Scots music star Emeli Sande is to sing for the Pope at the Vatican.
The chart-topping singer-songwriter, from Alford, Aberdeenshire, revealed she received a special invitation from Pope Francis, who has been a fan of her music for some time.
Sande, who performed at both the opening and closing London 2012 Olympics ceremonies and for Barack Obama at the White House in Washington when he was US President, said: “I’m performing at the Vatican on the 14th of December. It will be exciting to sing something new and some older songs in Italy again.
“It was a surprise invitation. It’s the Pope’s Christmas concert. He’s got quite a few artists coming and I’m very honoured that he asked me. I hope to meet the Pope. I’d love to meet him.”
Every year, the Vatican Christmas Concert features international pop, rock, soul, gospel and opera stars as well as an orchestra in a tradition stretching back three decades.
In 2019, Susan Boyle performed When a Child is Born at the Pope’s Christmas concert, held in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
Sande, 37, is best known for hits such as Heaven and Next To Me. She also won four BRIT awards as she rocketed to fame with her debut hit Heaven in 2011 as well as follow up singles such as Daddy and her Read All About It collaboration with Professor Green.
Her debut album Our Version of Events topped the charts in 2012 as she became one of the biggest acts on the planet.
Sande said: “I visited the Vatican a few years ago and it’s absolutely stunning so to perform there is going to be really special. It will be one of those moments and if I do get to meet him, that will be really special too.
“It will be a good start to the coming year as we look ahead to a new one.”
After years of hits and touring the world as one of the biggest artists on the planet, sheparted with the record label Virgin, to which she had been signed while a teenager.
Following a whirlwind spell in London, she has returned to live in Scotland with her parents.
“At the beginning of this year, I spent about three months up in Alford and I loved it,” Sande said. “I loved being around my parents and I loved that I could play my pianos until whatever hour because people couldn’t hear me.
“It gave me the peace of mind and a kind of cleansing I needed. I thought, actually, I want to be here.
“It’s become a lovely musical retreat. My mum loves hearing me play so it feels like the good old days.
“I’m very grateful that my parents have let me take over half of the house.
“I’m going to get my head down in Scotland by working on a new album which will be piano based because I’m getting back to my roots as well.”
Her current single called Roots has been released on her own label, Venus Records, following a collaboration with the Macallan whisky brand.
Sande said: “I’ve been trying different things to grow as an artist. I’ve started my own label which feels like a new challenge ahead of me, but I’m enjoying having the control of how things are released.
“I’ve moved my main studio back up to my parents’ house in Scotland and I spend a lot of my time in Alford.”
On running her own record label, Sande said: “At the beginning of every year, you feel a sense of a need to recuperate because it can get so busy.
“But I really fancied the challenge. I enjoy being involved in the decisions and thinking about how songs are going to go out.
“Often your voice doesn’t get heard as an artist on a major label. They see you as the person who does the music and think, we’ll take it from there.
“I really wanted full control and I don’t think anyone’s going to care about music more than me so I wanted to be involved in all the decisions, from the music to the artwork. I didn’t really want to compromise on anything.
She added: “It was really quite a ride to go from being a medical student Glasgow to that level of fame and also to be given this platform is something I’m always I will always be grateful for.
“When I look back, it was a chapter in my life that was really exciting but I didn’t get much time to kind of evolve as a musician.
When you’re so busy doing shows and tours and, you know, really trying to make the most of that opportunity, you really have to put music and improving on the back burner.
As much as I enjoyed the excitement and the glamour and all, I want to get better and find deeper ways to communicate through music.”
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