name	Folktronica
color	black
bgcolor	silver
stylistic origins	Folk music, electronica
cultural origins	2000s United Kingdom
instruments	Synthesizer - Drum machine - Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler (traditional instrumentation such as bass, drums often featured more regularly than other electronic genres)
other topics	}}

Folktronica or electrofolk is a genre of music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring samplings of acoustic instruments—especially stringed instruments—and incorporating hip hop rhythms. Computers used during the recording process.

History

Folktronica was coined by music writer Jim Byers on the now-defunct website BurnitBlue.com, during the proliferation of labels like Manchester's Twisted Nerve, responsible for the emergence of Badly Drawn Boy, but with its origins in electronica. It was later used when describing the music coming from Kieran Hebden and his Four Tet project in 2001. In 2001, postmodern pop artist Momus released an album titled ''Folktronic'' deliberately exploring (and satirizing) the fusion. A similar genre is "Laptop folk", which refers to a slightly more minimalistic electronic folk.

Key recordings in the genre, according to ''The Sunday Times'', include ''Pause'' by Four Tet, ''Mother's Daughter and Other Songs'' by Tunng, and ''The Milk of Human Kindness'' by Caribou.

Folktronica musicians

Arab Strap

The Album Leaf

Adem

Alexis Taylor

Animal Collective

Anomie Belle

Bat For Lashes

Benoît Pioulard

The Beta Band

Beth Orton

Bibio

The Books

Capitol K

Caribou (AKA Manitoba)

Clue to Kalo

CocoRosie

Colleen

Dan Deacon

David Kitt

Department of Eagles

Detektivbyrån

Dot Allison

Electric President

Ellie Goulding

Emily Wells

Empire of the Sun (band)

Everything but the Girl

Final Fantasy

Four Tet

Freelance Whales

Fridge

Gepe

Gilbert

Goldfrapp

Gravenhurst

The Green Hills of Earth

Greg Davis

The High Llamas

High Places

Imogen Heap

Inch Chua

It's Jo and Danny

J Xaverre

Jakokoyak

Jeremy Warmsley

Josh Doyle

Juana Molina

Kaki King

Ochre

Koushik

Laki Mera

Scott Lanaway

Little Glitches

Leafcutter John

Little Dragon

Lucky Dragons

Matmos

Melodium

Múm

Minotaur Shock

Shugo Tokumaru

Talkdemonic

The Notwist

Nobukazu Takemura

William Harper

Paavoharju

Owen Pallett

The Prize Fighter Inferno

Psapp

Radical Face

Silje Nes

St. Vincent

State Shirt

Sufjan Stevens

Yann Tiersen

Tunng

Richard Youngs

Whitey

Patrick Wolf

James Yuill

Valravn

William Fitzsimmons

The Weeknd

References

de:Folktronica es:Folktrónica lmo:Folktronica nl:Folktronica pl:Folktronica pt:Folktronica sk:Folktronica sv:Folktronica

name	Ellie Goulding
background	solo_singer
birth name	Elena Jane Goulding
birth date	December 30, 1986
birth place	Hereford, Herefordshire, England
origin	London, England
genre	Indie pop, electropop, synthpop, folktronica
occupation	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, drummer
instrument	Vocals, guitar, drums, piano, clarinet, tambourine
years active	2007–present
label	Neon Gold, Polydor, Cherrytree, Interscope
associated acts	Starsmith, Diana Vickers, Gabriella Cilmi, Tinie Tempah, Erik Hassle, Lissie, Frankmusik, Lena Meyer-Landrut,Mumford & Sons
website	}}

Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding (born December 30, 1986) is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became only the second artist to both top the BBC's annual ''Sound of...'' poll, and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008. After signing to Polydor Records in 2009, she released her first extended-play recording in 2009, ''An Introduction to Ellie Goulding'', and her debut studio album ''Lights'' followed in 2010. Her album went on to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold there over 380,000 copies by the end of 2010 and over 620,000 copies in total.

Her musical style has been compared to that of Kate Nash, Lykke Li, Tracey Thorn, and Björk.

