Tom A Smith talks about his heart condition

Tom A Smith has found the courage and the strength to talk about his heart condition and share the scar that had been haunting him since he can remember himself. In a video he shared on Wednesday 11/11/2026, the young singer / songwriter talked about the serious health condition he was born with. A rare life-limiting heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. As he explained, he was born and continues to live with only one side of his heart.

By the age of 4, he had undergone 5 open heart surgeries. Can you imagine that? It would have been extremely hard for any strong adult. But he had fought his way through, having the support from a great family. He was left with a big scar. He grew up with all sorts of struggles and fears about the future, as well as the worry about what would people would think if they had seen his scar. When he was a kid, he avoided activities that would reveal the scar, worrying about the reaction from the other kids. Now the scar is the cover of his new single Carry The Weight and his upcoming debut album.

I knew about the condition, without having all the details. I knew there was a point a few years ago when he decided to stop talking about it. Now we know that he had gone through a long discussion with himself and finally decided to not just speak about it, but also to finally show the scar that had been haunting him all his life. The scar he didn’t want anyone to know about. I can only imagine the struggles in his childhood when he excluded himself from sports activities, out of fear of how the other kids would react to seeing the scar. Now he must be feeling liberated, as he doesn’t have to worry about keeping a secret anymore.

Check the video on his Instagram account. And follow him.

From Mouse to rockstar

He used to call himself Tom Mouse Smith, as he was a small shy child. And look at him now. At the age of 22, he’s a rockstar. Both as a musician and as a person. He played at Glastonbury when he was 10 and for the 4th time when he was 19. I don't know how many of the biggest stars in the world have played Glastonbury 4 times by the age of 19. He has already sold out gigs all over the country, even London which was a difficult task for someone from Sunderland. He got in the charts with Little Bits before even he turned 19. He was praised and interviewed by Elton John. His song Dragonfly was included by Barack Obama in his playlist. He’s widely seen as one of the most exciting talents in the country. He signed a record deal at the age of 21. He has all the talent to become a global star. 

Debut album: The Golden Gates

The scar is the cover of his upcoming album that will be released on the 2nd of April 2027. A whole album inspired by his personal lifetime struggles and his fears about the future.

You can preorder the album in vinyl or CD here.

It’s also a return to the kind of songs he had been releasing in the past. After an adventure of upbeat songs that were written with a purpose, based on what he wanted to do on stage, he’s back to the rock inspired powerful songs that he used to release until about 2 years ago.

And although it has been good fun to have those upbeat songs that were written with the live shows in mind, there is a point where you just need another dose of his rock songs with those beautiful electric guitar solos. I just wish he hadn’t gone through the struggles that are reflected in those songs.

I knew he had gone through hard times and I knew that there was one particular song that was reflecting his fears for what the future may bring. The song with the very long title. I Don’t Want You To Have To Remember Me For Longer Than You Ever Knew Me. I called that song a masterpiece and my opinion has not changed. Tom has the ability to take suffering and turn it into artistic brilliance. And even when he released that song, he was still not ready to discuss the story behind it. But it was a step.
I thought the release of that song had concluded an era for good, as he then started releasing songs that were based on how he wanted to perform on stage and how he wanted to entertain people. Songs that reflect total confidence. It turns out, he had been working on a comeback to what we had been releasing in the past, which would shape his debut album.

Tom has a wide range of musical influences and unbelievable knowledge of music, going from about 40-50 years before he was born, all the way up to now. He can write different types of songs. He can take his imagination to places that other people couldn’t reach. And I think he has a very rare gift. Tom A Smith has written songs that couldn’t have been written by anyone else in the world. And that’s a characteristic that very few songwriters have had over the years. He's a special songwriter and he should be discovered by a lot more people.

Hitting 800K streams on one song, 660K on another one

His song I Don't Blame You is on around 800,000 streams on Spotify, while Never Good Enough is over 660,000. There's no doubt he will reach 1 million streams on one song. His fan base is growing fast, he sells out gigs all over the country, his Spotify is growing. It's a good time for the debut album. And it's an album which is very personal to him.

UK headline tour

Tom started his UK headline tour just after posting the video. You can find all the information and ticket links here.