Emeli Sande - Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 10 Apr 2012
Ballsy, multi-genre songwriting overcomes any X Factor endorsements
Photo: Peter Kaminski
The fact that an artist has been given the stamp of approval by Simon Cowell would be a sign to many that we should run quickly in the other direction. Leave your valuables. Forget your loved ones. Put on your own oxygen mask first and get the heck out of dodge.
Despite being proclaimed by Cowell as his favourite songwriter du jour, the crowd at Emeli Sandé’s Glasgow show is much more diverse than your standard X Factor-endorsed artist could wish for. And this is probably down to the fact that Sandé is really quite talented.
The power and nuance in Sandé’s voice in a live setting is startling. Her self-penned songs span across soul, pop, a bit of R&B and the odd reggae beat, with ballads like ‘Suitcase’ and ‘Breaking The Law’ showing the subtler side of her vocal. It is her more ballsy tracks which really hit the mark, with upcoming single ‘My Kind of Love’, ‘Heaven’ and the encore of ‘Next to Me’ obvious highlights, making what could otherwise be fairly middle-of-the-road mum-music edgier and more enticing to a wider audience.
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