Emeli Sande - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Mon 15 Nov, 2010

• David Pollock
• 23 November 2010

This article is from 2010.

Voice of UK rap-pop hits tours classically-styled soul material

Acknowledging the fact there were representatives of London record labels in the house for this last date of a short Scottish tour, Aberdonian singer Emeli Sande seemed every inch the promising young singer-songwriter trying hard to make an impression. Yet one short medley towards the end of the set, described by Sande as ‘our odyssey’ of ‘all the choruses I’ve been singing in the last year’, demonstrated just why there’s such a buzz about the pretty vocalist with the shock of dyed blonde hair.

This medley included Tinie Tempah’s ‘Let Go’, Wiley’s ‘Never Be Your Woman’ and Chipmunk’s ‘Diamond Rings’, all of them big UK rap-pop crossover hits which Sande performed on as featured vocalist. Her own style, however, is markedly different, consisting mainly of more classically-styled soul tracks performed with the aid of a full band. These included a couple of fairly average ballads, some pleasingly upbeat pop-gospel tracks in ‘Friday’ and ‘Lifted’, and in ‘Stop the Clock’ and ‘Heaven’ a pair of songs which stood out because they mainly consist of Sande’s secret weapon, her perfect and reassuringly unaffected vocal. Hopefully it won’t stay a secret for too much longer.