RESEARCH ON ELLIE GOULDING

BY HANNAH ALLE

PERSONAL FACTS ABOUT ELLIE GOULDING

ELENA JANE ELLIE GOULDING, BORN ON 30 DECEMBER 1986, IS AN ENGLISH SINGER-SONGWRITER AND A MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST. SHE CAN PLAY THE GUITAR, MANDOLIN, KEYBOARDS, BASS, DRUMS, PERCUSSION, CLARINET. HER WEBSITE IS ELLIEGOULDING.COM. SHE IS AGED 27 WITH BLONDE HAIR AND BROWN EYES. HER HEIGHT IS 1.70 M, WHILE HER WEIGHT IS 55 KG 120 LB, AND SHE IS SHOE SIZE 8. SHE IS RELATED TO JEREMY IRVINE (ACTOR), GREG JAMES (DJ), SKRILLEX (DJPRODUCER) AND ED SHEERAN (SINGER). WHEN SHE HAS TIME, ON TOUR AND OFF, ELLIE LIKES TO GO RUNNING TO KEEP HERSELF FIT BUT ALSO BECAUSE SHE REALLY ENJOYS IT.

HOW ELLIE BECAME FAMOUS.

IN 2012, SHE BECAME THE SECOND ARTIST TO TOP THE BBCS ANNUAL SOUND OF POLL AND SHE ALSO WON THE CRITICS CHOICE AWARD AT THE BRIT AWARDS, BOTH IN THE SAME YEAR. THIS FOLLOWED ADELES WIN OF BOTH OF THEM IN 2008. SHE SIGNED TO POLYDOR RECORDS IN 2009, THEN RELEASED HER FIRST EP IN 2009 WHICH WAS AN INTRODUCTION TO HERSELF.
IT WAS IN 2010 THAT ELLIE RELEASED HER DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM, LIGHTS. THE ALBUM DEBUTED AT NUMBER ONE IN THE UK ALBUMS CHART, SELLING OVER 850,000 COPIES IN THE UK. SHE COVERED JOHN ELTONS YOUR SONG WHICH REACHED NUMBER TWO IN THE UK IN DECEMBER 2010 AND ON THE 29TH APRIL 2011 HOWEVER, SHE CHARTED AT NUMBER ONE ON ITUNES FOR THREE WEEKS. ELLIE PERFORMED YOUR SONG AT PRINT WILLIAM AND CATHERINE MIDDLETONS WEDDING RECEPTION AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE. THE ALBUMS TRACK, LIGHTS, WAS RELEASED IN THE US IN MARCH 2011, REACHING NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD POP SONGS CHART, NUMBER TWO ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF LATER DURING ITS THIRTY-THIRD WEEK CHARTING, AND NUMBER ONE IN THE BILLBOARD ON-DEMAND CHART. THE SINGLE LASTED OVER A YEAR ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 AND WAS ALSO CERTIFIED TRIPLE PLATINUM BY THE RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA. ELLIES SECOND ALBUM, HALCYON, WAS RELEASED IN OCTOBER 2012. IT RECEIVED GENERALLY POSITIVE REVIEWS FROM CRITICS. THE SUPPOSEDLY LEAD SINGLE OF THE ALBUM WAS ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN, WHICH REACHED THE TOP FIVE IN THE UK ASWELL AS THE TOP TWENTY IN AUSTRALIA, IRELAND AND NEW ZEALAND. HALYCON DEBUTED AT NUMBER TWO ON THE UK ALBUMS CHART, AND NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD 200 CHART WHICH WAS HER FIRST TOP 10 DEBUT IN THE US. HALYCON ALSO REACHED TOP FIVE IN NEW ZEALAND, TOP TEN IN IRELAND AND CANADA, AND TOP TWENTY IN AUSTRALIA. IT WAS AUGUST 2013 THAT GOULDING SCORED HER FIRST UK NUMBER ONE SINGLE CALLED BURN.

BACKGROUND
ELLIE GOULDING WAS BORN AND RAISED IN LYONSHALL, WHICH IS A SMALL VILLAGE NEAR KINGTON, HEREFORDSHIRE. SHE IS A SECOND OF FOUR CHILDREN (TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER). TRACY, HER MOTHER, USED TO WORK AT A SUPERMARKET, AND ARTHUR, HER FATHER, CAME FROM A FAMILY OF UNDERTAKERS. ELLIES PARENTS SEPARATED WHEN SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD, AND SHE HAD A STEPFATHER WHO WAS A LORRY DRIVER.

ELLIE BEGAN PLAYING THE CLARINET AT NINE YEARS OLD, THEN AT 14 SHE BEGAN LEARNING GUITAR. SHE ATTENDED LADY HAWKINS SCHOOL IN KINGTON, WHERE SHE WON A MAIN PART AS A SCARECROW IN A SCHOOL PRODUCTION WIZARD OF OZ. SO, AT AGE 15 SHE BEGAN SONG-WRITING AND WHILE IN COLLEGE SHE WON A SINGING COMPETITION.
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENT, SHE COMMENCED DRAMA, POLITICS AND ENGLISH COURSES, AND SHE WAS EXPOSED TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC THERE, WHERE STARSMITH AND FRANKMUSIK HELPED HER DEVELOP HER SOUND ON THE TRACK WISH I STAYED. BEING AT KENT FOR TWO YEARS, JAMIE LILYWHITE SPOTTED HER AT A UNIVERSITY TALENT CONTEST. ELLIE SUCCESSFULLY SHOWCASED FOR TURN FIRST ARTISTS HEAD SARAH STENNET, AND WAS TOLD TO LEAVE UNIVERSITY; - SO SHE SET UP IN A FLAT IN WEST LONDON. LILLYWHITE BECAME ELLIES MANAGER AND A&R. HE INTRODUCED HER TO STARSMITH WHO WOULD BECOME HER CHIEF COLLABORATOR AND THE PRIMARY PRODUCER OF LIGHTS. IN JULY 2009, ELLIE SIGNED TO POLYDOR RECORDS, BUT HER FIRST SINGLE, UNDER THE SHEETS, WAS RELEASED THROUGH BOUTIQUE LABEL NEON GOLD RECORDS AS A DELIBERATELY LOW-KEY DEBUT. IT APPEARED DIGITALLY IN THE UK ON 15 NOVEMBER 2009. THE SINGLE PEAKED AT NUMBER 53 ON THE UK SINGLES CHART, FOLLOWED BY A SUCCESSFUL APPEARANCE ON LATER WITH JOOLS HOLLAND, WHERE SHE PERFORMED UNDER THE SHEETS AND GUNS AND HORSES. ALSO, IN OCTOBER 2009 A UK SUPPORTING LITTLE BOOTS, WISH I STAYED WAS AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD AS THE SINGLE OF THE WEEK ON ITUNES STORE UK FROM 22 TO THE 28TH DECEMBER 2009.

GOULDINGS TOP 10
1. LIGHTS

2. FIGURE 8
3. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN 4. MY BLOOD 5. GUNS AND HORSES 6. EXPLOSIONS

7. YOUR SONG
8. STARRY EYED 9. I NEED YOUR LOVE 10. BURN

ALBUMS