大象传媒

by Rosie Stopher

Emeli Sande is one of the UK’s most recognisable voices in British music and she'll be performing for thousands of fans as part of this year's Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park line up. But she says she was once so fed up, she almost decided to leave the music industry behind.

“I’d said to my friend ‘Right, that’s it, I can’t do it!” she admits on the new episode of Duvet Days.

“We went to the park, and he brought his guitar. Just for the joy of making music, we started playing and singing”.

What happened next changed her mind about quitting completely.

“Literally, the park turned around to us. One guy came up and said, ‘Can I just sit and listen?’ He actually had his tag on from prison. He said, ‘I have to be back in an hour’. He was almost risking his curfew to listen this music.

“Wow. That’s real life, and that’s the real beauty of music.”

Emeli is in conversation with Abby Hollick on the 大象传媒 Sounds podcast, Duvet Days. Each week, Hollick climbs into bed with a guest to explore their highs and lows, and what drives them under the covers.

She admits that the music industry has made her want to do just that at times – but says her encounter in the park reminded her exactly why she loved making music and putting it out to the world.

“It was so joyous. I’d gone from quitting to suddenly restarting my career in the park five minutes later. This is what I love. This is my passion, and sure, sometimes it gets stressful, but you can’t escape it.”

Emeli’s first album, Our Version of Events, spent ten weeks at the top of album chart in 2012, propelling her to fame.

Beforehand, she’d been studying medicine in Glasgow and writing songs for other artists like Professor Green and Cheryl Cole.

Emeli admits that at times, she’s felt that the music industry isn’t a natural fit for her.

“I’ve never intentionally wanted to be a pop star. I don’t think that fits with my personality very well.”

In fact, she was wondering whether it was the right place for her only three weeks before the first album was released.

“I remember calling my friend and I said, ‘I’m thinking of going back to medicine, because I don’t know! I love music and I love this industry but it’s such an unsure territory.’”

She says that unlike some of the music industry, she’s really shy and doesn’t enjoy partying.

“I’m really bad at small talk. All these parties you get invited to, if you’re really bad at small talk, well what’s the point in being here?”

Fortunately, Emeli could see past the issues that come with being a pop star. She realised she couldn’t fight her need to make music.

She tells Hollick that she sees the link between her studies in medicine and her career in pop: “Healing is what I try to do with my music.”

For a while, she wondered if she could heal people through music in a different way.

“I’ve always wanted to connect with people, so I thought, is there another way, could I become a music therapist, could I do something that allows me to be how truly sensitive I am but still get music out?

“But then I think I’d miss it too much.”

Listen to Emeli’s full Duvet Days interview on 大象传媒 Sounds