| Biography | Elena Jane Goulding is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and A&R. After signing to Polydor Records in July 2009, Goulding released her debut extended play, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, later that year.
Goulding released her debut studio album, Lights, in 2010; it debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 850,000 copies in the UK. In November 2010, the album was reissued as Bright Lights, spawning two singles: a cover of Elton John's "Your Song", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart; and "Lights", which peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her highest-charting single to date. Goulding's second studio album, Halcyon, was released in 2012 and preceded by its lead single "Anything Could Happen". The album debuted at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and topped the chart after 65 weeks. Halcyon Days, a repackaged edition of Halcyon, was released in 2013 and produced the single "Burn", which became her first No. 1 single in the UK. She released her third studio album, Delirium, in 2015, with "On My Mind" as the album's lead single. That year, she received her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance for her single "Love Me like You Do".
In 2017, at the end of her Delirium World Tour, Goulding announced that she was going on indefinite hiatus. It was later revelead that she was dealing with an anxiety disorder, as well struggles with media scrutinity faced during that time over false claims on her personal life. During her five-year hiatus, Goulding released several stand-alone singles, including her cover of Joni Mitchell's "River", which would became her third UK No.1 and was crowned as the last number one of the decade (10s) in the United Kingdom. After the hiatus, she released her fourth studio album, Brightest Blue (2020), which became her third album to top the UK Albums Chart, and her fourth consecutive RIAAcertified album. It spawned several singles, including the hits "Close To Me" (with Diplo & Swae Lee), "Sixteen" and "Hate Me" (with Juice Wrld), the latter became Goulding's 14th entry on the Hot 100, making her the British Female artist with most entries on the US Chart (record currently hold by Dua Lipa).
In 2022, Goulding released the song "Easy Lover" featuring rapper Big Sean as the lead single of her fifth studio album. In March 2023, Goulding released her third collaboration with DJ Calvin Harris, titled "Miracle", the song debuted at number No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, with the song entry Goulding made history as the British Female Solo Act with most entries in the UK, surpassing Dame Shirley Bassey, with a total of 35 chart entries. Her fifth studio album, Higher Than Heaven, was released on 7 April 2023. |