Background

Ellie was born and brought up in Hereford, Herefordshire, the second of four children. She began playing the clarinet and writing songs at the age of nine, and at fourteen began learning guitar. She started songwriting at the age of fifteen and while in college she won a singing competition.

After commencing a drama course at the University of Kent, where she was exposed to electronic music, she developed her sound with the help of Frankmusik on the track "Wish I Stayed", and Starsmith, who went on to become her chief collaborator and primary producer of ''Lights''. After two years at Kent, she was advised to take a gap year to pursue singing, and moved to West London.

She is a keen runner, running six miles every day, and in 2010 admitted plans to run a marathon. In support of her second EP, ''Run Into the Light'', she invited a small number of fans through her Facebook pages, to run with her in seven different cities on her UK tour, and has announced that she will be doing the same across Europe and the United States. A website, EllieRuns.com, was launched in support. Goulding's keenness for exercise has given her what is considered to be an impressively athletic physique.

She is currently dating BBC Radio 1's DJ Greg James.

Music career

Early career

Signed to Polydor Records in September 2009, she made her debut single. "Under the Sheets", which was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2009, peaking outside the top 40. In October 2009 she toured the UK supporting Little Boots, and appeared on ''Later... with Jools Holland'', performing "Under The Sheets" and "Guns and Horses". "Wish I Stayed" was available as a free download as the UK iTunes Store's 'Single of the Week' from 22–28 December 2009.

''Lights'' and ''Bright Lights''

Before the release of her debut studio album, Goulding won the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, which showcases the critics, broadcasters and music industry insiders' top choices for rising stars and artists for the coming year. She also won the Critics' Choice Award at the 2010 BRIT Awards, which prize made her the second artist to win both in the same year.

The album ''Lights'' was released in March 2010, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number twelve on the Irish Albums Chart. Its singles, "Starry Eyed", "Guns and Horses", and "The Writer" peaked at numbers 4, 26, and 19 respectively. In August 2010, Ellie released a second extended play, ''Run Into the Light'', a remixed version of ''Lights''. The album was supported by Nike and was released through Polydor as a running soundtrack in an effort to get Goulding's music taken up by the national running subculture.

In November 2010, ''Lights'' was re-released as ''Bright Lights'', with six new tracks added. It was originally announced that the lead single from ''Bright Lights'' would be the new edit of the title track with a release scheduled for 1 November 2010. Yet this was scrapped to allow her cover of Elton John's "Your Song" to be released in conjunction with the John Lewis Christmas 2010 advertising campaign in the UK. The single became Goulding's highest-charting single to date, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted in some European countries in early 2011.

Goulding toured in support of ''Lights'' and supported Passion Pit in March 2010 and John Mayer during his British tour in May 2010. During the summer she performed at a number of festivals. On 29 May she performed at the Dot to Dot Festival in Bristol. She performed a set on 25 June at the 40th annual Glastonbury Festival on the John Peel Stage. Her third EP was a live recording of part of her set at the iTunes Festival 2010. The whole set was later released as part of the iTunes version of ''Bright Lights''. She made her T in the Park debut on 11 July. She played on the Nissan Juke Arena at the 2010 V Festival in late August. In September she was part of the line-up at Bestival 2010 on the Isle of Wight. In support of the album in Europe she performed on the first day of Pukkelpop in Belgium, at the Open'er Festival in Poland and at Benicàssim in Spain. A track from ''Lights'', "Everytime You Go", was featured in the ''Vampire Diaries'' episode "Founder's Day", while "Your Biggest Mistake" appeared in an episode of ''The Inbetweeners''. She began a tour of the United States and Canada in February 2011 to coincide with the release of the American edition of ''Lights''. She will also play at Coachella.

