I was doing music right after.”

Though toeing that line was grueling – in more ways than one – Smith says it’s ultimately paid off in spades. “Being able to go to college or school or university or work a job in the ‘real world’ is super important to anyone who’s going to have creative endeavors, because I think that it helps you learn all the necessary life skills,” he says. His drive in music, he tells me, comes in part from the long hours he put in trying to earn good grades, make job interviews, multitask, and write papers. He learned from all of this how to adapt and, most importantly, how to chart his own course: “Writing a dissertation isn’t too dissimilar to writing a song in that you’re creating your own thing and you’re finding your own way.”

Though toeing that line was grueling – in more ways than one – Smith says it’s ultimately paid off in spades. “Being able to go to college or school or university or work a job in the ‘real world’ is super important to anyone who’s going to have creative endeavors, because I think that it helps you learn all the necessary life skills,” he says. His drive in music, he tells me, comes in part from the long hours he put in trying to earn good grades, make job interviews, multitask, and write papers. He learned from all of this how to adapt and, most importantly, how to chart his own course: “Writing a dissertation isn’t too dissimilar to writing a song in that you’re creating your own thing and you’re finding your own way.”

Though toeing that line was grueling – in more ways than one – Smith says it’s ultimately paid off in spades. “Being able to go to college or school or university or work a job in the ‘real world’ is super important to anyone who’s going to have creative endeavors, because I think that it helps you learn all the necessary life skills,” he says. His drive in music, he tells me, comes in part from the long hours he put in trying to earn good grades, make job interviews, multitask, and write papers. He learned from all of this how to adapt and, most importantly, how to chart his own course: “Writing a dissertation isn’t too dissimilar to writing a song in that you’re creating your own thing and you’re finding your own way.”

In the midst of all this, a close friend from Smith’s childhood suggested he start putting everything he’d been writing on TikTok. “I was so reluctant to it because I was of the mindset that so many people were of at the time, which was that this was a thing for kids about silly dances,” he laughs. But once he started getting familiar with the app and posting, he realized the opportunity in front of him was golden. “As I got familiar with the app and all the short-form content platforms, I was like, actually, this is an opportunity to build and find community. Once I saw it for that, it became so much more interesting to me, a platform where, yes, I could promote my music, but where I could also find a home for my music as well.”

Once he found his footing online, his reach snowballed. One video after another would go viral, iconic accounts would report his content, and he’d get so many notifications that his phone would crash. “Solo,” an early original snippet that turned heads, and his cover of “Sweater Weather” were defining moments, both making his audience balloon so large that he knew music was meant to take over.

“It was months of that. So when I eventually released my first proper single after the cover, it had a life. And then I did it again, and it had an even bigger life. Fast forward to ‘Stargazing’ and it’s had an even bigger life,” Smith says. The countless hours Smith had put in even before all of that allowed him to take advantage of the moment and turn it into something bigger, turning songs he’d written in his room into hits he could workshop in writers’ rooms in LA.

“It’s super nice to think that only a couple years ago, I was playing these songs just to my mum in her house and a small group of friends. Now to be singing to thousands of people around the world, it feels good,” he says with a smile.

Last year, Smith released two EPs – February’s River and November’s A Minute… – that represent the culmination of these early efforts. Working with the iconic producer Peter Fenn – whose other credits include cuts with Laufey, Fred again.., Valley, and Ava Max – he tracked some of his most intimate moments. Connecting with Peter, he says, helped bring out the best in his artistry simply since the two got along as friends so well. A Minute.., after all, is centered around those life-altering moments that can change everything, whether those moments be with a partner, a friend, or simply ones spent trying to make sense of your own mind.

And yet, in Smith’s songwriting exists an exciting contrast. He manages to take these vignettes and dial them up to anthems, creating stadium-ready singalongs out of his highest highs and lowest lows. “I’m delusional into thinking one day I’ll be playing in stadiums, and so I always write like I’m already there,” Smith says with a smile. “My songwriting approach is always starting from the point of I want a song to live forever and in a big way.”

If the pace Smith is keeping seems dizzying, that’s because it is. In the first half of 2025 alone, he’s set to trot across North America and Europe. “Finally, I feel like I’ve reached a point now where the stages are big enough and the audiences are big enough that I can really put on a show. Being able to delve into creating a solid show that people come and enjoy is super exciting,” he tells me.

Smith is not daunted by the task, nor does he see a break coming anytime soon. Instead, he just wants to do what he knows best and what he loves: writing and playing. That, after all, is what keeps him going. “Whether I’m on tour or off the road, I always try my hardest to put pen to paper,” Smith admits. “That’s the lifeblood of everything we do as musicians. Music drives everything.”