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Emeli Sand茅 captivates in new 鈥楽treet Symphony鈥� TV talent show

Moving beyond sentimental backstories and lavish studio sets, Emeli Sandé takes the search for new music talent to the streets.

When you're singing Alicia Keys and Emeli Sand茅 rocks up

Emeli discovers busker Vianvi Esosa Max-Who entertaining a crowd in Glasgow.

Emeli Sandé is one impressive woman. With a degree in neuroscience, a number one selling album and multiple awards under her belt the songstress could be forgiven for resting on her laurels just a little.

But instead she’s back with a new album and a brand new TV show designed to find extraordinary talent from the streets of Scotland.

鈥淓meli is like a premier league football scout for music鈥�

Just one of her songs can get well over a 100,000,000 listens on Spotify but now the hitmaker will lend her ears to the sound of hard-working buskers.

Tonic for a generation becoming fatigued with hypercritical voting shows, Emeli Sandé’s Street Symphony travels the cities of her home country.

There were no large-scale auditions for Emeli. In this programme, she behaves more like a savvy football scout for music, turning up on street corners in all weathers and watching in admiration as aspiring musicians perform in their natural habitat.

“I never had the guts to busk”, she says. “I feel overwhelmed by the dedication of so many of these buskers to get out on the street.”

Sandé says, “Buskers bring such colour and joy to our streets. They don’t get the credit they deserve, but cities would be very grey places without them.”

“They ... often melt into the background – I’m about to change that and put them centre stage.”

Emeli discovers a host of committed performers in the programme from a soulful Celtic pink-haired songbird to a Scottish super-tight funk trio.

Funk trio High Fade get crowd dancing with Bill Wither鈥檚 鈥楿se Me鈥�

The quest to uncover new Scottish sensations to rival the likes of Lewis Capaldi or Kathryn Joseph, begins with trips to five key Scottish cities and their busking hotspots. Emeli's home city of Aberdeen and Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee. She must then hand-pick her five favourite busking performers and bring several musical worlds together in harmony.

She gives her selected soloists, duos and groups the opportunity to join her, her band and the 大象传媒 Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the guidance of world-class orchestral conductor John Logan.

It will be the biggest opportunity of their lives.

Throughout her talent-spotting Emeli has this grand gig at the back of her mind and it isn’t lost on her what a big moment it will be for the selected performers - more used to pounding pavements than filling auditoriums.

As well as following these musicians in their first steps of limelight, we also get the chance to learn about Emeli's own journey. From touching insights courtesy of her personal childhood videographer dad to the difference a gifted piano made to her trajectory.

The series is a love letter to making music and hustling to be heard.

Emeli Sande's Street Symphony is on the 大象传媒 Scotland channel from Thursday 19th September and will be available on the 大象传媒 iPlayer.

Emeli Sand茅 at the 大象传媒

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