Look up night in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Nights may refer to:

• The plural form of night
• "Nights" (song), by Ed Bruce
• Nights (character), the main character in the video games Nights into Dreams... and Nights: Journey of Dreams
  • Nights into Dreams..., the first game in the series, for the Sega Saturn
  • Nights: Journey of Dreams, the second game in the series, for the Wii console

See also[link]

• Knights

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (June 2011)

Peter Hollens is an American pop singer-songwriter-producer. He has been heavily involved with a cappella music since 1999 when he co-founded (with Leo da Silva) the University of Oregon's award-winning a cappella group On The Rocks, known as the first official collegiate a cappella group in Oregon.^[1] On The Rocks began a tradition of excellence in a genre that was previously unheard of in the Northwest. Originally from Ashland, Oregon, Peter graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance. Since his graduation from the U of O, he has become very involved with collegiate a cappella,^[2] including recording, producing & judging international a cappella competitions throughout the United States. In 2010, Peter was featured on NBC’s The Sing Off receiving acclaim from The Sing-Off judges Shawn Stockman, Nicole Scherzinger and Ben Folds for solo performances leading On the Rocks, one of America’s premier collegiate a cappella groups.^[3][4] Peter records and produces from his home studio in Eugene, Oregon and recently recorded for Sony and Epic Records. Peter is married to Evynne Hollens, founder of the a cappella group Divisi.

Peter's notable recordings include tracks for "The Sing-Off Season 2-Greatest Hits" as well as many award-winning collegiate a cappella albums for such groups as On the Rocks, Divisi, Cornell's Chordials, the Duke's Men of Yale and the Whiffenpoofs.^[5] He has also recorded sing off season 2 winner's, Committed, the Backbeats from season 2, and the grammy award winning group the Swingle Singers.^[6]

In 2012 he released his first album.

Recent recordings[link]

• "Seasons Of Love" (A Cappella) featuring Evynne Hollens (single)
• "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" (A Cappella) featuring The Swingle Singers (single)
• "Pray" (A Cappella) featuring Therry Thomas of Committed and Courtney Jensen of The Backbeats and Noteworthy. (single)
• "Lullaby" (A Cappella) (single)
• "Need You Now" (A Cappella) featuring Evynne Hollens and Jake Moulton (single)
• "Firework" (A Cappella) (single)^[7]
• "Born This Way" (A Cappella) (single)
• "What's My Name/Only Girl" (A Cappella) (single)
• "Sleepwalking" (A Capella) (single)
• "Skyrim" (Single with Lindsey Stirling, 2012)^[8]

Discography[link]

• HOLLENS (HD) (2012)

National television appearances[link]

On October 22, 2010, On The Rocks and Peter Hollens announced that they were going to be appearing alongside 9 other groups on the NBC competition-reality show The Sing-Off. The first four episodes taped in August and September 2010, with a live finale on December 20. OTR placed 5th among the 10 groups, appearing in all five episodes. All 10 of the groups made an appearance on the live finale and helped congratulate Committed on winning the $100,000 prize and Sony Recording contract. A holiday album was released featuring songs from all 10 groups. Individual tracks (live and studio) were also made through iTunes and can be found at http://www.itunes.com/singoff. Peter Hollens had a solo in every episode.

Songs Performed: Episode 2.1 - Group: Bad Romance (Lady Gaga) Peter: "I've Got the Music in Me" Episode 2.2 - Live Your Life (TI and Rihanna) - Solos: Peter Hollens, Rap: Jeff Rogers Episode 2.3 - Pour Some Sugar On Me Solo: Jonah, Peter Hollens (Def Leppard), Kyrie (Mr. Mister) Solo: Peter Hollens Episode 2.4 - Elton John Medley (Bitch Is Back, Bennie and the Jets, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me) Solos: Nick Firth, Jonah Seitz, Peter Hollens Episode 2.5- Swan Song- The Final Countdown (Europe) Solos: Peter Hollens,

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Peter Hollens' Youtube Channel

Julia Nunes
Julia Nunes at the Living Room, New York City
Background information
Also known as	"jaaaaaaa" (YouTube user name)
Born	(1989-01-03) January 3, 1989 (age 23)
Origin	Fairport, New York, United States
Genres	Acoustic pop,[1] indie music
Instruments	Ukulele, Guitar, Melodica, Piano, Vocals
Labels	Rude Butler Records, DFTBA Records[2]
Associated acts	Jack Conte, Nataly Dawn, Pomplamoose, Greg Holden, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, Lauren O'Connell, Ian Axel, Mike Comite
Website	junumusic.com

Julia Nunes (born January 3, 1989)^[3] is a singer and songwriter from Fairport, New York.^[4] Her career has progressed online through her videos of pop songs on YouTube^[5] in which she sings harmony with herself and plays acoustic instruments, primarily the ukulele, guitar, melodica and piano.

