Things You Didn't Know About Ellie Goulding

Aug 27, 2013

With Ellie Goulding's new Halcyon Days, a repackaged edition of her 2012 album Halcyon, we get seven new songs and another confirmation that Goulding is here to stay. But she's had an interesting path getting here, and she finds herself in a unique position for a pop star. In America, Goulding has achieved massive success, but she's one of the few mainstream pop acts that still has credibility among indie kids and crowds who don't support just any pop star. Part of the reason is because Ellie isn't just any pop star, and the singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has proved that time and time again with stripped down performances and a balance of songs made for the radio and songs better fit for a grand piano. Ellie Goulding is a special case, and one worth getting to know a little better. Get familiar.

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With Ellie Goulding's new Halcyon Days, a repackaged edition of her 2012 album Halcyon, we get seven new songs and another confirmation that Goulding is here to stay. But she's had an interesting path getting here, and she finds herself in a unique position for a pop star. In America, Goulding has achieved massive success, but she's one of the few mainstream pop acts that still has credibility among indie kids and crowds who don't support just any pop star. Part of the reason is because Ellie isn't just any pop star, and the singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has proved that time and time again with stripped down performances and a balance of songs made for the radio and songs better fit for a grand piano. Ellie Goulding is a special case, and one worth getting to know a little better. Get familiar.

2. She's a "chick magnet"

In her very own words, Ellie is apparently a "chick magnet." The weirdest things fans have done and said to her are female, which usually isn't the case when you're a female artist. Goulding recalls this one girl, who was "saying all of this weird stuff" to her, and would send photos of herself to Goulding. If that isn't unusual enough (which it isn't, as she spared us the details), another fan apparently wanted to eat her hair.

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4. Her father was a guitarist for local bands

Goulding's estranged father was a guitarist in a number of local bands, but as her parents divorced when she was just five, she never got to see him much. "I was aware he played electric guitar in bands and was apparently really good," Ellie once said. "[Maybe] inspiration came from that. He bought my big sister a guitar for Christmas one year and she wasn’t remotely interested. So I stole it."

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5. ... and he also had an obsession with murder

Ellie recalls once how her father had given her a "big crime file" that he had collected. In it were very vivid photos of murders, as well as information on "pretty much every high-profile murderer." Though his obsession probably did not phase Ellie too much due to how young she was, her mother was definitely unimpressed: "I brought it home once and my mum was so freaked out she burnt it."

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6. She has never seen any Star Wars or Lord of the Rings films

Apparently, she's never seen any Star Wars or Lord of the Rings films. To be fair, every single one of them is horridly lengthy. Despite the fact that she hasn't seen the movies, she apparently owns Star Wars socks. Maybe George Lucas was trying to get Ellie on his side.

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8. She'd love to work with Kanye

Goulding would love to collaborate with Kanye West: "I love [My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy], and he’s got Bon Iver on it, which is a genius idea." Can you imagine her over a "Black Skinhead"-style beat?

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9. She'd also love to collaborate with Justin Vernon, Björk, and Drake

"I’ve always wanted to do a track with Justin Vernon and Bon Iver. I’ve always wanted to do a song with Björk. I’ve always wanted to be on a song that Drake is on. There are just certain things. Like I’ve collaborated with lots of different people from different genres of music. I’ve always had a love for electronic music and folk music and pop music."

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10. She's openly insecure

While she's graced multiple magazine covers, starred in numerous music videos, and has done many photoshoots, she's still not completely insecure about her appearance: "I’m never happy with my face, my hair, I haven’t really got any boobs and I’m not really that tall." Guys, she's just like the rest of us!

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11. Despite her angelic appearance, she was a rebel in her teenage years

Ellie finds it hilarious that she's adapted this angelic reputation, having once been an "absolute rebel" in her teens. Says Goulding of those years: "... I got into certain groups of people and I had a kind of rave period. It was kind of a scene I got myself into, but it's just funny because I think that the image I gave off for such a long time was not that of a rebellious person, but that of quite an angelic person. And so, I think I wanted to confirm that, actually, I had a pretty rebellious teenage time."

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12. She went around L.A. one Christmas and handed out gifts to unerprivileged families

On Christmas Day 2011, Ellie Goulding walked around Los Angeles with then boyfriend Skrillex to hand out presents to underprivileged families. She was supposed to dress up like an elf, but "there weren’t any outfits left so [she] ended up looking like a crap Santa." Despite her not looking her best, it's probably safe to assume that the families appreciated her efforts.

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13. She briefly lost her love for guitar music when she was writing Halcyon

"I lost my love affair with guitar whilst I was writing and recording this album, although saying that now, I think it's come back since I've released it. I remember I was really dead against using it much, I just wanted to try new things, so that's why there's more piano and harp then on Lights."

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14. She started playing the guitar because of a boy

Love can inspire people to do weird things. For Ellie, and lucky for us, picked up the guitar so she could impress a boy. "There was a boy I liked, and I really wanted him to like me," she confessed. "I wanted to be the only girl guitarist around. But after that fixtation, I just really enjoyed playing guitar."

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15. She didn't think "I Need Your Love" would do well

Despite the fact that her collaborative track with Calvin Harris, "I Need Your Love," was nominated for two VMAs last year, she didn't really have that much faith in it. Says Ellie: "I absolutely didn't think the song would be so huge. I mean, every track Calvin has made has been a chart success, but before we recorded it, I thought, ‘Is this going to be the one time he doesn't make a hit?'" Obviously, her concerns have since been nullified, as she recalls how once she was working out, and the song came on at Barry's Boot Camp. "It was a bit awkward," she said of the encounter.

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17. She hasn't been dealing with fame very well

When asked the question "How have you dealt with fame?" Ellie responded with the following: "Not very well. I’ve experienced different levels of fame. People knowing too many things about me freaks me out. What gets me most is people believing things that aren’t true and people always having something to say about you. Gossip is incredibly powerful."

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