Emili Sande prepares to play at Nocturne Live at Blenheim Palace

Multi-million-selling Emeli, who is playing at this summer’s Nocturne Live concert series at Blenheim Palace, thinks it's more of a case of "winning people over" and explaining who you are, if people haven't heard your songs.

The four-time Brit Award winner was asked about appearing at festivals on Radio 4's Today programme after Royal Blood's frontman swore at the crowd and stormed off at Radio 1's Big Weekend.

Mike Kerr, who was sandwiched between two huge pop acts Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan, labelled the crowd "pathetic" for not knowing who the group were, and berated them for not being fans of rock music.

It turns out she was put on the spot.

"I hadn’t really heard about that incident til they asked me about it," Emeli laughs. "But, I mean, that’s rock and roll as well, isn’t it? Some people will love that.

"But I was just saying basically that when you’re in a festival you do have to treat it differently from when you’re doing your own show. It’s a different crowd obviously.

"Everyone has a different approach so… he was definitely honest with his emotions and in some ways it’s refreshing to see people being honest."

Emeli whose chart-topping singles include Clown, Read All About It, Heaven and Next To Me last year released a brand new album Let’s Say For Instance.

She will be appearing before Gregory Porter, performing jazz interpretations of her songs.

She said: "It’s going to be quite an unique show. Last year I did a documentary about Nina Simone so I got to play with these incredible jazz musicians so I’ll be doing my songs with the jazz band so it’s going to be quite different.

"There will be a lot of the old songs people might expect to hear from me, some from the new album.

"I’ve played Oxford but never Blenheim Palace, everyone says it’s beautiful."

Emeli's father, having moved from Zambia, met her mother while they were both at the polytechnic in Sunderland. The family moved to Aberdeenshire when she was four.

Sandé wrote her first song at the age of 11, for her primary-school talent show.

Having been a conscientious student - largely because her dad was one of her teachers - she won a place to study medicine at Glasgow University.

She said: "I was never a practising doctor, I was training. I trained for four years in Glasgow but I always wanted to be a musician. That was something that since I was a child I always wanted to do. I did enjoy studying and it could have been a completely alternative life.

"And then when I was in my fourth year back in Glasgow I got published as a songwriter and then I moved to London and pursued the music dream and thankfully it was successful."

Her debut album Our Version of Events was released in 2012 following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012.

Throughout her career she has famously collaborated with producer Naughty Boy as well as rappers Professor Green, Labrinth and Tinie Tempah.

She said: "I always do a different variety and I love so many different genres but collaborating with different rappers was definitely how I got my name out there. But with all my music I try to stay even if people listen to my earlier stuff I think they find similarities with my solo stuff."

She is a classically trained songwriter and has written for a number of artists, including Cher Lloyd, Susan Boyle, Preeya Kalidas, Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah and cites 'the big female singers' as influences.

"Nina Simone my dad introduced me to her before I was about 12," she said. "And before that the big singers Celine Dion, Mariah, Whitney of course and Aretha Franklin.

"But then as I got a bit older when I was about 13 I started getting into great songwriters like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and I think that’s when the lyricism started to excite me.

"But at the beginning it was about the big singers – Anita Baker she was another big influence."

Of today's stars she says there's many she admires.

"Oh yeah, there’s a lot – Raye, it’s just so refreshing to see a woman really taking charge and really putting a lot of truth into her lyrics. I think she’s fantastic. Frank Ocean I think is a brilliant lyricist. There’s a few people I’m still a big fan of – I love Beyonce still, she’s fantastic."

Emili, who sang at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, has also been a presence in many important campaigns, aside from her powerful stance on social justice through her songwriting.

She performed at Elton John's AIDS Foundation Event in 2013 and she has shown her support in raising money and awareness for breast cancer and HIV especially in her dad's native Zambia. 

She is currently campaigning for women's education.

She said: "It’s always been for me education. It’s been such a big thing in my family and part of my mum’s journey and my dad’s journey from a working-class background so education especially for women. I’ve spent a lot of time in Zambia just trying to make things a bit more equal there.

"I’ve seen what education can do and I think to deny that to any group in society is unfair so at the moment I’m really trying to work on improving opportunities for education especially for women."

Emili, who is divorced, hit the headlines when she announced her engagement to female classical pianist Yoana Karemova last September.

"We’re engaged, hopefully getting married next year some time," she said.

But before then, the Nocturne show is the next big event on the horizon.

"I think it’s going to be a very unique, intimate evening in a way," she said. "I know it’s a big capacity there but I do feel like it’s going to be very special and rare.

"I mean, the reaction I’ve had to the show.. so many friends wanting tickets. I think it’s such a beautiful place and on top of that you’ve got such a wide range of musicians so I think it’s going to be an unique experience."

Nocturne Live is at Blenheim Palace Wednesday 14 - Saturday 17 June 2023. Emeli Sande plays on Friday June 16. Tickets available through the Nocturne website.