I guess I'm just quite observant and I pay attention to a lot of things. Human behavior really fascinates me.
— Ellie Goulding
I would never create an image for myself; I'm not that clever.
Cover versions, that's my forte, that's all I ever used to do. When you play your own songs, it's quite scary, 'cause I'm quite honest and open, they can be very revealing. But covers, I don't have to think about, just get me up there!
There are so many things to think about when you make an album. Like, who am I trying to impress? Am I going to get respect, critical acclaim? Or am I going to sell lots of records?
When I sing along with Britney Spears I will sing in an American accent. But eventually I found my own voice. My songs are so brutally honest, it would be alien to sing in any accent other than my own. Don't get me wrong - I can imitate singers. I can do bar mitzvahs and weddings.
By the time I got writing 'Halcyon,' I was on a roll, and I realized I had so much to write about, I realized I had so much built up inside that I couldn't really alleviate before, and then all of a sudden it was like reservoir burst.
I was a kind of angsty teenager and I would write diaries and write stuff down all the time. Sometimes I get to the level on stage where I'm singing and it feels heavy, but not always.
Christmas in L.A. is weird. There's no snow. It's not even cold.
The only really safe thing to do is to write a diary of where you've been, what time you went to bed, what you ate. If I wrote honestly about everything I think it'd be a disaster. It would cause a lot of trouble.
I feel like I write songs for the future or something. Not in an arrogant way, but I feel like maybe my songs were, like, before their time or something.
Apparently I'm introspective... levelheaded... but at the same time, absolutely insane.
I've watched and learnt from DJs and remixers and paid way more attention to how I want my voice to sound. Before, as long as it was loud and in tune it was fine. I've discovered the difference made by various microphones and effects, so each track has a different vocal sound, my voice is woven into everything and it's above everything.
I'm never happy with my face, my hair, I haven't really got any boobs and I'm not really that tall.
I think hype is a good thing. You need it and it'll teach you valuable things and you'll grow stronger, which is what I've done.
