Is there anyone that can stop Ellie Goulding right now? I think not. Her sophomore album Halcyon Days achieved great new success by reaching #1 on the UK album charts in January, over a year after its debut and she was recently crowned Best British Female at the 2014 BRIT Awards. Her hugely popular 2013 single “Burn” is continuing to achieve worldwide success having topped charts in the UK, Italy, Scotland, Hungary and Slovakia, proving her consistency and mainstream appeal. Simply put, she is simply unstoppable right now.
Hailing from Lyonshall in Hertfordshire, Ellie is not only singer-songwriter but also an instrumentalist and an actress, proving to be all-round artist. Her 2010 debut album Lights debuted at #1 the UK Album Charts and spawned the US smash hit “Lights” which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and shipped over four million copies in the US. Her second album Halcyon (2012) and its 2013 re-release Halcyon Days with the hits “Anything Could Happen”, “Burn” and “How Long Will I Love You” have done more than plant Ellie firmly on the global map.
With her signature style and soprano delivered with that effortlessly lush, unique and emotive vocal ability no matter the musical backdrop, the UK singer returns from her BRIT Awards triumph with a relaxing and infectious Synth-Pop number titled “Beating Heart” which is the soundtrack for the upcoming action adventure film Divergent and is my tip for Best New Music this week. Written by Goulding and starting off with similar twinkling synths as her break-out single “Lights”, “Beating Heart” soon descends into a mix of warm and lush atmospherics that Goulding has mastered over the years. The song is a lush piece of Pop music packed with dense commanding drums and snyth-heavy keyboard arrangements, over which Ellie’s unmistakable tone and piercing vibrato come into play. As the beat drops and the soaring chorus comes in, Ellie’s vocals make the song even the more enriching.
Neil Burger who directs the upcoming Divergent movie recently told Entertainment Weekly about the impact “Beating Heart” plays in the film:
“In the last scene of the movie, Tris has just experienced multiple tragedies, even as she triumphs (for the moment) over her enemies. Ellie wrote “Beating Heart” and we knew it’d be perfect for the end of the movie. Her lyrics almost merge with Tris’ voice-over and her music lets the movie soar above the tragedy. The sadness is still there but so is the transcendence. It’s a fantastic song. We soon found that the texture of her music and the tone of her voice perfected matched our film.“
Ellie also said about the record, “I got to jam, like you would jam on a guitar, but just with my voice, I really enjoyed it”. “Breaking Heart” as well as another three songs – “Hanging On”, “Dead In The Water” and “My Blood” – she provides on the Divergent soundtrack just go to show Ellie’s artistic versatility and just why she is very deserving of all the success she has garnered over the years, her consistency and musical talents continue to separate her from many female Pop singers right now. Ejoy the sounds of “Beating Heart” below.
The Divergent film soundtrack album is out on March 18 and also includes new music from Snow Patrol, Tame Impala, Kendrick Lamar, M83, A$AP Rocky and more, pre-Order it here.
Words by Joannie Scarsbrook // Edited by Ayo Adepoju