In January 2011 it was announced that the title track from ''Lights'' would serve as the second single from ''Bright Lights''. In early 2011 she recorded an original song for the film ''Life in a Day''. Goulding was featured as number five artist on Rolling Stone Magazine's hotlist in February 2011. In February 2011 she returned to the BRIT Awards where she was nominated for the Best British Female Solo Artist and the Best British Breakthrough Act. Previously she had performed at the BRITs launch party where the nominations were announced. Goulding will headline the 2011 Wakestock Festival in Wales, performing on 8 July. In August she will again perform at the V Festival. Following the re-release of ''Lights'' and the American launch of the album, Goulding said she would soon begin work on a second studio album with an expected release in September 2011. Goulding made her American television debut on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' on 7 April 2011 performing "Starry Eyed". She appeared as the musical guest on the 700th episode of the ''Saturday Night Live'', broadcast 7 May 2011 and hosted by Tina Fey. She served as the only live performer at the wedding reception of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April 2011 singing her rendition of Your Song for the couple's first dance as well as her hits The Writer and Starry Eyed and several of William and Kate's personal favourites. She was introduced to Prince William by Tinie Tempah at a music festival during the summer of 2010. Ellie performed, for the second consecutive year, at Radio 1's Big Weekend on Saturday 14 May. On 28 July 2011, the American video version of Starry Eyed was released on Youtube. The video reached over 1 million views in just 3 days. The video features Ellie wearing blue contacts

Untitled second album

In March 2011, Goulding told UK showbiz website Digital Spy that she is recording a currently untitled follow-up to ''Lights''. When asked about the musical direction of the record, Ellie told the site:

The previous month, the site reported that she hopes to release the album at some point in 2011, saying, "I'm not going to go away for ages. It'll be out this year or the start of next."

Work with other artists

Goulding co-wrote "Love Me 'Cause You Want To" for Gabriella Cilmi's second album, ''Ten'', and three songs, "Remake Me + You", "Notice" and "Jumping Into Rivers," for Diana Vickers's debut album, ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree''. Her song "Not Following" was used by Lena Meyer-Landrut on her debut album ''My Cassette Player''. Goulding featured on the rapper Tinie Tempah's fifth official single "Wonderman" from his debut studio album Disc-Overy. Goulding is also featured on American rap duo Chiddy Bang's song "Under the Sheets" on their mixtape ''Airswell''. Frankmusik told Digital Spy he hoped to collaborate with Goulding on his upcoming album. The two previously worked together on Ellie's track ''Wish I Stayed''.

Discography

;Studio albums

2010: ''Lights'' / ''Bright Lights''

2011: TBA

;Extended plays

2009: ''An Introduction to Ellie Goulding''

2010: ''iTunes Festival: London 2010''

2010: ''Run Into the Light''

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Nominated Work	Award	Result
			Sound of 2010
2010 BRIT Awards	Critics' Choice
rowspan="2"	Best Female Artist
Best Breakthrough Artist
	Best UK & Ireland Act
2010 MP3 Music Awards	The BNC Award
	Best Female Artist
	Best Breakthrough Artist
rowspan="2"	Best Newcomer
Lights	Best Album
			British Female Solo Artist
British Breakthrough Act
rowspan="2"		Pandora Newcomer of the Year 2011

References

External links

Category:1986 births Category:Alumni of the University of Kent Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English electronic musicians Category:English female guitarists Category:English female singers Category:English pop guitarists Category:English pop pianists Category:English pop singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English vegetarians Category:English-language singers Category:Folktronica Category:Indie pop musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Hereford Category:Polydor Records artists Category:Synthpop musicians

bg:Ели Голдинг cs:Ellie Goulding da:Ellie Goulding de:Ellie Goulding es:Ellie Goulding fr:Ellie Goulding id:Ellie Goulding it:Ellie Goulding hu:Ellie Goulding nl:Ellie Goulding pcd:Ellie Goulding pl:Ellie Goulding pt:Ellie Goulding ro:Ellie Goulding ru:Голдинг, Элли fi:Ellie Goulding sv:Ellie Goulding tr:Ellie Goulding zh:愛莉格

name	Diana Vickers
background	solo_singer
birth name	Diana Vickers
born	July 30, 1991
origin	Blackburn, Lancashire, England
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, stage actress, fashion designer
associated acts
genre	Indie pop, indie rock, folktronica, folk pop, new wave, synthpop
instrument	Vocals, trumpet, acoustic guitar
label	RCA (2009–2011)
years active	2008 – present
associated acts
website	}}

Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. In January 2009, Vickers signed a record deal with RCA Records and after touring with her fellow X Factor finalists until March 2009, began work on her debut album, ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree'', until September 2009.

