#11

I've been thinking about doing a music post for a while now and this is me finally attempting one! My older brother, Jack, most definitely holds the title of music journalist in our household and I couldn't take that away from him even if I tried. He is after all heading off to uni in a couple of months to study Journalism/English and writes with a much more professional and sophisticated tone on his music blog than I do on here. 

However, while music reviews are not my favourite of all writing tasks and my knowledge is fairly limited, like a lot of people I do love music. I've had a love for singing for as long as I can remember (definitely inherited that one from my mum!) and at one very dedicated point, reached grade 5 in classical training. Sadly, as I've got a bit older (boo!) my priorities have changed and singing lessons/exams have taken a back seat for a while. You'll be pleased to know however that when it comes to singing I am as critical as ever of everyone, especially myself! My brother seems to focus mostly on the actual music when he writes, whereas I'm much more interested in the singers vocal talents/abilities.

Jack and I

 (Is it just me who thinks his hair gives away his love for bands?)

Female artists are having a ball at the moment in the world of music, and the market is filling fast. Of course you've got your ever lasting pop stars such as Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady GaGa, Demi Lovato etc. But in the past  year or so we've been introduced to new and quite different female artists. For example, it's been hard to escape the haunting voice and striking face of Lana Del Rey recently. Rita Ora, despite blending effortlessly into the chart music scene also has a striking voice that can only truly be appreciated while watching her acoustic numbers on-line and Adele, well you don't need me to tell you about that woman, who has quite rightly peaked over 2011/2012. And then of course there's the lime-light-avoiding songstresses with voices I would describe as nothing less than beautiful such as Laura Marling, Birdy, Christina Perri and Charlene Soraia.

Lana Del Rey

 Birdy

Rita Ora

There is though, one woman, who has stolen my heart completely with her music (if you follow me on twitter you might be able to have a guess!) and that is Scottish singer/songwriter Emeli Sandé. 

Emeli holding her well deserved Brit 'critics choice' award which she won before her debut album had even hit the shelves

When her debut single 'heaven' broke sleekly into the charts, I heard something in her voice and music that made her stand out from the rest of the everyday chart/pop music. She was impossible to ignore and as I searched youtube for any and all of her unreleased material, I slowly began to fall in love! Emeli's voice is unmistakable and so easy to listen to, yet at the same time she incorporates tricks and flicks into her work to keep it unique. While her haircut and nose ring may cause you to first judge her as a typical urban artist and young rebel, her voice is somewhat angel like. Then again, you could see her style as a representation of her uniqueness in music too. I have an absolute admiration for women like that. The ones who cannot be defined or stereotyped, they simply are themselves, they're most definitely a pleasant surprise in today's society. Furthering that, she does not do the typical pop artist thing of singing about sex, parties and romantic love. Her music is much deeper than that. Every time I listen to her album (never having to skip a single song I might add) I learn something new about her. Her music simply makes you think about life, human relationships (not just romance!) and our emotional struggles. Her songs 'My Kind Of Love' and 'Breaking The Law' go as far as being tear-jerkers, especially if you can find it in you to relate to her words. It's refreshing to find someone commercially viable who can sing about family relationships and issues people face such as illness, depression and the emotional effects of love rather than just how they want you to 'party all night' and 'put your hands up'. While that may make the album sound slightly depressing I can assure you it is not, and features plenty of upbeat sing-a-long type tunes.

OUR VERSION OF EVENTS-EMELI SANDÉ IS OUT NOW