After the monumental success she achieved with her debut album, Emeli Sande is returning after four years of relative silence – time she says she needed to learn about herself.

“In retrospect, I was like a pressure cooker waiting to pop off. I had to stop and really look at myself and realise who I was. That’s been the biggest lesson for me, learning to feel comfortable in who I am and what I represent and what I stand for,” she said.

Now the Aberdonian is making her return with a brand new album, and has teased the single Hurts on her website.

Her debut Our Version Of Events went 7x platinum, broke records for the number of consecutive weeks spent in the top 10 set by The Beatles, and sold over 4.6 million copies worldwide. But Emeli says she’s happier with what’s to come.

“I’m proud of my first album and thankful for the experiences it gave me, but I’m so much happier with my new album and with where I am in life.”

The most recent taste we’ve had of Emeli’s uplifting voice is on Wretch 32′s new album Growing Over Life, where she really shows us what we’ve been missing. But judging by the singer-songwriter’s comments about her forthcoming single, we really should listen to the lyrics.

“I wanted to release Hurts first because it felt like everything I’d avoided saying for so long,” said Emeli. “It’s a real explosion. It’s everything I wish I’d said years and years ago. I didn’t want to hold anything back anymore.”

Hurts will be released on September 16.