Myles Smith has revealed how advice from Ed Sheeran helped shape his approach to his long-awaited debut album.
My Mess, My Heart, My Life arrives via RCA on June 19.
Speaking to Music Week, Smith explained why he was determined to make a record that reflected who he is as an artist rather than what the world expected of him on the back of his billion-streaming hits Stargazing (2,033,287 UK sales, OCC) and Nice To Meet You (1,104,245 sales).
Smith recalled his conversation with Ed Sheeran, who asked him what it would take for him to look back on the record with a sense of accomplishment.
“I want to make an album I’m proud of,” Smith told him. “One that I can look back on in five or 10 years and think, ‘I did the thing I wanted to do and not the thing that I thought everyone wanted from me.’”
In response, the Azizam hitmaker delivered a direct assessment of the commercial foundations already in place ahead of the LP's release.
"When people are looking back in three years at that album, you can't really go wrong when you've cleared two billion streams," Sheeran told him.
“I was like, ‘Fair dos," said Smith, who counts Sheeran as both a hero and a close friend.
But it was Sheeran's broader advice about measuring success that resonated most deeply.
"You're going to have low moments and moments that peak, and you just have to take all of them in your stride," Sheeran said. "If you put success down to numbers or milestones or statistics, it's gonna be an endless game of being happy and disappointed."
Smith reflected on the factors behind the pair's close bond.
“I think at the heart of it is that we love making music," he said. "I have no interest in fame; it’s not something I’ve ever been hungry for. It’s always about how music can be the most important and defining part of my career, and I think he sees that in me.
“We’ve clicked because we connect as human beings, not as musicians... For him, I think it’s probably nice having another person in his life who’s concerned about Ed the father, the husband or the friend, rather than Ed the global success.”
Having that success early on has given me the creative permission to be completely autonomous and have the trust of my label
Myles Smith
Smith has more than four billion global streams and won the Rising Star award at the 2025 BRITs. Additionally, he is the first male solo artist to reach No.1 on both American Alternative and Top 40 radio with his first two singles – all before releasing his first album.
The 27-year-old acknowledged his trajectory to date had been far from conventional.
“It’s been quite an unstructured career in that I’ve been lucky enough to have songs that have done really well and have toured the world two or three times pre-debut album,” he said. “It’s a really weird period; I’m very conscious I’ve done nothing in order."
He continued: “I never got into this to have plaques on my walls or to say that I’m No.1 on radio here or there. I got into this because music helps me communicate how I feel.”
Smith said that My Mess, My Heart, My Life executive producer Peter Fenn is his “main guy, who’s been with me since the start”, according to the artist, while artistic collaborators Steph Jones and Jesse Fink are described as "friends and they understand me as Myles the person, not the artist".
Smith also worked with Niall Horan and Nashville-based writer/producer Gabe Simon (Noah Kahan).
“I find it difficult to open up to people I don’t know, but Gabe is really good at letting the artist do what they do best and knowing when to complement it or help steer,” said Smith. “That was unexpected because I was so closed off to working with anyone new.”
Smith was also full of praise for his label RCA and co-presidents Glyn Aikins and Stacey Tang, along with Sony Music UK & Ireland chairman & CEO Jason Iley.
"They are really invested, and the thing I love about RCA UK and RCA US is that they come from a culture, similar to my football team Arsenal, where it still feels like traditional development," he said.
“The conversation in my album process wasn’t, ‘Where are the hits?’ It was, ‘Does this reflect what you want to say, and is this relevant to your journey as an artist as to where you want to go to?’ If it ticks that box, they’re behind it.”
He added: “Having that success early on has given me the creative permission to be completely autonomous and have the trust of my label.”
Subscribers can read the full Myles Smith cover story, which also features Extended Play Music Group’s Eric Parker, Closer Artists' Ryan Lofthouse, RCA's Glyn Aikins and Joe Iddison and WME's Craig D’Souza, here.
