Scottish recording artist Emeli Sandé released an album this past summer, “Our Version of Events,” that is finally gaining popularity in the United States.
Jumping to the fifth spot this week on the iTunes Top Ten Albums chart, Sandé’s soulful debut album is starting to turn heads. While Sandé’s rise to popularity seems sudden, a review of the album on contactmusic.com says that her recognition as a musician was a long time coming. Before coming out with her own set of tracks, Sandé wrote songs for such notable singers as Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle.
Before her rise to fame in the United States, Sandé won several competitions for song writing and even received the Brits Critic’s Choice Award in 2012.
I recently purchased what is arguably the most popular song on the album, “Next to Me.”
“Next to Me” opens right away with a catchy piano rhythm followed soon by the Beyoncé-esque vocals of Sandé. This is one of the most upbeat songs on the 15-track CD. This track is my personal favorite because it really shows the vocal range capabilities of Sandé and because it seems to be the easiest one to sing along with.
The album has a nice balance of up- tempo melodies and those that are more subdued. “Suitcase,” one of the mellower tunes, is a personal favorite of Nursing sophomore Reilly Jorgensen.
“When I was studying abroad in Ireland last semester, my housemate introduced me to ‘Suitcase’ and I fell in love,” Jorgensen said. Jorgensen said that she thought Sandé was only big in Europe until she heard her
songs back in the United States. “I started listening to her music and realized she had a lot of really unique aspects to her music,” Jorgensen said. “Her voice and just the way she sings is really original.”
Business junior Alli Meyer has a different favorite on the album. “My Kind of Love” was the powerful ballad that hooked her on Sandé’s music.
“I like her range in this song and the meaning behind it,” Meyer said.
The part of this album that I love most is how sincere Sandé’s voice sounds. She has the rare ability of putting all her passion and soul into a song and making her listeners feel the powerful emotion she is trying to convey.
However, one thing that I think this album lacks is an element of uniqueness. While Sandé’s songs are a treat to listen to, I feel as if I could find these songs elsewhere. They all sound like something I have heard before.
Regardless of the commonality of this album, Sandé has created a list of tracks that people will listen to. I think she is someone we need to keep our eye on because, as she matures and collects more experience, her music is going to be big.
“Our Version of Events” is now available for purchase on iTunes for $6.99.