Yesterday, President Joe Biden held a celebration at the White House to mark the signing into law of the Respect For Marriage Act. The milestone act protects same-sex marriages on the federal level, making it so any potential Supreme Court decision now can’t deny those rights to LGBTQ+ people. Sam Smith, Cyndi Lauper, and Joy Oladokun each performed on The White House South Lawn in the joyous moment, but it was something that Sam Smith did during his performance of “Stay With Me” that truly captured the essence of the Respect For Marriage Act.
Smith stepped to the stage backed by a keyboard player and three backing singers to deliver the Grammy-winning hit “Stay With Me.” As Smith began to sing the song’s opening lyrics, they made a slight tweak to the lyrics and it made the moment all the more beautiful. Instead of, “Guess it’s true I’m not good at a one-night stand,” Smith sang, “Boy, you know I’m no good at a one-night stand.” Elsewhere, Smith also changed the line “this ain’t love, it’s clear to see” to “this is love, it’s clear to see,” which they spoke about in the Instagram post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKGvfCoff_/?hl=en
For Smith, who came out as gender non-binary in 2019 and made LGBTQ+ history this year when their “Unholy” collaboration with Kim Petras topped the Billboard Hot 100, it felt like a moment they’d been waiting for; to tailor the lyrics of the iconic song to an impactful moment for the queer community. There was none bigger than this.
Watch Smith perform “Stay With Me” on The White House South Lawn above.