From October 2009 to January 2010, Vickers played the title role in a West End revival of ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' for which she won the award for "London Newcomer of the Year" at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards. Vickers' debut single, "Once", charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after its release on 19 April 2010 and has sold over 210,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Vickers' debut album was released on 3 May 2010 in the United Kingdom achieving number one status on the UK Albums Chart, number seven on the Irish Albums Chart and number four on the European Top 100 Albums, and has been certified Gold by the BPI. ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree'' went on to sell over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Her second single, "The Boy Who Murdered Love", charted at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by her third single, "My Wicked Heart", which was released on 17 October 2010 digitally and on 1 November 2010 physically. "My Wicked Heart" peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Vickers' third consecutive Top 40 single. Vickers performed the track live on ''The X Factor'' results show on 16 October 2010.

Vickers' musical career has been commercially successful thus far, with total sales of over 500,000 records in the UK alone for her three singles and debut album. Vickers is currently co-writing material for a second album, which is planned for release in 2012.

In May 2011, Vickers unveiled her debut fashion line for Very.co.uk titled "Dee V" reinforcing her signature quirky fashion sense. Vickers' distinctive and unique boho-chic approach to fashion has achieved industry praise from prestigious fashion magazines including Grazia, Look, and Harpers Bazaar. On 30 June 2011, Vickers announced via her official Tumblr blog that she had parted company with RCA Records purely for creative reasons, by mutual consent. On 28 July 2011, Vickers announced on a Ustream web chat that she would be releasing a downloadable EP before the end of 2011 to showcase a sample of her second era of music.

Early life

Vickers was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England and grew up in the village of Huncoat near Accrington. When Vickers reached the age of 16 she originally planned to study hard for her A Levels and either attend drama school or travel to Thailand to find herself. She studied for A Levels in Theatre Studies, Classics and Psychology at Westholme School in Blackburn. Vickers has been singing since the age of 11, taking singing lessons and participating in local competitions, but had never sung professionally.

Music career

2008–2009: ''The X Factor'' and record deal

In 2008, Vickers auditioned for the fifth series of ''The X Factor'', singing "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice where Louis Walsh commented that she resembled a "little hippie" eventually making it to the live shows. Vickers was selected for the live shows and was mentored by Cheryl Cole along with fellow competitors, Alexandra Burke and Laura White.

Vickers' live show performances were often unconventional, attracting both praise and criticism. Judge Simon Cowell likened her to Marmite, saying fans would either love or hate her unusual singing style, stating that he "loved it".

On her first live show Vickers sang U2’s "With or Without You". Vickers then covered Michael Jackson’s "Man in the Mirror", for which she received nothing but praise with Dannii Minogue describing it as "box fresh" and Simon Cowell remarking she was "the one to beat". The following week Vickers performed Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" which again received much praise and the judges were even more impressed with her version of Blondie’s "Call Me".

In week 5 of the live show stages, Vickers missed the live show without performing following a bout of laryngitis. She had wanted to perform the Mariah Carey song "Always Be My Baby" up until a few hours before the show, but her doctor advised her not to, saying Vickers could do permanent damage to her vocal cords. This is the first time the producers have ever excused any act from performing.

In week six, Vickers returned to the programme performing Coldplay's "Yellow", which received a negative reaction from the judges; Dannii Minogue commented that she did not "love the song choice", while Cowell suggested Vickers was still not well enough to perform. In week seven Vickers performed Take That's "Patience" commenting that she felt 100% once again and hoped to deliver her best performance to date. During the show, guest Gary Barlow offered to sign her if Cowell did not, to which Cowell responded, "We will not be accepting Gary Barlow’s kind offer for a recording contract. Leona [Lewis] has done fine with me, thank you Gary."

