Elllie Goulding
– ACADEMY 2, MANCHESTER –
Being named in the BBC Sounds of 2010 Longlist (actually it’s not that long, as it only contains a grand total of 15 acts) is most certainly an accolade that anyone trying to make their name in the music world would love to have bestowed upon them. Last year’s list included acts such as La Roux, Florence and the Machine, Little Boots and Lady GaGa. So it only goes to show that the 165 UK based tastemakers that make these choices, certainly know their onions.
Because these lists are only ever unveiled in the last month of the year, I can guarantee that nearly every single act named, will have already got an idea of what their plans are for the oncoming 12 months. This is where being included in the list can bring up a new predicament. Do you graciously accept the honour and keep your future plans exactly the same, or do you put pressure on yourself by trying to live up to the expectation.
I’m sure many of the longlist-ees will now be having this quandary, and depending on how they and their management handle it, the end result will be different. So only the next few months will tell which route Ellie Goulding will take, now that she has been included on next year’s list. Tonight she will be in good company to get some helpful tips on this matter, as she is supporting last year’s deserving winner, Little Boots.
Even though the majority of tonight’s crowd are here for the headline act, it would seem that there is most certainly a good proportion here to see Miss Goulding too. When she takes to the stage after a few sound problems have been sorted, there are plenty of cheers from the now full room.
Her first song tonight is ‘Guns and Horses’ and as soon as she sings her first few lines, it is clear to see why she has been nominated. The vocal ability of this girl in her early twenties is top notch and even though most singers of her quality would use it for more of an out and out folk based purpose, she has opted for a slightly more pop orientated angle. Because of this, she will appeal to a much younger audience than many other singers with a similar sounding voice.
Just before she goes into the much more discothèque friendly ‘This Love’ I’m asked by one of the few adult accompanied children in attendance, if the girl onstage is Little Boots. I was tempted to say yes, but that would be a little cruel of me wouldn’t it, so I kindly told her she would be on next.
By the time we get to her debut single ‘Under the Sheets’, which believe it or not was only released last month, there are chants of “Ellie, Ellie, Ellie” erupting from the crowd. In her closing song of the set ‘Starry Eyed’ she relies on some backing track vocals which seems a bit of a let-down.
Overall I am in no doubt that she will go on to bigger and better things, but I’m not too sure her rise will be as quick as some of her fellow ‘Sounds Of’ predecessors such as Lady GaGa and La Roux.
‘Accidental Editor’ of Silent Radio from its inception in 2009 through to 2020. None of this was planned; I’ve never been in a band, never been part of the ‘music scene’ and never expected to be the gaffer of a music website with loads of dedicated music loving writers. I bought my first record when I was 8 and haven’t stopped buying since. I love crate digging for bizarre and weird stuff, but equally happy ploughing through press releases looking/listening for something I’ve never heard before.
