Emeli Sandé headlines National Student Pride

National Student Pride hosted an exclusive conversation between singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé and Attitude editor Cliff Joannou, exploring her relationship with her partner, the public reaction to her coming out, the importance of authenticity and her journey towards being herself in the public eye.

In her first interview since she came out, Emeli commented on the response of the public, media and press as being “full of love” and overwhelmingly positive.

She spoke extensively about the process of finding community earlier in her life, first as a black person and as a woman, and later as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Cliff and Emeli discussed the tendency to lean into one identity at the expense of another, sharing stories of growing up in religious households. Gospel music features strongly in her childhood, she notes, and she has maintained faith throughout her life, which now has become one centred on spirituality rather than organised religion.

Emeli spoke about the feelings of purposelessness she experienced during the pandemic, while noting that this offered a time to slow down and reflect. She went on to explain the natural connection music provides with her partner, who is also a musician. She described her new music as «a celebration of love», noting that they worked together on the song July 25th, in her upcoming album Let’s Say For Instance.

At the end of the interview, she remarked that the process, and the public reaction, had left her feeling «liberated», «welcomed», and «renewed».