Emeli Sandé apologises for miming during Concert for Ukraine

‘I’ve never done it in my career before and I never want to do it again,’ she said

Emeli Sandé has apologised to fans for lip-synching during Concert for Ukraine on Tuesday (29 March).

The two-hour fundraising effort, which was held at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena and aired on ITV, was set up with the aim of raising money for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) humanitarian appeal.

Sandé was one of the artists who featured on the night, as well as Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello and Nile Rodgers.

When she performed her single “Brighter Days”, many viewers speculated on social media that she was not actually singing.

On Wednesday (30 March), Sandé explained that she was miming the song, but it was because she had lost her voice.

“I really wanted to sing but I woke up the day of the concert and my voice was like this,” she told fans in a video, in which her voice is audibly hoarse.

“It was really annoying because the day before I was singing Mariah [Carey] totally fine and I had to make a very difficult decision. Do I pull out of the concert which I really don’t want to do or do I lip sync to the track?”

She added: “I chose to lip-sync. I’ve never done it in my career before and I never want to do it again. For me it was more important to perform the song and that the message of the song came through.

“I apologise to everyone who noticed that it was a lip-sync. I promise that it will never happen again, but I hope that the message of the song still came through.”

Many fans voiced their support for Sandé in the comments section, with one person writing: “You did the right thing as the concert for Ukraine was such an important event and you had prepared to sing for such an important cause. I hope you feel much better soon.”

Special guest appearances on the night included Ukraine’s 2016 Eurovision champion Jamala, who performed her song “1984”. Broadcasting veteran Trevor McDonald paid tribute to members of the press reporting on the conflict.

There was also a message from Billie Eilish and her brother/songwriting partner Finneas O’Connell, who shared their support for those taking part in the event and urged viewers to donate.

More than £12m was raised for DEC’s humanitarian appeal. Read the biggest talking points from the event here.

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