CATS

ELLIE GOULDINGLina Otlora

BASIC INFORMATIONBirth name: Elena Jane Goulding.Born:30 December 1986(age26)Lyonshall,Herefordshire, England.Genres: Indie pop, synthpop, folktronica, indietronica, dream pop.Occupations: Singer- songwriter record producer.Instruments:Vocals,guitar,mandolin,keyboards,bass,drums,percussion,clarinet.

BIOGRAPHY

Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding(born 30 December 1986)is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actress from Lyonshall, Herefordshire. Her career began when she met record producerStarsmithandFrankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who later became her manager and A&R. After signing toPolydor Recordsin July 2009, Goulding released her debut extended play,An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, later that year.

In 2010, she became the second artist to both top theBBC's annualSound of...poll and win the Critics' Choice Award at theBrit Awardsin the same year. Goulding released her debut studio album,Lights, in 2010. The album debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chartand has sold over 850,000 copies in the UK. Her cover of Elton John's "Your Song" reached number two in the UK in December 2010 and on 29 April 2011 she performed the song at the wedding reception ofPrince William and Catherine Middletonat Buckingham Palace.

The album's title track, "Lights", was released in the US in March 2011, and peaked at number two on the BillboardHot 100and was certified triple platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA).

Goulding's second albumHalcyonwas released in October 2012, "Anything Could Happen" preceded the album as the lead single. Halcyondebuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and, after 65 weeks, reached number one.Halcyondebuted at number nine on theBillboard200 Chart, her first top ten debut in the United States.

Halcyon Days, a repackaged edition ofHalcyon, was released on 23 August 2013, it included new singles including "Burn", which became her firstUK number-one singlein the same month At the2014 BRIT Awardsshe received the award for Best British Female.By the end of 2013, she has sold an estimated 4 million albums and 15 million singles worldwide.

Early life

Elena Jane Goulding was born and raised inLyonshall, a small village nearKington, Herefordshire, the second of four children (a brother and two sisters).Her mother, Tracey (ne Clark), used to work at a supermarket, and her father, Arthur Goulding, came from a "family of undertakers".Her parents separated when she was five, and she had a stepfather who was alorrydriver.

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, theWizard of Oz, as the scarecrow. She started songwriting at the age of 15 and while in college she entered a singing competition and won.

After commencing drama, politics and English courses at theUniversity of Kent, where she was exposed toelectronic music, she developed her sound on the track "Wish I Stayed" with the help ofStarsmithand Frankmusik. After two years at Kent, she was spotted by Jamie Lillywhite of Turn First Artists at a university talent contest.

After Goulding successfully showcased for Turn First Artists head Sarah Stennett, she was told to leave university and was set up in a house in West London.Lillywhite became her manager and A&R, and introduced her to the producer who would become her chief collaborator and the primary producer ofLights.