“I wasn’t really intending on being a singer, it just kind of happened.”
-Ellie Goulding, on falling into music.
“They followed me the whole time, had faith in me and believed in what I was doing.”
- Ellie Goulding, on how she won over UK music critics.
“I feel more comfortable singing about things than I do taking about them. It’s like I’m another person.”
- Ellie Goulding, on bearing her soul through her music.
May 2, 2010. By Jordana Borensztajn.
Fate seems to be on Ellie Goulding’s side. Unlike hundreds and thousands of other musicians who spent their childhoods dreaming of becoming successful artists, this UK rising star didn’t ever envision travelling down the road she’s currently on.
Before her debut Lights was anywhere near being ready, the 23-year-old had already caught the attention of music lovers and critics everywhere, not only by winning a Brit Award at this year’s huge event, but by being lucky enough to nail one of the very sought-after spots on the BBC’s prestigious Sound of 2010 list, which instantly brought her international fame, earmarking her as an artist to watch.
Down Under on her first Aussie promo tour, the “Starry Eyed” songbird tells Nova that destiny’s certainly played a big role in her journey. “I wasn’t really intending on being a singer, it just kind of happened… and then I realised it was passionately what I was always going to do. It was really weird. It was like all of these things that happened, amounted to what I do now,” she says.
Watch Part 2 of the interview: Ellie Goulding on her new album, exposing herself and dealing with critics.
“The critics had seen what I had been doing and how I had been developing and changing, and they kept an eye on me since I was first (covered) by The Guardian as a ‘new act of the day.’
“When they heard my first single “Under the Sheets” last year, they thought ‘Right well this is it.’ I think they made a decision to do that for me because they followed me the whole time, had faith in me and believed in what I was doing. I’m really honoured to get those things. It’s not every day you get to win a Brit Award – and if I die tomorrow, at least I can say I’ve got that.”
There’s plenty more that Goulding has to be proud of than a single award. The West Londoner recently delivered an impressive electro-pop debut which boasts a lyrical level of depth that many first-timers cannot achieve. Exploring hope, frustration, love and despair, Lights offers a lot of insight into the experiences that have shaped Goulding.
“I feel more comfortable singing about things than I do taking about them. So that’s why I’m very different as a person in conversation compared to what I write about, and how I sing. I’m much more comfortable delivering angst and frustration through music than speech,” she explains.
“The next album in going to be even more exposed, in a way. In the beginning you don’t have enough confidence, in a way, to be so honest because you’re not sure how people will respond to it and also the thought of people like my family and my friends listening to those lyrics, bloody hell, is quite odd. But you just have to not worry about that and not think about that and just go for it.”
Lights is out now through Universal (Polydor).
Watch part 1 of the interview: Ellie Goulding on fate, ground work and prestigious titles
Watch part 2 of the interview: Ellie Goulding on her new album, exposing herself and dealing with critics
Watch Ellie Goulding's breathtaking acoustic of "Starry Eyed"
Watch Ellie Goulding's awesome cover of The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition"
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