In the week nine semi finals of the competition, Vickers performed Avril Lavigne’s "Girlfriend" as her first song and received excellent comments from all the judges, including Cheryl Cole's comment that "she had got that sparkle back". Vickers followed this with Dido’s "White Flag" but was subsequently voted out of the competition.

Vickers was the bookies' favourite to win the competition from the second live show for seven consecutive weeks. She was eliminated in the semi-final (week nine), achieving fourth place overall. Following the end of the series, she went on tour with the rest of the final eight contestants on The X Factor Live tour between February and March 2009. While on the show, her trademark was to perform in her bare feet. Vickers additionally gained national attention for her hand gestures on stage coining the nickname "The Claw".

After The X Factor it was initially announced that Vickers would be signed by Sony Music under the Syco label along with JLS and Eoghan Quigg but this plan for her to join Syco was later dropped. Instead, she signed to Sony Music's RCA Records. She began work on her debut album, ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree'', in January 2009, commenting that it would not be rushed and that it would be "Diana style". She worked with Cathy Dennis, Eg White, Nerina Pallot, Ellie Goulding, Cass Lowe, Guy Sigsworth, Chris Braide, Savan Kotecha, Starsmith, Alexis Strum, Patrick Wolf and Dev Hynes aka Lightspeed Champion.

2009–2010: ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree''

Vickers' debut single, "Once" was written by Cathy Dennis and Eg White and produced by Mike Spencer. The track was released in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2010, after it was playlisted on Radio 1 and the music video premiered via Channel 4's Freshly Squeezed music programme. On 22 April 2010, Vickers performed an acoustic version of "Once" and a cover of Snow Patrol's "Just Say Yes" on ''Radio 1's Live Lounge''. On 25 April 2010, "Once" entered the UK Singles Chart at number one selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. In March 2010, Vickers' first leg of the Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree Tour took place, during which she showcased material from the album.

On 15 April 2010, plans for Vickers' second single were confirmed. "The Boy Who Murdered Love" was written and produced by Chris Braide at his studio in London, with lyric contribution from Vickers. The video for the second single was shot in the week commencing 26 April 2010 in London. Vickers embarked on the second leg of her UK Tour in May 2010 promoting her newly released album, Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree, which on 9 May 2010 charted at number one on the UK Albums Chart selling approximately 36,000 copies in its first week of release. On 25 July 2010, the album returned to the upper reaches of the UK Albums Chart, rising 29 places from number 42 to number 13.

On 23 May 2010, Vickers performed an acoustic version of "The Boy Who Murdered Love" and Biffy Clyro's "Many of Horror" at Radio 1's Big Weekend. Vickers released her second single, "The Boy Who Murdered Love", on 18 July 2010 and it peaked at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. Vickers' performed "Once", "The Boy Who Murdered Love" and debut album tracks "N.U.M.B" and "Notice" for a live session for MTV. On 28 July 2010, iTunes released an exclusive EP of Vickers performing at the 2010 iTunes Festival. It included singles "Once", "The Boy Who Murdered Love", album tracks "Notice", "My Hip", a cover of Snow Patrol's "Just Say Yes", but did not include album track "Put It Back Together" nor "You'll Never Get to Heaven", which she also performed.

Vickers appeared at many festivals throughout Summer 2010, including the 2010 V Festival, The Live Lounge Stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2010, Stoke Festival, T4 on the Beach, T in the Park, 2010 Oxygen Festival, iTunes Festival, 2010 Sundae Festival and 2010 Freedom Festival, promoting her debut album. Vickers also supported Mika at the Eden Sessions in 2010.

On 31 August 2010, Vickers participated in a live Ustream video chat in which she confirmed that her third single would be a brand new track titled "My Wicked Heart" co-written by Vickers and songwriters Dee Adams and James Earp and also produced by them. The track features Vickers playing the trumpet. The single received its first radio play on 12 September 2010 by Tom Deacon on The 5:19 Show. "My Wicked Heart" was digitally released on 17 October 2010 and physically released on 7 November 2010. The video for "My Wicked Heart" premiered on ITV2 at 6.55 pm on 2 October 2010, it features Vickers in a circus tent with gymnasts and drummer boys.

