Sam Smith has had a year to remember in 2013, but this year of success may very well be only the start of his rise to musical stardom as his considerable talents continue to get noticed. His latest bit of recognition came last night (11 Dec.) when he was chosen as The Brits 2014 Critics' Choice, an honour that has predicted the success of Adele, Emeli Sandé, Ellie Goulding and Tom Odell in the past.

Sam Smith
Smith is continuing his rise to the top with his Brits win

"It means the world to me, it's the only award i really care about. I've watched the BRITs religiously every single year," he said in a statement released on the Brits' website. "I'm such a massive fan of female singers and some of the females who have won this award have been my biggest inspirations, so to even be nominated means a lot to me, a lot."

Smith has already scored two number ones despite not even releasing his first solo single yet. He scored his first No. 1 as the singer on Disclosure's breakout track 'Latch' and scored his second on Naughty Boy's massive single 'La La La.' He has since released the Nirvana EP and has been working on his debut album, which should be out in Spring 2014. He will release his first solo single 'Money On My Mind' in February, which you can check it out below.

The 21-year-old singer is also tipped for big things by the BBC too and is the frontrunner in their poll for the Sounds of 2014. He faces competition from his fellow Brit nominee Ella Eyre, London producer Sampha and hip-hop's next big thing Chance the Rapper, among others, for the award, which will be announced on 10 January.

Smith will be presented with his award at The BRITs Are Coming nominations show, which will be aired on ITV on Thursday, 9 January at 10.35pm, where his fellow nominees Eyre and Chlöe Howl will also be on hand to perform. The show will come ahead of the broadcast of next year's Brit Awards, which will be shown live on 19 February, again on ITV.

Sam Smith live
This is only the start for Smith