WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE…

WOW. Where do we even begin?

Last Saturday, 300 BIG Singers gathered together in one beautiful church for what will undoubtedly go down as one of the most unforgettable days in our BIG Sing journey.

And standing in front of us was none other than Emeli Sandé.

Even now, it feels slightly surreal writing those words.

Who gets to do this?

Seriously… who gets to spend a Saturday afternoon singing with one of the UK’s most celebrated artists? We are so incredibly fortunate that Emeli agreed to come and share this moment with us.

This day was actually three years in the making.

The story started when Emeli saw our Britain’s Got Talent performance and reached out to tell us how much she loved what we had done with Brighter Days. From that moment, a little seed was planted. We dared to dream about what it would be like if one day she actually came and sang it with us.

Then began the journey.

As you can imagine, coordinating an artist of Emeli’s stature isn’t straightforward. There were schedules to align, dates to move, logistics to navigate and countless conversations to make it all work. Her management team quite rightly wanted to protect her time and ensure everything was handled professionally. Even moments before she walked out to meet the choir, we were still being reminded of things we could and couldn’t do!

We won’t lie… we were nervous!

Many of the artists we’ve had the privilege of working with over the years — Kenny Thomas, Tunde Baiyewu, David Grant, Eban Brown and Mica Paris — already knew us through Howard’s work as their Musical Director. There was already trust and relationship there.

With Emeli, it was different.

She didn’t know us personally.

She simply saw something special in what we were doing and believed enough in it to reach out.

That made Saturday feel even more extraordinary.

Because not only did the artist behind Brighter Days love what we had done with her song… she actually came to sing it with us. She gave up her own time to stand in a room full of ordinary people doing something extraordinary and listen to the stories of how that song has become such a special part of The BIG Sing journey.

What an incredible gift.

Watching 300 voices singing together, seeing the smiles across the room, hearing Emeli’s voice soaring above the choir and feeling the joy and emotion in that church is a memory that Howard and I will treasure forever.

We are still genuinely overwhelmed that we made this happen.

It feels like a dream.

But perhaps the biggest lesson from the day is this: never give up on your dreams.

Sometimes the journey takes longer than you expected. Sometimes there are obstacles, delays and moments when it feels like it’s never going to happen. But if you keep believing, keep showing up and keep taking one step at a time, amazing things can happen.

Three years ago, this was just an idea.

Last Saturday, it became reality.

And what a beautiful reality it was.

Thank you, Emeli.

And thank you, BIG Sing family.

What a moment. ❤️