On 16 October 2010, it was reported that Red Hot Chili Peppers was considering legal action over similarities between the chorus of the band's well known song "Under The Bridge" and "My Wicked Heart". Vickers admitted in an interview that she had been listening to "Under The Bridge" shortly before working on "My Wicked Heart" and had noticed but decided to ignore the similarities. On 17 October 2010, Vickers returned to The X Factor stage, two years after she was last there, to perform "My Wicked Heart".

In an interview with Digital Spy she announced the possibility of "Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree" getting a solely digital download re-release. She also stated, "I've been writing so much and got so many tracks under my belt. I think I'm very close to ready for the second album actually." Vickers embarked on a UK radio tour to promote "My Wicked Heart", which started on 18 October 2010 and ended on 24 October 2010. On 24 October, "My Wicked Heart" charted at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, number 12 on the Scottish Singles Chart and number 22 on the Irish Singles Chart selling 50,000 copies to date. Vickers' fourth leg of the Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree Tour began on 8 November 2010, touring the UK and for the first time, Ireland where Vickers showcased "More Than This", a previously unheard track, to promote her second album.

2010 – present: Untitled upcoming second album, extended play and new record deal

On 3 June 2010, Vickers announced that she had started preparing songs for a second album. In an interview with Orange Music, Vickers revealed that the new direction would be "sexy", "adventurous" and inspired and influenced by indie and rock music, citing the works of The xx, The Doors, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bjork. Vickers has co-written material with Nerina Pallot (who penned "Put It Back Together" for Vickers' debut album), Eg White (who co-wrote "Once"), Starsmith, Chris Braide and Dee Adam (who co-wrote "My Wicked Heart" with Vickers). On 6 January 2011, Vickers travelled to Los Angeles, United States, to co-write material with John Shanks and Diane Warren. On 15 January 2011, Vickers played her debut gig in the United States at Cherry Pop in West Hollywood promoted via Perez Hilton.

On 11 March 2011, it was announced that Vickers has been collaborating with Starsailor front-man James Walsh indicating a heavier and rockier direction for her second album. Vickers made a second visit to Los Angeles on 14 March 2011, to do further studio work with John Shanks.

On 30 June 2011, Vickers revealed on her official Tumblr account that she had parted company with RCA Records due to creative differences. She went on further to assure her fans that the second album is still proceeding and that she is proud of it. It is uncertain whether Vickers will be signed to a new record label or will release her album independently. On 1 July 2011, it was uncovered that the mutual separation between Vickers and her management was due to musical direction where Vickers wants to pursue a more indie, less-commercial route. She has since been signed up to Polydor Records.

On 13 July 2011, Popjustice reviewed three tracks from Vickers' second album titled, "Boy In Paris", "Cinderella" and "Music To Make The Boys Cry" commenting that the songwriting standard was extremely high and that, "the tunes – the melodies – are huge". The article presented how the three tracks were a result of studio sessions with Donkeyboy and Miranda Cooper. Popjustice confirmed that the new material would be released in 2012.

On 28 July 2011, Vickers announced via a Ustream web chat that she would be releasing a downloadable EP before the end of 2011 to showcase a sample of her second era of music. Vickers confirmed that she has recorded over thirty tracks for her new album to be released early next year. As they cannot all feature on the album, a taster EP will be available to download over the coming months. A release date is yet to be confirmed for the EP. On 12 August 2011, it was unveiled that Vickers had collaborated with MNEK where the British record producer tweeted that "pop gems" had been made as a result of their studio sessions.

Acting career

Vickers made her professional acting debut in the title role of a new revived West End production of Jim Cartwright's ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' on 8 October 2009 at the Vaudeville Theatre, on The Strand, London. She played Little Voice, who hides a talent as an impersonator of singers such as Shirley Bassey, Edith Piaf and Judy Garland.

Mark Owen of Take That wrote "Sunlight", the final song in the play for Vickers to sing. "Sunlight" was featured as a B-Side for her debut single, "Once". Vickers took a break from recording her debut album to star in the production. Vickers' performance received more positive reviews than any other show of that year.

