Sweeping strings and hypnotic synths are gradually added in as Ellie comes to the conclusion she is fully moving on and she will embrace the change within her. “Start” opens with growing cheers that lead into Ellie’s vocals paired off with bare piano, as she ponders how changed she feels following a broken relationship, and her constantly having to reinvent herself and pick herself up. In the lead up to her 2020 album Brightest Blue, Goulding stated her intentions to separate the album into two different alter egos reflective of the different parts of her career and assured fans an album was en route, despite having released singles since 2018 with no promise of an album.

Goulding has gone on record to clarify since then that Delirium was an album recorded at a bad time for her, and that she often felt cringeworthy while singing some of its material. Despite this, some fans have felt that Goulding’s output has suffered from her switch to straightforward pop music and they’ve been clamoring for the old Ellie’s return.

It’s been more than 2 years since Goulding released a proper studio album, despite achieving some success with her last album Delirium and its singles, with the album even garnering some praise from critics.

Initially starting as a folktronica artist, Goulding transitioned through synthpop into full-on mainstream pop by the time her 2nd album was reissued. Image belongs to Ellie Goulding/Polydor Recordsīritish pop star Ellie Goulding has had an interesting trajectory in pop music.

Ellie goulding albums 2018