Emeli Sandé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emeli Sandé
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Sandé in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Adele Emeli Sandé |
| Born | 10 March 1987 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Origin | Aberdeen, Scotland |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
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Adele Emily Sandé, also known as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She was born on March 10, 1987, in Sunderland, England. Emeli grew up in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
She became famous after singing on Chipmunk's song "Diamond Rings" in 2009. This song reached the top ten in the UK music charts. The next year, she sang on Wiley's song "Never Be Your Woman", which also made it into the top ten. In 2012, she won the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards.
Emeli Sandé's first solo song, "Heaven", came out in August 2011. She had two number one hits in the UK and Ireland. These were "Read All About It" with Professor Green and "Beneath Your Beautiful" with Labrinth. Her first album, Our Version of Events (2012), was number one in the UK for ten weeks. It was the best-selling album in the UK in 2012. She also performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympics that year. In 2013, she won Best British Female Solo Artist and British Album of the Year at the 2013 Brit Awards.
Her second album, Long Live the Angels (2016), reached number two in the UK. In 2017, she won another Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. This was her fourth Brit Award win. In 2018, she sang as the character Thethuthinnang in the TV show Watership Down.
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Early Life and Education
Emeli Sandé was born in Sunderland on March 10, 1987. Her father, Joel Sandé, is from Zambia, and her mother, Diane Sandé-Wood, is English. Her parents met while studying in Sunderland. When Emeli was four, her family moved to Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Emeli wrote her first song when she was 11 years old. It was for her primary school talent show. She realized then that she wanted to be a songwriter. She always wanted to be a musician and write her own songs. The first song she wrote was called "Tomorrow Starts Again."
She went to Alford Academy, where her father was a teacher. Emeli was a very good student. She said she was shy and well-behaved. She couldn't get into trouble because her dad would find out quickly!
When she was 15, a radio station called Choice FM invited her to London. She took part in a competition there. She also sang gospel music for MTV. This was her first time performing in London. By age 16, she almost signed a record deal. But she decided to go to university first. She knew how important education was.
Emeli studied medicine at the University of Glasgow. She focused on neuroscience. She said that having an education was important. It meant she would have something to do if her music career didn't work out.
One of Emeli's biggest inspirations is the artist Frida Kahlo. Emeli even has a tattoo of Frida Kahlo on her arm. She got the tattoo after leaving medical school. For Emeli, Frida Kahlo represents strength and bravery. Frida Kahlo's story of battling illness and expressing herself through art inspired Emeli. It gave her the courage to follow her dream of making music.
Starting Her Music Career
Emeli's sister made a video of her playing piano and singing. They sent it to a BBC music competition. Emeli won the competition and was offered a record deal. However, the deal didn't work out at that time.
Her parents also sent a CD of her songs to BBC Radio 1Xtra. Her music was played on the radio. She then met music producer Naughty Boy. He had worked with other artists before. They started writing songs together for many famous singers. These included Alesha Dixon, Chipmunk, and Tinie Tempah. Soon, Emeli signed record deals with Virgin Records and EMI Records.
First Big Hits
Emeli's singing career officially began in 2009. She sang on the song "Diamond Rings" for Chipmunk. This song reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the first top 10 hit for both Chipmunk and Emeli.
She then sang on another song with Wiley, called "Never Be Your Woman". This song reached number 8 in the UK charts. It was Emeli's second top 10 hit in a row.
Emeli decided to use her middle name, Emeli, as her stage name. This was because another singer named Adele was becoming very famous. Emeli said, "I changed it as soon as Adele came out. She was just getting bigger and bigger."
Our Version of Events and Breakthrough
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Emeli announced that her first solo song would be released in 2011. The song "Heaven" came out on August 14, 2011. It received many good reviews. She also confirmed that "Daddy" would be another song from her first album.
Emeli got her first number one song in the UK with "Read All About It". She sang on this song with Professor Green. In December 2011, she was chosen as the Brit Awards Critics' Choice for 2012.
Her first album, Our Version of Events, reached number one in the UK in February 2012. The album has songs written by Emeli herself. Critics said the songs were "richly melodic" and "powerful."
In 2012, she was also nominated for a Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act. Emeli also wrote songs for the group Sugababes. She performed a special concert for Q Magazine in London. She also sang a version of David Guetta's song "Titanium" with him in France.
Performing at the Olympics
On July 27, 2012, Emeli Sandé sang "Abide with Me" at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Her song "Heaven" was also played during a part of the ceremony. Later, on August 12, 2012, Emeli sang "Read All About It (Part III)" at the closing ceremony. A video of emotional moments from the games was shown during her performance. She also sang a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" for the BBC's Olympics coverage.
In 2013, Emeli won two more Brit Awards. She won Best British Female and Best British Album. Her song "Next to Me" won two Ivor Novello Awards in 2013. These awards are for songwriting and composing.
Long Live the Angels and Community Work
In May 2013, Emeli performed at the White House in Washington, D.C.. She was one of the artists celebrating Carole King receiving an award. In June 2013, Emeli started writing songs for her second album. This album was released in 2016.
Emeli has used her fame to support important causes. She has performed at fundraising concerts. In 2013, she performed at Elton John's AIDS Foundation Event. She cares deeply about raising money and awareness for HIV/AIDS. This is especially true because her father is from Zambia, where HIV/AIDS is a serious issue.
