Emeli Sande: The Other Adele Goes From Med School To Music

Emeli Sandé started life with the name Adele. But just as she was coming up as a singer, another Adele picked up her first Brit Award in 2008 and went on to become a massive star. So Sandé decided to record under her middle name instead, and now she's poised to become the next big "Adele" thanks to her soulful debut, Our Version of Events.

Speaking to MTV News about the release — out Tuesday (June 5) — the Scottish singer explained that she recorded it "without following any rules and regulations," adding that the title reflects the universality of her album.

"Because they're my stories, they're my version of events of the past three years," she said of the title's meaning. "But I really hope people can hear their own stories within the songs and they can become our version of events."

Some of the highlights on the album include "Next To Me," her first Stateside single, which is all about the piano-driven melody and the power of Sandé's voice. "I feel like 'Next To Me' is a great introduction because it's a simple song that has a simple message for me," she explained. "I wanted to introduce something that lyrically I'm proud of and introduces me both as an artist and as a writer."

The video for her song "My Kind of Love" gives fans another piece of the Sandé puzzle. In the clip, a young woman battles cancer in a hospital. It's all inspired by the time the singer spent studying medicine before deciding to pursue music.

"For 'My Kind of Love,' it was stories that I had from being a med student and kind of being on the ward and seeing these stories unfold and the kind of love you see in hospitals," she explained. "[But] I always wanted to be a musician from when I was kid. It was always a massive dream of mine," she said of the transition from medicine to music. "School was also really really important to me and having an education was top of my priority [list]. So I really wanted to have a degree before I tried anything in the music industry."

Once she switched gears, Sandé began writing for artists like Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah. ("When the door opened for me and the opportunity came ... I went for it," she said.)

But back to that other Adele: Would Sandé ever consider collaborating with the chart-topping 21 singer? "That would be amazing! I still haven't met her but I'd really like to work with her," she said. "I'm a big fan of hers. It's just a big coincidence — I'm glad I chose my middle [name] though."

You can catch Sandé when she hits the road with Coldplay in June.