I want to be a figure in the gay community: Sam Smith

Los Angeles: Grammy winning singer Sam Smith says he wants to be the celebrity advocate for the LGBT community. "I want to be a spokesperson. I want to be a figure in the gay community, who speaks for gay men.

"I sell records in countries where gay men get killed and that's a big thing for me because maybe one person in that country will pick up my album, realise it's by a gay artist, and it might change their opinion," Smith, 23, said.

The singer, who shared this sentiment to clarify comments he made last year, said he meant he did not want to be pigeonholed in the industry and that he's proud of his sexuality, reported People magazine.

"I?m a gay man who came out when I was 10 years old, and there?s nothing in my life that I'm prouder of.

"What I was trying to say was that I didn't want the album to appeal to just one community, I wanted it to appeal to all of them. I wanted anyone, gay or straight, to be able to relate to me singing about men, like I was able to relate to Stevie Wonder or John Legend singing about girls."