"Apart from my sister, no-one looked like me" - Emeli Sande struggled with being bi-racial as a teenager
The 'Heaven' singer found it difficult being the only mixed-race family growing up in a small village [in Scotland] and says she felt like a "spectacle" to her peers.
Emeli told The Sunday Times magazine: "Apart from my sister, Lucy, there was nobody else there who looked like me...
"People knew you in the village. But any surrounding place you'd go to, you became a spectacle. People would stare, and it felt like a big thing."
The 24-year-old BRIT Award winner - one of the artists who performed at the London 2012 Olympics - claims she wasn't bullied, but felt isolated because of the name-calling and constant reminders that she was different.
Emeli confessed: "We didn't experience racism or bullying, or anything like that, but I was aware of my difference and it took me a long time to work out where I fitted in.
"And I think I found a lot of my identity in music."
The singer revealed music became her coping mechanism after her parents showed her she couldn't keeping dwelling on the negative comments.
Emeli added: "If I ever said to my parents, 'Ooh someone called me this at school', or 'Someone asked me all these stupid questions' they'd get frustrated and say, 'Just tell them they're an idiot'.
"They didn't want to fight my battles; they wanted me to be strong and find my own way to deal with it."
- Emeli opened the Closing Ceremony of the London Olympics on Sunday night (12.08.12).
The British singer performed a cover of Professor Green's 'Read All About It' as she kicked off the hugely-anticipated event in the Olympic Stadium, in Stratford, east London.
Her performance was followed by a rendition from the cast of West End show 'Stomp' ahead of the official arrival of Britain's Prince Harry, who was attending in place of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
1980s groups Madness and Pet Shop Boys sang their hits 'Our House' and 'West End Girls' respectively before boy band of the moment One Direction arrived to sing their smash 'What Makes You Beautiful'.
Ray Davies - former frontman of The Kinks' - then had the 80,000-strong crowd singing along to his classic 'Waterloo Sunset'.
Emeli then returned to the stage - which is a replica of London's main attractions - to finish off her version of 'Read All About It', while a montage of the most memorable moments from the London Games were shown on the big screen.
Following her performance, every flag from the competing nations were brought into the stadium, with Team GB's carried by gold medal-winning sailor Ben Ainslie, while all the athletes then made their way into the stunning venue.
Olympic singer struggled with being mixed race
"Apart from my sister, no-one looked like me" - Emeli Sande struggled with being bi-racial as a teenager
The 'Heaven' singer found it difficult being the only mixed-race family growing up in a small village [in Scotland] and says she felt like a "spectacle" to her peers.
Emeli told The Sunday Times magazine: "Apart from my sister, Lucy, there was nobody else there who looked like me...
"People knew you in the village. But any surrounding place you'd go to, you became a spectacle. People would stare, and it felt like a big thing."
The 24-year-old BRIT Award winner - one of the artists who performed at the London 2012 Olympics - claims she wasn't bullied, but felt isolated because of the name-calling and constant reminders that she was different.
Emeli confessed: "We didn't experience racism or bullying, or anything like that, but I was aware of my difference and it took me a long time to work out where I fitted in.
"And I think I found a lot of my identity in music."
The singer revealed music became her coping mechanism after her parents showed her she couldn't keeping dwelling on the negative comments.
Emeli added: "If I ever said to my parents, 'Ooh someone called me this at school', or 'Someone asked me all these stupid questions' they'd get frustrated and say, 'Just tell them they're an idiot'.
"They didn't want to fight my battles; they wanted me to be strong and find my own way to deal with it."
The British singer performed a cover of Professor Green's 'Read All About It' as she kicked off the hugely-anticipated event in the Olympic Stadium, in Stratford, east London.
Her performance was followed by a rendition from the cast of West End show 'Stomp' ahead of the official arrival of Britain's Prince Harry, who was attending in place of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
1980s groups Madness and Pet Shop Boys sang their hits 'Our House' and 'West End Girls' respectively before boy band of the moment One Direction arrived to sing their smash 'What Makes You Beautiful'.
Ray Davies - former frontman of The Kinks' - then had the 80,000-strong crowd singing along to his classic 'Waterloo Sunset'.
Emeli then returned to the stage - which is a replica of London's main attractions - to finish off her version of 'Read All About It', while a montage of the most memorable moments from the London Games were shown on the big screen.
Following her performance, every flag from the competing nations were brought into the stadium, with Team GB's carried by gold medal-winning sailor Ben Ainslie, while all the athletes then made their way into the stunning venue.
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