''Real Life'' is the third studio album by Scottish singer

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé ( ; previously Gouraguine; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sandé rose t ...

, released on 13 September 2019 by

Virgin EMI Records Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records. History Virgin ...

. Sandé co-wrote all tracks on the album, and the album was produced by Troy Miller. It includes the singles " Sparrow", "Extraordinary Being", "Shine" and "You Are Not Alone".

Background

Sandé's intent is to inspire "hope and confidence" with the album, particularly for those "who have been marginalised, forgotten or kicked down by this invisible oppression that's always there."

Critical reception

Lucy Mapstone from Scottish daily newspaper '' The National'' wrote that "Sande's first two albums hit number one and number two in the charts respectively, so she has a lot to live up to. But, honestly, this may be her best work yet ..Having gone through a period of difficulty in her life, Sandé has come out the other side and, across this new collection, she rises like the proverbial phoenix with tunes that are a new level of epic, all melodic and uplifting and hymn-like with the odd

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

influence thrown in where appropriate."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Andy Kellman rated ''Real Life'' three and a half stars out of five. He felt that the album "aims to alleviate, uplift, and motivate .Like Sandé's two previous studio albums, it's based in mature

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, but its integration of other genres and styles — a little

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, some

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

, and more gospel than ever — is done with more finesse. The seamlessness, combined with full-hearted vocal performances, counteracts all the platitudes and flying-bird-as-freedom metaphors." ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

''s Wyndham Wallace felt that "Sandé doesn't appear interested in breaking new ground when she can preserve and revere old territory: ''Real Life'' immerses her in gospel soul traditions, with massed voices integral to its style, so if you're comfortable with formulas, you won't begrudge her being formulaic." In his review for ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' Jochan Embley found that "''Real Life'' is far from adventurous in terms of its songwriting — too often, the structures seem slightly by-the-numbers. The tense, ascending strings towards the end of "Honest" are the closest we get to experimentation and are compelling enough to make you wish Sandé had taken similar risks elsewhere. That said, by clinging on to her soul-inflected roots, Sandé manages to avoid any modern pop tropes, which at least gives the album a disarming authenticity."

Background

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References