Sam Smith continued their year of personal and professional triumphs Wednesday night when they were named the 2019 Person of the Year at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards in London.

The four-time Grammy winner appeared jubilant as they walked the red carpet in a custom-designed green lace kimono by Menageri Intimates . Things took a poignant turn, however, when they delivered an emotional speech reflecting on their recent strides toward living authentically as a genderqueer and nonbinary person.

In September, Smith announced they were embracing the gender neutral pronouns they and them. Prior to that announcement, the 27-year-old had been speaking about their gender identity in greater detail in various interviews.

During their speech on Wednesday, Smith wiped away tears and described the moment as overwhelming.

The last year has been a wild ride of self-realization and has almost felt like a second coming out, they said. The reason Ive been able to show all of the sides of myself to the public and express myself in these ways is because I felt incredibly safe.