Thrust into the international spotlight at the 2012 Olympic Games thanks to her moving performances of 'Abide with Me' at the opening ceremony and 'Read All About It (Part III)' at the closing ceremony, Emeli Sande is now an international superstar. However, her breakthrough came much earlier, in August 2011, with the release of her first single, 'Heaven', which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Since then Emeli has been unstoppable, releasing her debut album 'Our Version Of Events' in 2012 to critical acclaim - an album which went on to be the UK's bestseller in 2012. What many don't realise, though, is that Emeli is more than just a singer. An avid pianist and songwriter from an early age, Emeli has co-written songs for a huge number of artists including Tinie Tempah, Alesha Dixon, Cheryl Cole, Professor Green, Leona Lewis and even Susan Boyle. And while music has always been her first love, Emeli is a firm believer in the importance of education, and was studying for a degree in medicine at Edinburgh University before deciding that music had to take precedence, Winning the Critics' Choice Brit Award in 2012 has confirmed the young Scottish singer as one of the great musical talents of a very talented generation, and while publicly 2012 was a hugely successful year for Emeli, privately it was too as she married her long-term boyfriend Adam Gouraguine in his home country of Montenegro.
