Emeli Sande

A vocalist and composer whose richly resonant tone draws from adult pop, R&B, and jazz traditions, Emeli Sandé lent guest vocals to several leading U.K. grime acts before launching her independent career in 2010. Already holding BRIT and MOBO trophies, she unveiled her first album, Our Version of Events (2012), a multi-platinum U.K. number-one phenomenon that yielded four Top Ten singles and set the stage for the chart-topping follow-up Long Live the Angels (2016). Closing out the decade, she issued Real Life (2019) after accumulating further Top Ten placements as a featured performer, among them Chipmunk’s “Diamond Rings” and David Guetta’s “What I Did for Love.” Let’s Say for Instance (2022) spotlighted her gift for emotionally direct songwriting through tracks such as “Brighter Days” and “Oxygen.”

Born Adele Sandé in Sunderland, she developed her skills on clarinet and piano while composing and singing original material, guided by her Zambian choirmaster father. During medical studies at Glasgow University she secured a publishing agreement with EMI; after connecting with producer Naughty Boy, the duo collaborated on several pieces, including the Top Ten Chipmunk single “Diamond Rings” on which she appeared, and “Boys,” later cut by Cheryl Cole as the B-side to “3 Words.”

Following her solo signing with EMI she relocated to London, contributed to projects by Tinie Tempah, Professor Green, and Devlin, toured the U.K. as support for Solange Knowles, and earned another Top Ten entry alongside Naughty Boy and Wiley with their reinterpretation of White Town’s “Your Woman.” Her debut solo single, “Daddy,” arrived in 2010. The next year brought multiple honors, among them Best Breakthrough Act at both the BRITs and the MOBO Awards. After joining Professor Green on the October 2011 chart-topper “Read All About It,” she released Our Version of Events in February 2012. The album earned widespread praise and strong sales; “Heaven” and “Next to Me” received extensive airplay and solid European and domestic chart showings. Her visibility rose further when she performed Henry Francis Lyte’s hymn “Abide with Me” at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. A subsequent rendition of “Read All About It” at the closing ceremony propelled the album back to number one that August. It finished the year as the U.K.’s best-selling LP and secured her two BRIT trophies the following February for British Female Solo Artist and British Album of the Year.

In 2013 Sandé issued the live recording Our Version of Events: Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Her second studio set, Long Live the Angels, followed in 2016. Captured on both sides of the Atlantic and shaped by her Zambian roots, it featured her father and the Serenje Choir of Zambia; the collection peaked just outside the summit of the U.K. chart. The more dance-focused single “Starlight,” blending house and pop elements, appeared in September 2017. After additional guest spots, including David Guetta’s U.K. number-one “What I Did for Love,” she resumed headlining in June 2019 with the expansive gospel ballad “Sparrow,” co-produced by Troy Miller. Real Life arrived two months later, reaching number six in the U.K. and aiming to encourage and uplift listeners; it incorporated further work with Miller plus contributions from Salaam Remi and James Poyser.

After issuing several interim singles she switched labels and made her Chrysalis bow in 2021 with the determined track “Family,” co-written with Henri Davies. Further releases, among them “Brighter Days” produced with Ollie Green and the self-produced “Look What You’ve Done,” paved the way for Let’s Say for Instance, which entered the U.K. chart at number 27 in May 2022. One of her most stylistically diverse projects, the album encompassed tender love songs, hopeful anthems, and the forthright protest piece “Another One.”