Our Version of Events by Emeli Sande

Our Version of Events is the debut studio album by Scottish recording artist Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critic's Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though Our Version of Events is her first release, Sandé has been active in the industry since 2009, most notable appearing on singles by Chipmunk ("Diamond Rings") and Wiley ("Never Be Your Woman"). The album features R&B, soul and pop music. Sandé began working with Alicia Keys for the album, and for Keys' upcoming album. She also expressed interest in working with Nicki Minaj on the album. Naughty Boy was a major collaboration with Sandé from the day she began creating music professionally. She wrote every track on the album, saying that the key to a good song when writing is using "honesty" and "raw emotion". Upon the release of the album, Sandé's vocal ability has been compared to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé and Annie Lennox. Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Lauryn Hill are all major influences for her album. Madonna also expressed interest in Sandé's music. "Heaven" was released in August 2011, as the first single from the debut album, the song charted at number-two on the UK Singles Chart and later became an international success, charting within the top-ten in many European countries. Sandé released "Read All About It" with Professor Green in November 2011, which resulted in her writing "Read All About It, Pt. III". "Daddy" was released in November 2011, which charted at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart, however the single also became an international success. "Easier in Bed", a non-album promotional single was released onto iTunes in December 2011. "Next to Me" was the third single released, which became a global hit. Entering the UK Singles Chart at number two and the Irish Singles Chart at number one. "My Kind of Love" was released as the fourth single from the album in June 2012 and appeared on The Voice UK in order to promote the single. Upon release of the album, the album debuted at number-one on the UK Albums Chart and remained at the top spot for five non-consecutive weeks. the British Phonographic Industry certificated the album 2× Platinum, making it the fastest selling album by a British recording artist since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream (2009). The album also debuted at number-two on the Irish Albums Chart. A re-release of the album occurred on 22 October 2012 including three new tracks, a remix and a cover of "Imagine" (originally by John Lennon), replacing Sandé's version of "Abide with Me". "Wonder" (a song credited as Naughty Boy featuring Emeli Sandé which is featured on the US version of the album) is the lead single of the re-release. It also serves as the lead single from collaborator Naughty Boy's album Hotel Cabana. In September 2012, Our Version of Events became the best-selling album of 2012 in the UK, overtaking Adele's 21. It was also the second best-selling album of 2013 in the UK.