On the cusp of releasing a debut album which is pretty much nailed-on to do stratospheric numbers and with two genuinely global smash hits already under his belt in the form of 'Stargazing' and 'Nice To Meet You', it feels strange to talk about Myles Smith as a local artist. But then, it wasn't so long ago that he was still playing those local venues, and he's keen to assert his continuing ties to Luton town.

"Luton has probably shaped every facet of me," he says. "Not only as an artist, but as a person. Growing up in a town as multicultural as this one, you get a global experience. It's so diverse that everyone you meet is from somewhere different, so you get to travel the world before ever leaving home. It's such a unique experience, and it's part of the reason I've always thought bigger and seen bigger as an artist. 

"Growing up, I had the opportunity to learn so many different styles of music and incorporate different rhythms and melodies, all just from that multicultural background and upbringing that I had. Whether it was being in Irish pubs and playing trad music or being with my friends and listening to Bhangra, there was just so much music, melody and culture going on from an early age. Music from Luton and being in Luton shaped me quite a bit."

That exposure to different styles of music is one part of the story, but if it weren't for Building Schools for the Future, a scheme implemented by the Labour Government in 2005 and shuttered by the Tories in 2010, Myles might never have been able to access the vital equipment he needed to develop his musical abilities. As a story of how poorly the UK values the arts, it's perhaps not a remarkable one, but as Smith knows all too well, these cuts hit the poorest far harder than those with their own resources and are at least in part responsible for the current musical landscape, which is sorely lacking in working-class representation. 

"A lot more needs to be done," he acknowledges. "Partly that comes down to individuals, too. With Ed Sheeran, we've been doing a lot of work through his foundation and lobbying governments, but at a personal level, it's something I try to do too. I'm going out to help with regional creative agencies or startups and seeing how we can get intertwined with them to build alongside local community groups that are doing music and fostering those environments.

"It's inspiring to see artists like Sam Fender starting their own touring initiative, too. There's so much happening at a personal and independent level, but it'd be great to see a national shift away from where we are and towards understanding that music is one of the biggest cultural and financial exports that the UK has. It's weird how undervalued it is."

Casually mentioning partnering up with Ed Sheeran isn't something many artists can do before their debut album, but Ed has been a key figure in Myles' career. Initially an inspiration who showed a potential musical path, the pair have since become close friends, even watching the Arsenal vs Ipswich Town football match together (Myles is a diehard Arsenal fan, while Ed's devotion to Ipswich goes as far as being a minority owner of the club). Surreal? Just a bit. But meeting Ed was more than just the realisation of a childhood dream for Myles – it also gave him a role model who knows exactly what he's going through.

"It's honestly so great," he says with a smile. "One thing about Ed is that he's just a normal human being. That doesn't sound impressive, but I've met a lot of people in this industry who do love being famous and love the façade that comes with it all. Ed's not like that; he's such a genuine person, and people like him, or like James Bay or Niall Horan or Bastille, they're great people who have done great things and stayed super grounded. Having relationships with those people has helped me keep my head on and actually navigate this weird world."

Weird may be an understatement. From clocking over a billion streams on 'Stargazing' to winning the BRITs Rising Star Award in 2025, Myles is on an ascent so dizzying that it can be hard to grapple with. He's spoken in previous interviews about the surreal nature of getting put on hold by his broadband provider only to hear one of his own songs played to him while he waits, a recollection he laughs at when we bring it up.

"I had a really steady climb up until 'Stargazing'," he explains. "I was really happy to be hitting those milestones – two million monthly listeners, then five, then nine. I was playing shows and touring and getting to where I wanted to be, but then 'Stargazing' happened and exponentially grew my career to the point where some of the things that are reserved for people who have had a hit, hit me. Suddenly I'm hold music, and I'm annoying cab drivers in New York because my song is on the radio so much. Those experiences are definitely surreal. But throughout all of it, I've had such a great team and a great family who make sure that these things don't change who I am or my perspective on anything. I think once you've got that in your back pocket, you can appreciate things for what they are without losing sight of just how weird they are."

