Sam Smith, 'Diva Boy': Singer's embarrassing early musical efforts come back to bite him

British artist Sam Smith's pre-fame music is seeing the light of day, and it seems there's nothing he can do to stop it. Photo / Nick Reed

Before he was an Oscar-winning musical superstar, Sam Smith was a young, struggling London singer trying to make it big - and committing some fairly dodgy musical efforts to tape.

Now, the 24-year-old Stay With Me singer's pre-fame music is seeing the light of day, and it seems there's nothing he can do to stop it.

At some stage before his debut album In The Lonely Hour became a worldwide bestseller, Smith recorded music at Flipbook Music's London studios in the hope of making it big.

We can only assume that, in doing so, he also signed away the rights to whatever he made with them, because Flipbook have this week announced the release of Smith's 'lost' debut album: Diva Boy.

Yep, the album's called Diva Boy. There's even a single, Momentarily Mine, and while its supper-club soul sound isn't actually a world away from the music found on Smith's actual debut album, the video is a low budget cheese-fest of David Brent proportions.

"Sam was in development and trained for success over three years with Flipbook Music, a London based Indie Label," states the Sam Smith Diva Boy website.

Asked what his ambition is at the beginning of the video, Smith is blunt: "To be a star, basically."

Sam Smith back singing for his Diva Boy album.

"It was at Flipbook Music that Sam's dreams were nurtured, his, then undiscovered, talents uncovered and developed and it was there he learned his art. It's also where he experienced all his 'firsts', including recording his first album, his first live and video performances and first interviews and, later on, his interviews as an informed person when he shares his views on life, love, sexuality and more. This journey was recorded every step of the way for the making of the documentary ... Sam Smith The Lost Years."

The documentary, as well as Smith's lost album and single, will all be available to buy on the site. That is, if Sam doesn't get the lawyers in first.