Vickers' performance received a good review in The Guardian in which they said that "[Vickers'] singing is impressive, we were surprised at her vocal abilities." Her stint was deemed "magical" in The Daily Telegraph. Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail also gave a positive review of Vickers' performance. She won the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award "London Newcomer of the Year" in February 2010 for her performance, with 34.5% of the vote out of 7 other competitors.

Artistry

Musical style and influences

Vickers' musical style scopes from simple folk-tinged, keyboard and guitar based ballads to more up-tempo indie rock and synth-based songs with full band backing. Her musical style has been compared to Kate Bush, Ellie Goulding, Dido, and Dolores O'Riordan. Vickers additionally showcases a quirky and idiosyncratic style of singing often described as breathy, raspy and hiccupy. Vickers has cited an array of influences including Florence + The Machine, Kate Bush, Regina Spektor, Kings of Leon, Frou Frou, Sinéad O'Connor and The Sundays. Vickers commented on her musical style and career saying:

}}

Discussing the musical style of her forthcoming second album, Vickers declared that she had been inspired by indie and rock music to experiment with different sounds. Vickers has stated that the music of The xx, The Doors, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Björk has influenced her latest work.

Public image

Apart from Vickers' musical style, she is well known for her unique and kooky boho-chic and hippie-influenced appearance. Vickers' trademark style includes messy, back-combed "bird's nest" hair and vintage inspired clothing where she is often seen wearing outfits from London's Brick Lane, Camden and Beyond Retro. Vickers' fashion icons are Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe. Vickers has encouraged dedicated fashion blogs documenting her latest attire and has been labelled a fashionista in the making by Grazia. On 29 October 2009, Vickers was awarded "Fashionista of the Week" in The Guardian and on 3 June 2010, Vickers was nominated for "Best Dressed Woman of The Year" at The Clothes Show Style Awards 2010.

Fashion lines

On 20 May 2011, Vickers launched an eight-piece clothing collection for Very.co.uk titled "Dee V". The debut collection ranged from £20 to £99 for items including sequin dresses adorned with blossom, bird and dog prints, cotton tees and wide leg jeans. After a best-selling debut range, Vickers launched a second collection for Very.co.uk on 13 July 2011. The second collection is inspired by the fashionable television series Mad Men and emphasises Vickers' uniquely iconic style.

Personal life

Vickers has been dating One Night Only frontman, George Craig. In July 2011, Vickers gave an interview in which she revealed how they got together: "We chatted at a party, then he tried to woo me. He was very persistent for about three months, sending me lovely texts. Then we were at another party, he picked up a guitar, we got talking and that was it."

Philanthropy

In March 2010, Vickers supported JLS for a charity performance in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in London to raise money for teenagers who are suffering with cancer. In July 2010, Vickers performed at a charity event "Give Tilly a Hand", helping to raise funds in a charity evening for meningitis victim Tilly Lockley. For anti-bullying week 2010 in the UK, Vickers uploaded a video to her official website encouraging young people to stand up to bullies. In August 2010, Vickers wrote a column in The Sun newspaper opposing the use of drugs and legal highs after witnessing disturbing effects of people "out of control" at the UK summer festival circuit warning that, "just because a drug is legal, you cannot assume it is safe." In an interview with Now Magazine, Vickers announced that since rising to fame she has been offered drugs but will always say no to them concluding, "I've never tried them [drugs] and I'm very proud of that." On 28 September 2010, Vickers played an intimate gig as part of the month long "Oxjam Festival" which raised money in support of charity Oxfam.

On 10 March 2011, Vickers launched an eBay competition accredited on behalf of Comic Relief which encouraged people to place bids where the highest bidder at the end of the charity auction wins Vickers as a Twitter "best friend". The winning bidder gets followed and regularly mentioned on the social networking website by Vickers over a 90-day period where proceeds from the winning bid raises money for Red Nose Day to help vulnerable, poor and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa.