She has also supported Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. This campaign raises money and awareness for breast cancer research. More recently, Emeli helped start a program called "Community Clavinova". This program gives free Clavinova pianos to different groups. As a musician, she knows how important it is to have musical instruments. She is happy to help groups get these valuable contributions.
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In 2014, Emeli joined the charity group Band Aid 30. They recorded a new version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to raise money. This money went to help with the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
On August 25, 2016, Emeli shared a preview of a song called 'Intermission' from her new album. She announced that her new album would be called 'Long Live The Angels'. It was released on November 11, 2016. The first song from the album was "Hurts". Emeli said she wanted to release "Hurts" first because it was everything she had wanted to say for a long time. The album reached number 2 on the UK album chart. In 2017, Emeli went on her 'Long Live the Angels Tour'.
In 2017, she won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist again. This was her fourth Brit Award. On October 2, 2017, Emeli also received a BASCA Gold Badge award. This award recognized her special contribution to music.
Recent Albums
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On April 12, 2019, Emeli Sandé announced her third album, Real Life. It was released on June 7. This album came after a time of personal growth for Emeli.
On May 23, 2019, the song "Extraordinary Being" from the album was used in the movie X-Men - Dark Phoenix. Real Life was released on September 13, 2019. It included the songs "Shine" and "You Are Not Alone". The album reached number six on the UK charts.
In February 2021, Emeli Sandé left her record label EMI. She then signed a new contract with Chrysalis Records. She released the music video for her song "Family" in September 2021. In October 2021, she released a duet with Jaykae called "Look What You've Done".
In January 2022, Emeli released the song "Brighter Days". She also announced that her fourth album, Let's Say for Instance, would be released on May 6, 2022. In 2023, Sandé released her fifth album, called How Were We to Know. Most reviews for this album were positive. In November 2024, Emeli released "Roots" on her own record label, Venus Records.
Musical Style and Songwriting
Emeli Sandé has a soprano singing voice. She has said she wants her music to be remembered like that of Nina Simone. Nina Simone is one of her favorite artists. Emeli first heard Nina Simone when she was eight years old. She heard Simone sing "Why?" after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.. Emeli was inspired by the sad yet hopeful lyrics and powerful singing. She wanted her own music career to be similar.
Emeli began working with Naughty Boy in 2009. They first worked together on Chipmunk's album. Emeli wanted the songs on her first album to sound fresh. She wanted to go back to how she wrote songs when she first started. Emeli had classical music training when she was a teenager. She learned to play the piano at a young age. It was important for her to show that she played, made, and wrote her own music. She wanted people to see all sides of her as an artist on the album. She wanted songs where people could truly connect with the words. She didn't want them to be just simple pop music. Joni Mitchell and Lauryn Hill were also big influences for her album.
Writing Songs for Others
While making her first album, Emeli also worked with Tinie Tempah. She helped write "Let Go" and sang on it. She also worked with Devlin on a song called "Dreamer". Emeli later wrote songs for Alesha Dixon's album The Entertainer. She co-wrote the hit song "Radio". She also wrote songs for Cheryl Cole and Professor Green's albums. Emeli sang on Professor Green's album too.
In 2011, she was called Simon Cowell's favorite songwriter. This was because she wrote songs for singers like Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle. Emeli co-wrote "This Will Be The Year" for Susan Boyle. She also wrote "Trouble" and "Mountains" for Leona Lewis.
Emeli gets ideas for her music from artists like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Lauryn Hill, and Amy Winehouse. She has said that her songs are often about world peace and political issues. Emeli believes that the key to a good song is being "honest" and showing "raw emotion." She says that if she tries to write something "too smart," it doesn't work for her. If she has to work on a song for more than a day, she usually won't go back to it. She feels that if a song is going to work, the idea for it comes almost instantly.
Personal Life
In January 2012, Emeli Sandé shared that she was engaged. She had been with her boyfriend for seven years. She said he was a scientist and not in the music business. Her fiancé was revealed to be marine biologist Adam Gouraguine. They got married in his home country of Montenegro on September 15, 2012. Emeli said she would legally take his last name. However, she would still be known as Emeli Sandé in her music career. In November 2014, Emeli announced that they had divorced after two years of marriage.
Emeli Sandé was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2017. This honor was for her services to music.
On May 23, 2019, Emeli Sandé became the new chancellor of the University of Sunderland.
In March 2022, Emeli Sandé confirmed she was in a relationship with a female classical pianist. She said she wasn't sure how she identified but felt she should fall in love with whoever she falls in love with. In September 2022, Emeli announced her engagement to her partner, Yoana Karemova. In November 2023, Emeli shared that they had postponed their wedding. This was because she was busy with her new album and tour dates.
Discography
- Our Version of Events (2012)
- Long Live the Angels (2016)
- Real Life (2019)
- Let's Say for Instance (2022)
- How Were We to Know (2023)
Touring
Headlining Tours
- Our Version of Events Tour (2011–2013)
- Long Live the Angels Tour (2017)
- Real Life World Tour (2019–2020)
Supporting Tours
Awards and Nominations
See also
In Spanish: Emeli Sandé para niños
