SMO "Celebrate You" Single Review

cover art for "celebrate you"

Matias Rilasciati | October 2025

SMO is back with a brand new single, “Celebrate You” – and we are ready to celebrate with him, because it’s a hit!

The Dublin-based singer and songwriter (@smo_rockstar on Instagram and TikTok) only started his musical journey this past January, but since then, his growth both as an artist and performer has been truly remarkable. He just wrapped a UK tour supporting English band Permanent (Joy) and we have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a flourishing career.

“Celebrate You” is SMO’s (stage name of Sam O’Neill) fifth single and it immediately strikes as nostalgic, evoking a feeling of longing for better days, long gone. This song perfectly encompasses that void you are left with when driving back home on a gloomy day after being gone for a long time: memories of your time away are still fresh, but ahead lies a thick fog that will inevitably turn everything blurry.

This timeless lack of hope is conveyed through the lyrics “I talked to my dad about the way that it was / He said ‘It’s tough at the bottom but it’s worse at the top’” and climaxes with the final surrender “I’ll let the sea swallow me whole.” We believe this track resonates the most with today’s youth, who feel lost in a messy world that keeps taking without ever giving back.

Instrumentally speaking, the track starts off with a decisive drum beat, followed by strings and keys, which create a beautiful texture and the open sound of daydream-like atmosphere. A steady-paced rhythm and a catchy melody accompany great vocals, with the singer’s voice standing out as gritty and poignant, especially when it goes up a semi-tone during the key change of the last chorus. The indie/folk artist has a promising future ahead, we are sure of it, and we cannot wait to see (and hear) him grow, evolve and explore across different genres and styles.

We encourage everyone to keep an eye on him and we also hope for more of his music and to see him on a headline tour soon! 

In the meantime, we will keep rooting for Sam while streaming his songs (SMO on Spotify).

Celebrate You

SMO

[Verse 1]

Feels like my life got twisted around

Once upon a time

I was the king of this town

Oh such a promising upcoming, now I’m coming down

If you don’t get to a lifeboat then you’re gonna drown

[Chorus]

But I saw the earth flatten my love

Then I saw the world take all my drugs

[Verse 2]

I talked to my dad about the way that it was

He said “it’s tough at the bottom but it’s worse at the top”

Oh but the devil’s in Dublin and he lives at the docks

And if the sky starts to fall you won’t see where it stops

[Chorus]

But I saw the earth flatten my love

Then I saw the world take all my drugs

[Pre-chorus]

Yeah

But I saw the light

And I lost my mind

I’ll celebrate you tonight

Yeah

[Chorus]

But I saw the earth flatten my love

Then I saw the world take all my drugs

[Outro]

But I drank the wine and it made me feel good

But I’ll let the sea swallow me whole

But I have faith you’ll take all my love 

But I saw the world take all my drugs