Emeli Sande lived like a "hermit" before making her comeback.

Emeli Sande

Emeli Sande

The 29-year-old singer-songwriter enjoyed incredible success with her debut album 'Our Version of Events', but subsequently made a conscious decision to leave the spotlight before writing her new record 'Long Live the Angels', which is due out in November.

She said: "It sounds a bit dramatic but I just wanted to disappear. I just had this overwhelming sensation and the realisation everything had to stop. And then, slowly, it did.

"The label let me go and be a hermit for three years and trusted me to put together music that was important for me. I felt I had to slow everything down.

"I wanted stuff to write about and I wanted to really experience things on a deep level.

"I wanted to go back to the way I made the first album, not thinking about any ­anticipation, just focusing on if this is good music or not."

Emeli revealed her sister was a major influence behind her decision to return to making music.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It definitely got to a point where the label were like, 'Maybe someone should have a chat'.

"But it was when my sister was like, 'You know what, you need to put out this album' - that's when I knew it was time to get on with it."

Emeli - who divorced her husband Adam Gouraguine after a year of marriage - said that her soon-to-be-released new album will touch on some of her personal troubles over the last few years.

She shared: "I feel like this album is a diary. I was always writing.

"It's very raw, very emotional. It's a very soulful album. I've been 100 percent honest on this album. Everything is out there.

"If you want to get to know me, then you will with this album."


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