Emeli Sandé Premieres Video For "Hurts"

The official video for “Hurts” – the first single from Emeli Sandé‘s new album, Long Live The Angels (Capitol Records) – premiered Wednesday on VEVO.

Saturated in stark, striking, high-contrast imagery, it perfectly encapsulates the anthem’s raw emotion, shining a light on Sandé’s spine-tingling vocal.

The clip was directed by Charles Mehling, who helmed the video for Sandé’s “Next to Me,” which has more than 67 million views. Sandé produced and co-wrote “Hurts” with Mac & Phil (Miguel, Naughty Boy).

Long Live The Angels – set for release on November 11 – is the follow-up to Sandé’s 2012 debut album, Our Version Of Events, which has sold more than four million albums worldwide. Long Live The Angels is available for pre-order HERE. Fans who pre-order the digital album will instantly receive “Hurts.”

“Sandé is back on top form with her second album,” observed the U.K.’s Sunday Times in a recent “Culture” section cover story. The New York Times noted, “On her 2012 debut album, she used her gilded voice as a contrast to fleet dance-influenced production…[on Long Live The Angels,] she’s focused on using it for uplift.”

The FADER hailed “Hurts” as “her best music to date” and Newsweek praised it as “haunting.” Rolling Stone observed, “the storming new song ‘Hurts’…[pairs] relentless handclaps with pained, imperious vocals…utilizing sweeping strings, a towering brass section and a choir.” THISISRNB.com said, “this record is a monster…An anthemic breakup song for the ages.”

A lot has happened to the Scottish artist in the four years since the resounding success of Our Version Of Events. It was the biggest selling album of 2012 in the U.K., where it was certified 7x Platinum and spent 63 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of the U.K. album chart – more than any other debut album ever, including The Beatles’ Please Please Me. Our Version Of Events was named as one of the best albums of the year by critics worldwide, including The New York Times‘ Jon Caramanica, who ranked it at No. 1 on his list.

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The first single, “Next to Me,” sold more than seven million downloads worldwide, including 1.5 million in the U.S., where it is certified Platinum. Sandé performed at the White House and at the opening and closing London 2012 Olympic ceremonies. She won numerous awards, including three BRIT awards, two Ivor Novello awards, a BET award and Breakthrough Artist of the Year honors at NARM’s 2013 Music Biz Awards. A highly sought-after writer, she has written songs for Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Katy Perry and many others