Ellie Goulding biography
Elena Jane Goulding (born 30 December 1986), known professionally as Ellie Goulding, is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008. After signing to Polydor Records in 2009, she released her first EP in 2009, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, followed by her debut studio album Lights in 2010. Her album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 650,000 copies in the UK. Lights was released in America March 8th 2011, where the title track has been certified platinum by the RIAA (excess of 1 million units sold) .
Goulding is a soprano, and her musical style has been compared to that of Kate Nash, Lykke Li and Tracey Thorn.
Background and personal life
Goulding was born and brought up in a small town near Hereford, Herefordshire, the second of four children. She began playing the clarinet at the age of nine, and at 14 began learning guitar. She attended Lady Hawkins' School in Kington, where she won a main part in a school production, the Wizard Of Oz, as the scarecrow. She started songwriting at the age of 15 and while in college she won a singing competition.
After commencing a drama course at the University of Kent, where she was exposed to electronic music, she developed her sound with the help of Frankmusik on the track "Wish I Stayed", and Starsmith, who went on to become her chief collaborator and primary producer of Lights. After two years at Kent, she was advised to take a gap year to pursue singing, and moved to West London.
She is a keen runner, running six miles every day, and in 2010 announced plans to run a marathon.
Early career
Signed to Polydor Records in September 2009, peaking at number fifty-three on the UK Singles Chart. In October 2009 she toured the UK supporting Little Boots, and appeared on
Later... with Jools Holland, performing "Under the Sheets" and "Guns and Horses". "Wish I Stayed" was available as a free download as the Single of the Week on iTunes Store UK from 22-28 December 2009.
2009-11: Lights and Bright Lights
Before the release of her debut studio album, Goulding won the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, which showcases the critics, broadcasters and music industry insiders' top choices for rising stars and artists for the coming year. She also won the Critics' Choice Award at the 2010 BRIT Awards, which prize made her the second artist to win both in the same year.
Goulding's debut album Lights was released in March 2010, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number six on the Irish Albums Chart. Its singles, "Starry Eyed", "Guns and Horses" and "The Writer" peaked at numbers 4, 26, and 19 respectively. In August 2010, Goulding released a second EP, Run Into the Light, containing remixes of songs from Lights. The album was supported by Nike and was released through Polydor as a running soundtrack in an effort to get Goulding's music taken up by the national running subculture.
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