Emeli Sandé - Next To Me

If Adele’s U.S. success has proven anything, it’s that Americans are obsessed with British people (they do have awesome accents) and soaring vocals belting out about the heartaches and heartbreaks of love. Following the increasing popularity of Europop music, artists from all over Europe, specifically the UK are seeking to use that platform to get their foot (and songs) into the U.S. door and make their musical mark. Enter Emeli Sandẻ, whose powerful vocals are making her presence known with her current single “Next To Me.” Seen as this Adele/Beyoncẻ/ Robyn combo, Sandẻ, already immensely popular in the UK, is seeking to branch out and follow previous UK performer’s American success. Except instead of stepping into the “love gone wrong” territory that Adele so distinctly owns, Sandẻ is putting a twist on the magical musical formula, focusing on the other (good) side of love. Instead of lamenting over her lover’s cheating ways or working through a bad breakup, she celebrates the fact that her guy is actually a good one. The song describes how instead of cheating, partying, and doing whatever else those so called “bad boys” do, her guy is constantly by her side and that doesn’t change. I gotta say it’s a pretty refreshing change from the depths of despair we’re used to with Adele. Don’t get me wrong, I love Adele and the powerful punches she delivers, but sometimes her music can be a tad bit depressing.  Granted, Sandẻ does tend to move closer to this with the rest of her album, but that’s irrelevant. The point is, I love everything about this song – the lyrics, the music … even the simple video that just shows her pounding away on the piano keys. The piano in the beginning, the continual drum beats, and Sandẻ’s stellar vocals combine to make an amazing blend that I cannot stop listening to. (Sidenote: for a more toned down, haunting quality, check out her acoustic version.) So far, I like what I’m hearing from Emeli Sandẻ and I can’t wait to see how her entrance into the U.S. industry plays out. Fortunately for her, she’s only like 3 years away from becoming a doctor (she was pre-med in college) so if this whole music thing doesn’t work out, she’s got a pretty nice career to fall back on. But, something tells me nobody will be calling her Dr. Sandẻ anytime soon. - Lindsey