There’s almost a doctor in the house, discovers Andy Welch, as Brit Awards Critics’ Choice winner Emeli Sande reveals all about her debut album and academic past

WITH a big soulful voice, emotional songs, and the Brits Critics’ Choice award already under her belt, there’s already an eerie familiarity to Emeli Sande’s career.

Add in the fact her first name is actually Adele, and the picture becomes much clearer. “I decided I had to change it and use my middle name,” begins Sande, smiling, fully aware of how comparisons with the 2011’s big-voiced juggernaut might be stacking up.

In truth, the Aberdeenshire singer’s music is quite different to that of the Someone Like You diva, with bigger orchestrations owing far more to R ’n’ B and soul than the contents of 19 and 21.

Sande started writing songs aged seven, and while there’s no danger she’ll begin performing her childhood back catalogue, she says, her first effort was still good enough to be plagiarised.

“It was about an alien coming to earth looking for love, and it wasn’t very good.

It didn’t have much structure,” she says.

“My friends formed a girl group for this talent show and they sang my song. I was in the audience and thought, ‘I recognise that!’ That was my first lesson in copywriting, anyway.

“The crowd seemed to like it, and they had a dance routine and everything. It was flattering I suppose, and we’re all still friends now, so I like to tease them about that.”

A few years later, after nagging her parents to buy her a piano, Sande taught herself to play, inspired by a lasting love of Nina Simone, and began taking music and songwriting more seriously.

“The first song I wrote that I can listen to without cringing came when I was about 14 or 15. That was quite experimental, I think, as I was really into jazz at that point.” Sande finally made her breakthrough while featuring on Professor Green’s No 1 single Read All About It late last year. Before that, she’d ploughed on with academia, and now, after three years of a medicine degree, she’s a qualified neurologist.

“I’m so happy I took time to study,” she explains. “It was the first time I’d been away from home and I learned a lot about myself, let alone the subject. I feel a lot more in control now that I have a degree.

It meant that music wasn’t the be-all and end-all.”

SANDE never worked as a professional neurologist, despite completing three years at medical school, then a year specialising in neuroscience, before coming down south after graduating.

“I still have about 18 months of education left if I want to become a doctor,” she explains. “Dr Sande – I like the sound of that. It would look cool on the album cover.”

While living in London, Sande won a competition, run by BBC radio DJ Trevor Nelson, although she turned down the prize, a recording contract, preferring to do things herself. She quickly became an in-demand writer (Simon Cowell says Sande is his favourite songwriter) penning hits for the likes of Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle and Tinie Tempah – some of the biggest-selling artists in the UK.

“The first time I heard someone singing a song of mine was Cheryl Cole, who sang Boys. Leona Lewis did another around that time, too.

“Some people think it might be odd writing for other people, but I haven’t felt like that. There’s no one who’s sung a song of mine that I haven’t respected, and no one who made me think they didn’t understand what the song was about.”

Sande’s own album, Our Version Of Events, features No 2 single Heaven, which is reminiscent of Massive Attack’s classic Unfinished Sympathy. It also includes follow-up Daddy, which reached No 20 in the charts, and the forthcoming single, Next To Me – which caught Madonna’s attention when Sande performed it on Graham Norton’s chat show recently.

“That was a strange night,” she says.

“We chatted briefly, she said she liked the song and my voice, and I shook her hand.

Very memorable, but surreal.”

It’s hard to imagine the young Scot ever struggling with self-confidence, so it’s perhaps no shock to discover she’s taking it all in her stride.

“I definitely knew I’d release an album,” she says. “But I didn’t think there’d be this much anticipation, or acknowledgement of what I was doing.

“That said, I’m happy people are talking about the album so much. I love getting the attention, because I have experienced the other side of that, when no one cares.”

Emeli Sande released her debut album, Our Version Of Events, this week