Luckily, the in-laws were as appalled of Nicholas' behavior as Catherine's own family was. The Kanes rallied around to support Leah, Sam, Zach and Marcela, whom all had their own little peculiarities and interests. It would certainly take a village to raise such extroverted and curious kids who were often bickering and entertaining one another in their small, cramped home in West Norwood, London. Marcela was considered to be the odd child out due to her lack of talent in athletics, but her curiosity for the arts undoubtedly developed the more she dabbled in playing music. Her discovery of soul birds Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald prompted Marcela to study playing the guitar and piano, and eventually her confidence allowed her to sing publicly for the first time at twelve.
Thrilled that her daughter had found a passion of her own, Catherine urged Marcela to both apply and audition for the BRIT School, an education that would provide proper and professional musical training. Despite the selective process, Marcela made the cut and was overjoyed that she had found likeminded people who were just as passionate about the arts like she was. Nevertheless, she was still hesitant about taking the spotlight, and was initially convinced she belonged in A&R, producing star-worthy careers as opposed to trying to produce her own.
With 2006 came the dawn of an impending graduation, but in order to get through that, Marcela was charged with creating her own personal brainchild with a three song demo. While some students struggled with the immense task, Marcela blossomed and the demo was well-received by friends. One had even posted the demo to his MySpace, which prompted an inquiry from XL Recordings. The meeting with the music record label led Marcela to Jonathan Dickins of September Management. To stir the waters, Marcela was a featured artist on Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne", for his debut album. Not too long after, her debut single "Hometown Glory" hit the airwaves in October 2007.
In early 2008, her debut album 19 was released. Marcela explained that the reason behind the album title was due to writing many of the songs at the age of nineteen years old. Both "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love" were used as singles for the album, which was both a critical and commercial success. Her crowning moment was during the 51st Grammy Awards where she won the Grammy for Best New Artist. During Marcela's breakout period, she has been dubbed the fiery return of "blue-eyed soul" with fellow British artists like Duffy and Amy Winehouse.
Even though her first album provided a platform to do what she loved most, her newfound stardom wasn't without its challenges. Marcela was quite nonchalant over her fame, and would often cancel shows to hang out with her boyfriend and closest mates. Also, when dropped in front of cameras on a red carpet, her lack of media training was evident and her dark humor and self-deprecating sarcasm didn't always translate well. Once the hysteria of 19 had finally died down, Marcela realized that her momentum and motivation to stay relevant was all up to her. The quietness of living her life without the spotlight and finding a new love meant it was time to get inspired and back in the studio to record new songs.
Marcela recorded 21 between early 2009 and late 2010, and it was released on 19 January 2011. Following the trend of her first album, 21 was named due to her age during production. While she wanted to produce more upbeat singles, her heart was not in most of the material amassed. It was only until the decay of her second serious relationship that she found her muse to write. Like her freshman album, 21 proved to be a sleeper hit which countered the modest commercial expectations of Marcela with her indie label.
Not even Marcela could anticipate the global success of her second album. It was the biggest selling musical release of both 2011 and 2012, and critics hailed the studio album as a refreshing alternative to the heavy beats and over-sexualized singles playing on the radio. Across the pond in the United States, 21 remained at the top spot for twenty-four weeks, the longest reign of any other album since 1985. 21 was also certified Diamond.
21 produced five singles in all, which generated varying degrees of success for Marcela. "Rolling in the Deep" was released in November 2010 and spent ten consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 chart. After her performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 BRIT Awards, her second single rose to number one after it initially fell to number forty-seven on the charts. "Set Fire to the Rain" was announced as Marcela's third single, and it topped the charts in the US, Netherlands and Belgium. Both her fourth and fifth singles "Rumour Has It" and "Turning Tables" charted in the top 20 across Europe and the United States.
The maturity of Marcela was quite evident in her second round of success with 21. She dutifully would attend all appearances and shows, but her discipline and spirit would be challenged when Marcela experienced a vocal cord hemorrhage in the fall of 2011. Forced to cancel several shows on her Marcela Live tour, she then underwent laser microsurgery and had to go on an extended rest period at the height of her career. Come the Grammy's in 2012, Marcela would make her live comeback and walk away with a whopping six awards, further cementing that her presence in the music industry was here to stay. In interviews following her wins, Marcela disclosed she felt deeply scared and depressed at the idea of her livelihood being at risk.
With the roller coaster of 21 at its end, Marcela believed it was time to retreat from the public for a well-deserved rest. "I am getting sick of myself, honestly. I can only imagine how the world feels about me," Marcela would joke to an interviewer about the release of a third album. Still, one project did manage to wheel Marcela back into the public eye ... the chance to sing the next original theme song of the twenty-third James Bond film. In October 2012, Marcela acknowledged that she had been recruited to help write and perform the song for Skyfall. Co-written with Paul Epworth, "Skyfall" would draw Marcela back into the awards circuit, but with an entirely different crowd. She won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2012, and Marcela often muses that joining the ranks of people like Shirley Bassey is beyond anything she could have imagined.