Much
has happened for British electro-pop singer Ellie Goulding since she first
played the Royal Oak Music Theatre in August of 2011. She dated dubstepper Skrillex,
toured with Katy Perry, secured a major US hit single, “Lights”, and released a
sophomore album, Halycon. Goulding
returned to The Royal Oak Music Theatre this past Monday evening to play to a
sold out crowd. Goulding first played The Royal Oak Music Theatre as a
relatively unknown in 2011, days before performing a noteworthy gig at that
years Lollapalooza festival. Ellie Goulding is at a critical point in
sustaining her radio career the US. The title track, from her debut album,
“Lights”, slowly grew to become one of radio’s biggest hits of the past year,
yet “Anything Could Happen”, the first single from Halcyon failed to make a dent in the US.
On
stage, Goulding is immediately likable; her understated charm and playfulness shine
throughout her stage show. Goulding opened her show with Halycon’s moody “Don’t Say a Word”, though the audience didn’t take
to her direction and sang every one of Goulding’s syllables. Goulding’s live vocals
are frail, yet haunting and keep you clinging on for more. Goulding continued
her show with the title track from Halycon
and then current single, the dubstep ballad “Figure 8”. The smooth and
seductive cover “Hanging On” trailed, originally recorded by electronic
musician, Active Child. She continued the show with a stripped down, acoustic version
of “Guns and Horses”, which she played on the guitar, a favorite from her debut
album. Many on this continent were first exposed to Goulding as part of the
2011’s Royal Wedding. At the wedding
Ellie Goulding performed her gentle take on Elton John’s classic “Your Song”.
Goulding strips “Your Song” down to make it a tender and emotional ballad.
Goulding
slowly brought back the beat with electropop anthem “Under The Sheets”, igniting
a dance party with many of Goulding’s young fans singing along to every word.
From there, Goulding launched into her most recent single “Anything Could
Happen”. This song gained some recent notoriety due to a cover version on the
most recent season of X-Factor. The floor-filler “Animal” followed, which could
easily pass as a mainstream EDM (electronic dance music) mainstay. Goulding
finished up the performance with “Starry-Eyed”, the Calvin Harris produced club
banger “I Need Your Love” and concluded with her claim to fame, the inescapable
“Lights”. During “Lights”, she transitioned into the immensely popular
Bassnectar remix halfway through.
Though
Goulding’s vocals aren’t as strong as some of her contemporaries, her distinct
voice and delivery are certainly part of her allure. Goulding’s current problem
in the US is that her electro-pop is too alternative for Pop radio, and too
poppy for Alternative radio. Assuming that Goulding can secure a radio presence
from this album, we’re pretty likely to see a long and promising career.
Goulding had some of the most camera-happy fans that I’ve ever experienced.
Much of the crowd was annoyingly snatching non-stop pictures via phones and
cameras the entire time that Goulding was on stage.