One place where the steadying influence of others isn't needed, though, is in Myles' live performances. We venture the idea that maybe, just maybe, supporting Ed Sheeran on tour and stepping out into a stadium packed full to bursting with screaming fans night after night would be pretty daunting, but Myles seems genuinely calm about the whole experience.

"It's funny," he says. "I've been playing live since I was ten or eleven years old, and honestly, it's so much more nerve-wracking turning up to an open mic night and trying to convince someone in their mid-forties who's having a Guinness after a long day in the office that you're a superstar. Walking out in front of 90,000 people who have all paid to see music feels more like a privilege than a job – something I'm capable of living up to, rather than a challenge. Prepping for those shows was more about making sure I really, truly enjoyed them than anything else. There's only so much of an audience you can see from the stage anyway.

"It's all good practice for me," he adds. "I've got an arena tour coming up, which is pretty surreal considering my album isn't even out yet – flipping expensive, too!" He laughs. "Honestly, though, it feels super nice that I've been able to build a real community of people who enjoy the music and find themselves in it. I really do think it's a testament to me having a great team who believe in what I do and support me in all my decisions. Because not all of those decisions are commercially the most sensible, but that's just how I build, and they back me in doing that. It's given me the confidence to focus on what's actually important and to move away from obsessing over how many records we're selling or the amount of money we're making. 

"Building a career on a legacy of thinking about what messages you delivered and what changes you made to the world is what drives us and inspires us. I think that attitude is one that people naturally see and want to be a part of the journey. As far as I'm concerned, we're running a marathon, career-wise. We're running that long distance, but we've hit the first water cooler with this tour, and that allows us a moment to appreciate how many miles we've run so far."

It's a measured approach to stardom that you'd expect from an artist much further into their career than someone pre-debut and just 27 years old, but the gap between 'Stargazing' coming out in 2024 and debut album 'My Mess, My Heart, My Life.' in June this year is an indication of an artist who's more measured than most.

"When I had 'Stargazing' and 'Nice To Meet You', the conversation was definitely about running straight into an album," he acknowledges. "But for me, I didn't start my career based on getting a certain amount of pre-saves or a specific number of likes on Instagram – it's mindboggling to me that those things would even come into the picture.

"I wanted this album to feel intentional and to actually have something to say. I had nothing to say after those two big songs came out because I'd not lived a lot of life in between. I don't want to give people twelve 'Stargazing's, I wanted to take time and create something that felt true to me. As a predominantly live artist, I know what it's like to release something you're not 100% happy with and then to hate having to play it every night, even if it's just in a pub. The aim was to make a collection of songs that I'm happy to play for as long as I'm alive. What I don't want to do is build a career on commercial viability; it just isn't why I started this."

At the core of 'My Mess, My Heart, My Life.' is Myles' therapy notes from between the ages of 17 and 22. The singer has been open about his fractious childhood from the beginning, but by looking back at the ways he finally processed his grief and trauma, he reaches new levels of vulnerability on the album. "I see therapy as a journey," he says. "Social media is an endless stream of people telling you their life is perfect, and that just doesn't reflect anybody's reality. But we also spend a lot of time thinking of life in terms of 'this bad thing happened, and then it ended happily ever after', which also isn't true.

"I wanted to tap into the reality of life: I have good days and bad days and everything in between. Sometimes something bad happens, and I sort of learn from it, but I'm still trying to figure it out, or sometimes something good happens, and I take it for granted, and then I lose it. Things are open-ended, and there are so many shades of grey, so I wanted to write a human album and move away from the false perfection that we frame everything in."

By making the album as human as possible, Myles has also made something incredibly and deeply personal, in a way that he hasn't up to this point. It's a decision that comes with its own anxieties, but one which Myles knew he had to make from the very beginning of the album process. 

