Ellie Goulding first impressed us with her killer voice and brave lyrics in indie favorites like "Under the Sheets" and "Burn." Then there was her Fifty Shades of Grey hit "Love Me Like You Do." Now the 28-year-old is releasing her third album, Delirium; it's more upbeat and features a handful of love songs (perhaps friends Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have rubbed off on her). Get ready to see her name back on the Top 10!
GLAMOUR: Your manager, publicist, and tour manager are all women. Was that a deliberate choice?
ELLIE GOULDING: I grew up with my mum; I didn't have a dad in my life.… I have a lot of admiration and respect for women. Also there'll be certain things my tour manager will get that a male tour manager wouldn't. Like, if I get down, we'll chat about why I'm down.… But it's also quite cool that I'm in a band full of boys who all call me boss!
GLAMOUR: You told the media that your boyfriend, Dougie Poynter [bassist for the band McBusted], is way out of your league.
EG: I think he still is way too cool for me. I somehow blagged it. He's just a rock star.
GLAMOUR: And you're not?
EG: I don't think of myself as a rock star. [Though] I taught myself electric guitar!
GLAMOUR: Tell us about Delirium.
EG: I wanted this album to be about me. I wrote about relationships, friends…. I've got a dark side too. The song "Scream It Out" is about not having a voice but finding that confidence to scream something out.
GLAMOUR: You said that no girl should be defined by a relationship. How do you want to be defined?
EG: By how I try to do good and make the world a better place. I've sold a lot of records too—I think I'm allowed to be defined by my hard work. And for who I am as a person. Everything else is irrelevant.
—Kaleem Aftab
