Sam Smith Credits Lady Gaga for Accepting Their Queerness

British pop star Sam Smith credits Lady Gaga for inspiring them to accept their queerness, People reports.

In a video for "Vogue" sharing their skincare and makeup routine, the 28-year-old singer shared that "Gaga is probably the reason why I actually came to terms with my gender... I was 15 when 'The Fame' came out and I was obsessed with Lady Gaga. She gave me complete permission to be myself and to be proud of my queerness."

Recently, Smith also opened up in an interview with Zane Lowe about their upbringing, coming out at age 10 and "wearing makeup and female clothing all throughout school" by age 14. Though their family was accepting, with that freedom came loneliness. Having no openly gay examples in close proximity, Smith had to be self-reliant: "You're brought up in a world where you're told it's not okay to be what you are, and that's really, really hard."

Smith also explained to Lowe that they'd like to have children. "I want kids. I want all of it. I want to be with the kids, and I want to watch them grow and be with them every day. I want to be mummy." But before that happens, more music is on the way: "...I've still got more in me... I've still got ambition."

In the meantime, Smith's latest album, "Love Goes," drops later this week. For the album, they wrote about the experience and heartache of their "first-ever relationship. It awakened me sexually, it awakened so many parts of me... that feeling of 'They're gone.' You can't sleep."