"I came to the realisation that a hell of a lot of people knew my songs," he explains. "But not many people knew me in any real way. I didn't want to make an album where I misrepresent myself as the guy who makes upbeat four-to-the-floor songs because it just isn't reflective of who I am. It's definitely part of who I am, but it isn't all of me. My mission was to think about what kind of album would feel like a more rounded version of me, and what pieces of the jigsaw do we need to put together to build that picture?

"One thing that 'Stargazing' definitely did give me is creative freedom," he continues. "I bought my own breathing space by already having that hit, and that's a privilege that not many artists get to keep. Having full control over what I want to do, what I want to say and what I want to put out is a really nice boat to be in and means that this album is as close to what I wanted to make as it could possibly be."

Alongside the desire to make an album which was true to who he is, there's also a sense that Myles is acutely aware that he's a role model to a lot of fans and has a real desire to ensure he shows that men can be emotional and vulnerable. As Louis Theroux's recent documentary on the so-called Manosphere and TV drama Adolescence have brought issues around regressive masculinity to the fore, it's a message which pushes back against a growing toxic narrative which surrounds many young men on social media and increasingly in real life.

"I'm always afraid to call it a masculinity crisis because I do believe that generally we're moving forward and that it's a niche group who feel this way or act this way," he explains. "But they have a very loud voice, and that tends to be the way in this world - the more divisive or polarising, the louder the voice. I watched Adolescence and Inside the Manosphere quite recently, and it definitely jolted something within me. I think it reaffirmed the fact that these voices exist and these personalities can have so much influence over young men. 

"When I grew up, I had the examples of Ed Sheeran and Labyrinth and Tom Odell and James Bay, who all used to speak about these emotions so openly and show vulnerability. They helped me enter that journey of growth with regards to being open about my feelings. I didn't sign up to be a role model, but also I'm not going to be afraid of or shy away from that responsibility, and if there is a way in which I can make an impact and show an alternative route and still be credible and cool in the eyes of kids, then I'm definitely happy to take it on."

Not that Myles can take all the credit for the maturity of his worldview, though, with the team around him and his friends and family all pitching in to tell him that his platform gives him real responsibilities. 

"My mum is always there to remind me," he says with a laugh. "We frequently have conversations about the bigger picture and the opportunity I have to make changes where I can – whether that's publicly or offline with regards to grassroots venues and being able to support kids from working-class backgrounds to get to gigs. That's all inspired by her, she's always there behind me, saying, 'Hey, you have an opportunity to really help here, don't forget to drop that ladder'. She's had an absolutely pivotal role in what I do and the human that I am."

It's big stuff for an artist as new as Myles is, but if anyone is prepared for it, it's him. Throughout our chat, he radiates a kind of unshakeable calm which has stood him in good stead so far and looks set to do so in the future as well. 'My Mess, My Heart, My Life.' has been a while in the making, but don't expect that to change with album two. 

"I don't think I'll be on some crazy hiatus after this album and tour," he says. "But I haven't lived a lot in the last three years. I've seen a lot and been to a lot of countries, but in terms of real living, in terms of seeing friends, being at weddings, being at funerals, being at birthdays, I've missed a lot of life. The music I make is always dependent on lived experiences, and I need to experience the world in order to write more, because I don't ever want to be in the position where I'm making up stories or doing stuff that isn't true to me."

And what if a massive debut album and a huge arena tour make him lose touch with that kind of real life altogether? "My friends message me every now and then telling me they're grateful I'm not a twat, so that keeps me humble," he says with a laugh. "Honestly, growing up in Luton, you never judge anyone on what they do, you judge them on who they are as a person. As far as my friends and family are concerned, I've got a cool job, but that doesn't change the lack of hierarchy in those relationships. My friends value me as a person and nothing else. That's what keeps me grounded."

Taken from the June 2026 issue of Dork. Myles Smith's album 'My Mess, My Heart, My Life' is out 19th June.