No choreography, no stunts, no posthumous holograms -- the only thing Sam Smith brought to the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards stage was his masterfully fine-tuned voice. And when I say "brought," I mean "Bring It On" levels of buh-rought.

Accompanied only by a piano, the two-time VMA nominee (Best Male Video and Artist To Watch) performed his In The Lonely Hour hit single, "Stay With Me," before an audience listening with rapt attention.

I was getting major flashbacks to another stunning VMA debut in particular -- Adele's "Someone Like You" set in 2011 -- and I'm sure I'm not the only one. (See what I did there?)

Not even the entertainment-industry titans in the room could resist the overwhelming power of Sam's vocals. Jennifer Lopez on the edge of her seat! Kim Kardashian West (who introduced Smith as "my friend") and sisters Kylie and Kendall in the audience! We were all the Kardashian-Jenners gently swaying right now.

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