Sam Smith reveals fears he 'would go mental' following In The Lonely Hour success

The English singer/songwriter has struggled with overnight success

(AFP/Getty)

Sam Smith might have achieved his dreams of becoming a global chart-smashing, multiple award-winning superstar at the tender age of 22, but the performer has revealed fame has left him “hanging on for dear life”.

The singer, whose meteoric rise over the past 12 months culminated in his winning four Grammy awards a couple of weeks ago, said in an interview that it has been a struggle simply keeping his sanity.

"I've spent as much energy this past year trying not to go mental as I have plugging my record," he told the Observer Review. "You have to. It's like your body's trying to float away. And you're hanging on for dear life."

He said fame was "not necessarily a nice thing", explaining that media attention over his appearance could be uncomfortable.

He revealed that while he isn’t always happy with how he looks he is finally comfortable with his sexuality, which he says is something he has “mastered” after a lot of effort.

The openly gay singer dedicated his newest music video for “Lay Me Down” to “gay and transgender people everywhere”.

The singer, whose phenomenally successful In the Lonely Hour album centred on his experience of unrequited love, revealed his next album is unlikely to be any more cheerful.

One particular song, “Scars”, is about his parents' separation, leading him to joke that people may have expected some more uplifting music after a sombre first album.

He told the paper: "Any normal person, after that first record, would think, 'Second album, let's bring out some happy music. Give everyone a break.”