Elena Jane Goulding ( GOHL-ding; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and A&R. After signing to Polydor Records in July 2009, Goulding released her debut extended play, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding later that year.In 2010, she became the second artist to top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll and win the Critics' Choice Award at the Brit Awards in the same year. She released her debut studio album, Lights, in 2010; it debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 850,000 copies in the UK. In November 2010, the album was reissued as Bright Lights, spawning two singles: a cover of Elton John's "Your Song", which reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart; and "Lights", which peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Goulding's highest-charting single to date.

Goulding's second studio album, Halcyon was released in 2012 and preceded by its lead single "Anything Could Happen". The album debuted at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and topped the chart after 65 weeks. Halcyon debuted at No. 9 on the US Billboard 200. Halcyon Days, a repackaged edition of Halcyon, was released in 2013 and produced the single "Burn", which became her first No. 1 single in the UK. At the 2014 Brit Awards, she received the award for British Female Solo Artist. Goulding released her third studio album, Delirium, in 2015, with "On My Mind" as the album's lead single. That year, she received her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance for her single "Love Me like You Do". Her fourth studio album, Brightest Blue (2020), became her third album to top the UK Albums Chart, and her fourth consecutive RIAA–certified album.