Ellie Goulding - This Love

Of course, the big news of the day is that the lovely Ellie Goulding is to perform at the Royal Wedding. The actual Royal Wedding. You know, that thing we'll all be watching on TV and which has dominated the news for the last few weeks. Needless to say, this is an absolutely incredible gig for her - highly deserved too.

She's set to release track This Love soon, a song which in fact dates back to the original release of her debut LP in 2009 (before it was re-released and re-packaged and everything). This takes me back to when I was just starting uni - it's a real favourite of mine from the album and a standout at Ellie's live shows too. After the mega-success of her Your Song cover, it's refreshing to see her releasing singles in the vein of the synth-pop that brought her to the public's eyes and ears in the first place.

Recent reports say Ellie is gearing up to release her album in America too, fronting it with an exciting performance on Saturday Night Live which will air on May 7th. Her blog post about touring and all the experiences, emotions and memories it brings with it is really touching too. You get the sense with this single release that things have now come full circle with Ellie, she has become a fully fledged pop-star; a genuine persona in both the British music scene as well as pop-culture as a whole.

Ellie Goulding - Your Song

There’s always a danger when covering well known songs that you lay yourself open to a torrent of abuse and anger from fans of the original track. But every so often comes along a cover that is almost universally loved, and Ellie Goulding’s charming version of Elton John’s Your Song is one such track.

Away from the beats and electronic wizardry that typifies the sound of Goulding’s album, Your Song  lets her vocals shine through and highlights just what a talented singer she actually is. It’s sensitive, full of longing and emotion – the perfect song then for the winter season. It’s a shot of warmth on biting cold days, just the kind of tonic we can all use from time to time. And fronting up the current series of John Lewis adverts on TV, it’s been given the kind of exposure most artists can only dream of. This Christmas, everyone seems to be a winner.