Artist Spotlight: Emeli Sande

Aug 2, 2012 by dragonpunchdp

Hip Hop Star Emeli Sande

I enjoy all forms of entertainment, whether it be movies, TV, video games or music.  Yet lately I haven’t found myself as interested in music as much as the others. While driving, I mostly avoid the radio: Too many commercials, too many replays. Still, I try to keep an ear out as to what is popular or unique. So while browsing the web, I saw a mention of Emeli Sande (Her full name is actually Adele Emeli Sande, but when that other Adele [who the hell is she, really?] started gaining mass amounts of traction everywhere, she started going by her middle name professionally) as someone to check for and I headed to YouTube to see for myself. I’m glad I did so.

The U.K. has really produced a lot of talented female singers lately, Sande among them. She has written for a number of artists including Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis and Cheryl Cole. She’s had number one singles across the U.K. and Ireland, as well as a number one album with her debut Our Version of Events. Hailing from Scotland, this singer/songwriter’s voice is amazing. This is demonstrated not only by how she sounds on a recording, but in her live performances as well. I will always be impressed whenever an artist can sing live and smash it,  and she does just that with her performance on Later with Jools Holland seen below:

I’ve heard comparisons to Beyonce regarding her vocal tone and I can hear shades of it, but Sande really does have her own sound. The fact she is a songwriter and has been writing since a young age is probably the reason her songs stand out to me. She has a quick writing process with her key ingredients to a good song being honesty and raw emotion. Another one that immediately grabbed my attention was “My Kind of Love,” which has a very good video to go along with it:

After listening to her songs on the web for days and getting them stuck in my head, I decided to stop playing and cop the album from Amazon. It did not disappoint. The whole album is really good with my favorite tracks right now being “River,” “Clown,” “Suitcase” and “Easier in Bed.”  One of the best songs I have heard her perform is “Kill the Boy,” which unfortunately is not on the album but featured on her Heaven EP. She doesn’t oversing, but instead hits just the right notes, a trait which separates the mediocre from the very talented:

Although I didn’t see it, she performed at the opening of the Olympic games this year and earned rave reviews. Sande is touring with Coldplay in the U.S. for some of their dates and worked with Alicia Keys on her upcoming album. Keys is a big fan of hers, calling her:

“A magnificent new artist from the U.K. … I just love her style and her flow- super raw.”

Already a star in the U.K., I’m glad more people across the world are discovering her and her immense talent. Music is far from my area of expertise, but I wanted to shine a spotlight on Emeli Sande, a true talent, to anybody who isn’t already familiar with her yet.