Ellie Goulding (Elena Jane Goulding) was born December 30, 1986 in Lyons Hall (a small town near Hereford). She was the second of four children with Arthur and Tracy Goulding. They broke up when she was 5 years old. Tracy later remarried a truck driver.
Ellie started writing music and learning to play the guitar at the age of 14. She was also active in the school theater. Thanks to this, she began to study theater arts, political science and English at the University of Kent.
Ellie's music began to take shape in college, where she was introduced to electronic music. After two years at university, she was advised to take a break to continue her musical career. She perfected Wish I Stayed with Starsmith and Frankmusic and moved to West London.
In September 2009, Ellie signed a recording contract with Polydor Records. She released her debut single Under the Sheets the same year.
For a newcomer, Ellie did quite well with the song, which peaked at number 53 on the UK Singles Chart. In the months that followed, she was busy touring and "promoting" her debut album. As well as the release of the singles Guns and Horses, Wish I Stayed.
Ellie Goulding Awards
Ellie's name was already under critical review by 2010. She was at the top of the 2010 BBC Sound, the BBC's annual music critics poll. Her popularity was reinforced by her Critics' Choice Award at the 2010 BRIT Awards.
As a result, Lights' debut album reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart in March 2010. The album was followed by an EP titled Run Into the Light in August of that year.
In addition, Lights was also re-released in November 2010 with the addition of six new tracks. It is now called Bright Lights and includes the cover of Your Song Elton John. The record after the release became the highest single chart, taking the 2nd position.
Her live performance at the 2010 iTunes Festival was recorded for a live EP. It was then included as bonus content in the iTunes version of Bright Lights.
Ellie was nominated for Best British Woman. And also "Best British Breakthrough" at the 2011 BRIT Awards. But she didn't go home with any of them. As her European tour ended, Ally's team began to think about how to "break" the American market.
The track from Lights was released as a single. She performed Jimmy Kimmel Live! in April 2011 and on Saturday Night Live the following month. The Lights album was also re-released in an American version.
Ellie won a coveted spot to perform with Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton at the royal couple's wedding in April 2011.
She sang Your Song for the couple's first dance. “It was an incredible honor for Kate and William to perform at their party. The atmosphere was incredible and I will never forget that night,” she said.
Album Halcyon
In addition to performing at festivals, Ellie spent 2011 creating her second album, Halcyon. The compilation was supposed to be released in September of that year, but was pushed back to October 8, 2012.
Ellie admitted in an interview that the album was inspired by her breakup with Radio 1 DJ Greg James.
"I was determined to do it not out of love, but simply because there was so much to say," she told the BBC. “But when I started writing, I went through a breakup and it was really hard, so it ended up being a song about it.”
Anything Could Happen was released as the lead single in August 2012 with snippets from other tracks. Halcyon debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number 65 after 1 weeks.
The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200. Halcyon Days, (repackaged edition of Halcyon) was released on August 23, 2013. It included new singles, including Burn. It peaked at number 1 in the US in the same month.
In November 2014, Golding announced that she would be focusing on a third studio album. Although the details of the album were still kept secret. Artstka contributed to the soundtrack for the controversial Fifty Shades of Grey. She wrote the song Love Me Like You Do, which was released in January 2015.
The single was a commercial success, spending several weeks on the UK Singles Chart. It currently peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ellie Goulding's personal life
Ellie Goulding dated BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James from 2009 to 2011. Her album Halcyon was influenced by her breakup with James. She dated Skrillex in 2012 and Ed Sheeran in 2013.
She opened up about her relationship with musician Doogie Pointer in May 2014. The couple then began to appear together at various events. They broke up in March 2016 due to busy work schedules.
The artist suffered from severe panic attacks before performances at the beginning of her career. She began exercising to control her anxiety, striving to run 6 miles a day. In 2011 Ellie took part in a charity event for Student Run LA. And in 2013, she competed in the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon.
Ellie performed at a Gucci concert in London supporting the Chime for Change campaign to raise awareness of women's issues.
The singer performed the single "How Long Will I Love You" (2013) for the "Children in Need" campaign. She also recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" as part of the Band Aid 30 charity group to raise funds to fight Ebola.
