Ellie Goulding
Biography
Ellie Goulding, born Elena Jane Goulding, is an English singer and songwriter born on 30 December 1986 in Hereford.
She drew widespread attention in 2010 with the singles Starry Eyed and Guns and Horses, rising quickly up the charts on the back of her upbeat electronic pop sound. After first writing songs with a folk-tinged approach, she developed into a more electronically influenced artist, touching on dance music and ambient synth-pop.
With her distinctive soprano and a knack for hooks that remain emotionally sincere, Goulding established herself at the forefront of contemporary mainstream pop with an independent, art-pop sensibility, often compared to predecessors such as Kate Bush or Imogen Heap.
After studying drama at the University of Kent, she put her career on hold and moved to West London to focus on music. She connected with producers such as Starsmith and Frankmusik, who helped give her songs an electro-pop edge.
In 2009, she began building an audience online, as tracks like Starry Eyed and a cover of Black & Gold were shared by influential blogs. That same year she signed a major deal with Polydor Records and won both the BBC Sound of 2010 poll and the Critics’ Choice Award at the Brit Awards, becoming the second artist after Adele to achieve the double.
Her debut studio album, Lights, was released in March 2010 and debuted at number one in the U.K. It spawned the Top 5 single Starry Eyed. The album was later reissued that year as Bright Lights, featuring a cover of Your Song that reached number two on the U.K. charts; she performed it at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011.
In the United States, the single Lights enjoyed a remarkable climb, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 after thirty-three weeks on the chart, one of the longest ascents to the top two in the ranking’s history.
Her second album, Halcyon, released in 2012, delivered a more adventurous electro-pop sound. Its deluxe reissue, Halcyon Days (2013), included major hits such as Burn and How Long Will I Love You.
In 2014, she was featured on Calvin Harris‘s track Outside, a U.K. Top 10 hit, and took part in Band Aid 30’s new version of Do They Know It's Christmas?.