Sam Smith has released the single "When He's Gone," the third track lifted from their upcoming fifth studio album, Hazel Eyes, which arrives on 21 August via Capitol Records (Rolling Stone; Broadway World).

Smith told Rolling Stone that "When He's Gone" was recorded live without a click track — the electronic metronome musicians typically play to in the studio — and that the rest of the song was built around that original take to preserve what they described as the feeling of a storm rumbling in the distance.

The single follows two earlier releases from the Hazel Eyes campaign: "My Guy," which arrived in June alongside the album announcement (Variety), and "Oh Mother," which featured the TwoCity Chorus. The eight-track album — When He's Gone; Thief; Love Is A Stillness; Sugar Rush; Oh Mother (feat. The TwoCity Chorus); Constant Companion; Hold On; To Be Free — is listed across Smith's official store, which opened pre-orders ahead of the release date (Sam Smith Official Store).

Smith co-produced Hazel Eyes with David Odlum and Simon Aldred. The album also includes collaborations with Feist, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose solo career stretches back to the late 1990s; Shahzad Ismaily, a multi-instrumentalist and producer who has worked across genres from rock to avant-garde; and Rob Moose, a violinist and arranger known for his work with artists including Bon Iver and yMusic (Rolling Stone).

Hazel Eyes is Smith's first full-length since Gloria, released in 2023. That album included "Unholy," a collaboration with Kim Petras that won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — the first Grammy win by an openly trans artist, credited to Petras as a featured performer. In 2024, Smith marked the tenth anniversary of their debut album, In the Lonely Hour, with a special reissue, and contributed covers of songs by Sylvester and Beverly Glenn-Copeland to TRANSA, a compilation from the Red Hot Organization, a non-profit that raises awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS-related causes (Rolling Stone).

Smith's verified Instagram account, which lists them as a multi-Platinum, Grammy, BRIT, Golden Globe and Oscar-winning artist, confirmed that "When He's Gone" is out now and that Hazel Eyes can be pre-ordered ahead of its 21 August release (Instagram).

On the live side, Smith will play a series of mini-residencies across Mexico and the United Kingdom through August and September, with the final show scheduled for 19 September at the London Coliseum (Rolling Stone).

For fans, the rollout offers a steady drip of new material ahead of the album: three singles already released, a short run of intimate residencies in two countries, and a sixteen-day wait until the full record lands.