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LISTEN Sam Smith Shares Emotional Ballad Burning

samsmith-1.3389038 HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Singer Sam Smith attends the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (Frazer Harrison /Getty Images)

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Sam Smith shared another song from his new album on Thursday – an emotional ballad called “Burning.”

The singer described the track as his favourite from The Thrill of It All, which comes out Nov. 3. 

“It’s the most personal song I’ve ever written in my life,” Smith told BBC Radio. “It’s about self-destruction.”

The singer explained the song is, in part, about fame “and about the responsibilities I felt and the pressure, and my relationship with my voice.”

But it was also inspired by the aftermath of a painful breakup.

Smith explained: “I was going through a really tough time last year … I went through a breakup and I dealt with the breakup in a bad way, and I was just going out way too much. I was burning, in a way, and I didn’t want to write, which is a weird thing for me because normally when I feel bad or sad … music is therapy to me.”

After a six week break from writing, “Burning” was the first song Smith wrote.

Listen to “Burning” below (at around the 1:20 mark):