Discography

Studio albums

4

+ List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

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Title

Album details

Peak chart positions

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''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree''

*Released: 30 April 2010

*Label: RCA Records

Music download>digital download

1

7

|

2

15

British Phonographic Industry>UK: Gold

Extended plays

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" ! scope="col" style="width:11em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:16em;"| Album details ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK |- ! scope="row" |''iTunes Festival: London 2010'' | Released: 28 July 2010

Label: RCA

Format: digital download

| — |- ! scope="row" | ''TBA'' |

Released: 2011

Label: TBA

Format: digital download

| — |- |}

Singles

{|class="wikitable" style=text-align:center; |- ! rowspan="2" style="width:180px;"| Single !rowspan="2"|Year !colspan="5"| Peak chart positions !rowspan="2"| Certifications !rowspan="2"| Album |- !style="width:35px;font-size:85%"|UK !style="width:35px;font-size:85%"|IRE !style="width:35px;font-size:85%"|EU !style="width:35px;font-size:85%"|SCO !style="width:35px;font-size:85%"|KOR |- |align="left"| "Once" |rowspan="3"|2010 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 39 | UK: Silver | rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| ''Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree'' |- |align="left"| "The Boy Who Murdered Love" | 36 | — | — | 28 | 16 | |- |align="left"| "My Wicked Heart" | 13 | 22 | 42 | 12 | — | | TBA |- ! colspan=9 | As featured artist |- | align=left| "Hero" with ''The X Factor'' finalists ||2008 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | UK: 2× Platinum | Single-only release |}

Promotional singles

! Year	Song	! Album	! Notes
2009	"Jumping Into Rivers"		Offered as free promotional download from Vickers' website in July 2009 after the album track leaked.
	"N.U.M.B"	A free demo version of the album track offered by Vickers' website to download when logging in with Twitter.
"More Than This"	TBA

Music videos

! Year	Title	! Director(s)
2008	"Hero"	Max & Dania
	"Once"	Harvey Brown
"The Boy Who Murdered Love"	James Copeman
"My Wicked Heart"	Sarah Chatfield

Tours

The X Factor Live Tour (2009)

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree Tour (2010)

Support act for JLS' Summer Tour (2010)

Awards and nominations

! Year	Nominated work	! Award	! Result	! Ref
2009	"Hero (X Factor song)
	"Little Voice" ([[The Rise and Fall of Little Voice)	Theatregoers' Choice Award for The London Newcomer of the Year
Diana Vickers	The Clothes Show Style Award for Best Dressed Woman of the Year
	The 2010 Popjustice £20 Music Prize
Diana Vickers	The Variety Club Showbiz Award for Inspirational Young Talent
Diana Vickers	4Music Video Honours: Hottest Girl of 2010
"Once"	4Music Video Honours: Best Video of 2010
Diana Vickers	4Music Video Honours: Box Biggest Breakthrough
Diana Vickers
"Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree"	Radio 1 Teen Awards for Best Album
"Once"	Music Reviews 10 Awards for Song of the Year
Diana Vickers	Music Reviews 10 Awards for Best Newcomer
"My Wicked Heart"	Music Reviews 10 Awards for Music Video of the Year
"Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree"	Music Reviews 10 Awards for Debut Album of the Year
Diana Vickers	Virgin Media Music Awards for Best Solo Female
Diana Vickers	Virgin Media Music Awards for Best Newcomer
"Songs From the Tainted Cherry Tree"	Virgin Media Music Awards for Best Album
Diana Vickers	3am Awards – The You Look Nice Award For Best-Dressed Celeb Of 2010
Diana Vickers	3am Awards – The Will You Be Our Best Friend Award For The Celeb We'd Most Like To Hang Out With Of 2010
	Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers	Glamour Women of the Year Awards for PANDORA Breakthrough
Diana Vickers	MTV Royalty Award for Princess of Pop

See also

List of The X Factor finalists (UK series 5)

References

External links

Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century actors Category:English female singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English stage actors Category:People from Accrington Category:People from Blackburn Category:The X Factor (UK) contestants Category:People educated at Westholme School

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