It's been quite a rollercoaster-ride for Ellie Goulding since releasing her debut album Lights back in 2010. In fact, the ride was in full swing before the album even dropped, as she both topped the BBC Sound of 2010 Poll and won the Brits Critics Choice Award. Hype allowed her to make the jump from indie to major, leaving Neon Gold to join Universal Music Group's stable of acts on Polydor Records – and in spite of mixed reviews, Lights proved a major commercial success, hitting the #1 spot in the UK charts instantaneously and going on to garner 1.5 million album sales and over five million single sales worldwide.
A clever re-release of the album further boosted her profile, just as the buzz of the original was beginning to wear thin. Six bonus tracks were included on the beefed-up Bright Lights, among them a cover of Elton John's 'Your Song' which was met with a sync deal with John Lewis for their Christmas 2010 advertising campaign, whilst the album's title track curiously became a stateside sleeper-hit for Goulding, spending 15 months on the Billboard Hot 100 to date and amassing 3 million downloads in the process. Impressive sales records aside she has also toured with Katy Perry, sang yuletide carols with Barrack Obama in The White House, performed at the wedding of William & Kate, appeared on high-profile TV slots in the company of everyone from Ellen to Letterman, and found love with superstar DJ of the moment Skrillex. You'd wonder how she even found the time to make a follow-up…