Emeli Sande believes in the power of mediation

Appearing on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, she opened up on meditation and said: “I think just realising that there’s always going to be thoughts flying around, but letting them pass and not attaching yourself to your thoughts, that’s really helped me.

“Because you don’t realise, especially in these types of jobs that you are always thinking and it’s hard to sleep sometimes because your mind is still working. But even just simple things, as breathing exercises, realising that you’re shallow breathing all day, that can make such a difference. If you just take five shallow breaths, that can change your whole day.”

The 34-year-old star admitted “having time to slow down” during the pandemic was startling, but it actually helped her songwriting.

She added: “It’s been a great journey and I’m so glad I had music to channel into these past couple of years.”

Emeli recently released new single ‘Look What You've Done’ - the follow up to September’s single ‘Family’ - and has now revealed how she has missed performing during the COVID pandemic.

She said: “I think when your job and your profession is taken away from you, as it did these past couple of years, things that you had taken for granted - performing on stage, releasing new music - you think, ‘I’ll always be able to do that’.

"And suddenly, they’re no longer a possibility anymore. So now every day I feel so grateful to have this opportunity, to make new music and just take each day as it comes. And it’s made me a lot calmer, I think.”

Emeli said she missed collaborating with other artists - her new song features Jaykae - and she told host Lorraine Kelly: “And kind of having that taken away as well, being in the studio with people. That’s something I always used to enjoy, because you get the spontaneity.

“So it’s been great with this new single, I’m collaborating with a fantastic new artist called Jaykae, he’s from Birmingham and I just love his perspective that he brought to the song and having that back and forth. I think it works so well.”