Ellie Goulding

By and large, it’s advisable not to listen when someone tells you that an artist is going to be the biggest name in music by the end of the year. They’re wrong in most cases whether they’re the BBC or your mate who saw them when their mates band opened for them, but from time to time, they can be right on the money. Of course, a lot of the time anyone can see that they’re going to be massive, and that’s exactly what happened with Ellie Goulding, the only confusing thing was how world-conqueringly huge she got in such a small period of time, but anyone who saw her perform or heard her songs could tell that she was destined for greatness.

You might have even been able to see it before she had even left secondary school. Goulding had always been musical, taking up the clarinet when she was nine and the guitar by the age of14, but when she was 15 she entered and won a singing contest with a composition of her own. She continued writing her own material while at university, and it was when she took part in a talent show while she was there that she was spotted by Jamie Lillywhite of First Turn Artists, a management team that she successfully auditioned for a couple of months later. Lillywhite became her manager and by July 2009, Goulding had signed to Polydor records.

Almost immediately she was running with the big leagues, a performance on Later… With Jools Holland rose her profile dramatically, as did a tour supporting Little Boots, but the start of 2010 saw the moment where Ellie Goulding became a star. The BBC Sound Of 2010 poll showcased the music industry’s top choices for the next big artists of the coming year. At that point, previous winners had been Adele, 50 Cent and Keane, so this obviously carries a little more weight than most, and in 2010, they gave it to Goulding.

Mere months after that she won the critics’ choice BRIT Award and after that, all bets were off. By the end of 2010 “Lights”, her debut album, had gone straight to number one, has since sold a million copies worldwide and the title track was a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Live, she’s opened for everyone from the Dave Matthews Band to Katy Perry to U2 and her second album, “Halcyon”, saw her go even further, headlining arena concerts in her home country and working with everyone from Skrillex to Calvin Harris to Angel Haze. She’s at the top of her game, and will remain there for years to come, so what comes next is going to be truly spectacular.