Biography[link]

Nunes was born into a musical family in New York. Her father is a pianist and a composer of children's songs. One grandfather was a composer of Portuguese fado music and the other a jazz pianist. Nunes started piano lessons at age seven before switching to the guitar in her teens. She started writing songs at age 14 and began playing the ukulele in 2005. She also plays guitar and melodica.^[6][7] She indicated in the comments section of one of her YouTube videos (see below) that she holds dual USA-Portuguese citizenship.

YouTube videos[link]

Nunes is known for her videos on YouTube.^[8][9] Among them are original songs, as well as covers of some of Nunes' favorite bands, such as Say Anything, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Destiny's Child. Her original songs have been featured on the main page of YouTube twice, under the username 'jaaaaaaa', which she says was the result of holding down the "a" key randomly after the "j" key, the first and last letters of her first name.^[10]

On Good Morning America (June 30, 2008) Molly Ringwald said that she took up the ukulele after seeing Julia Nunes on YouTube. "I've always wanted to play the ukulele, and she completely inspired me," she said.^[11][12]

Recent work[link]

She opened four times for one of her idols, Ben Folds in May 2008 at the piano player's request^[4][13][14] and performed at the Bushman Ukulele Luau in May 2008 after having won the 2007 Bushman World Ukulele Video Contest. She performed at The Knitting Factory in New York.^[15] On October 25, 2008, she opened for The Bacon Brothers at The State University of New York at Geneseo.^[16] On November 22, 2008, Nunes performed her song "Maybe I Will" on YouTube Live '08 in San Francisco. She was joined onstage by The YouTube Ukulele Orchestra, which is composed of fellow YouTube ukulele players Wade Johnston, Dustin Domingo, Philip Fernandez, and Narciso Lobo.^[17] In January 2009 Nunes played four sold out shows in London, England, and was interviewed and performed on BBC Radio 1.^[18] In June 2009, she played two shows, and participated in the artist signing tent, at Bonnaroo, the independent music festival in Manchester TN,^[19] and a second tour of England.^[20] She began recording her third CD of original music in August 2009.,^[21] working with Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose as producers.^[22] She played at Bonnaroo 2010, her second time there. Nunes started the event on the main stage at noon 11 June 2010,^[23] and also played alongside Weezer on the second night.^[24] Nunes opened for Ben Kweller at Indiana University's Buskirk-Chumley Theater on November 13, 2010, as a part of Ben Kweller's tour. On January 24, 2012, Nunes made her television debut, performing "Stay Awake" on Conan.

Charity work[link]

In December 2008, Nunes participated in the Vlogbrothers' Project4Awesome.^[25] Rather than tell YouTubers to donate time or money to a charity, she offered one of her hand-knit hats on eBay, promising to donate the proceeds of the auction, and her own matching funds, to the Lupus Foundation of America.^[26][27] After a bidding war, the hat sold for US$1,250.00, to Kenny West, a musician from Philadelphia, PA.^[28] When she realized the amount she'd have to contribute to match this sum, she asked her viewers to help her make the donation, promising US$500.00 of her own money.^[29]

Discography[link]

[edit] Left Right Wrong

Nunes' first CD Left Right Wrong contained all original compositions and was released in the summer of 2007.^[30] It was released independently, published by Junu Music^[31] (ASCAP), on Nunes' label Rude Butler Music. Following YouTube success, as of June 2008 Nunes arranged a distribution deal for Left Right Wrong with Burnside Distribution Corporation,^[32] and the album can now be purchased through some mainstream sources.^[33] The 12 tracks (10 studio, two live) were recorded with just guitar and voice, without the overdubs which feature in her YouTube videos. The video of her song "Into the Sunshine" from the CD has over 2 million views on YouTube.

• Release date: 2007
• Label: Rude Butler Records
• Format: Digital download

1. "Intro"
2. "Into the Sunshine"
3. "Indecisive"
4. "Happy Medium"
5. "Balloons"
6. "I'm Not Good"
7. "A Century"
8. "Still In the Room"
9. "Blushing Cheeks"
10. "One Clock"
11. "Dolar Tree" (Live)
12. "Into the Sunshine" (Live)

[edit] I Wrote These

"I Wrote These", was released on October 15, 2008 containing original compositions by Nunes, except for Track 12 "Sugar Coats" which was co-written with her friend and fellow musician Kirk Stevens. Like her first album, "I Wrote These" was released on her Rude Butler Music label and copyrighted to JuNu Music. The album was tracked and mixed at Studio Arts Entertainment and Hilltop Recording in Greenwich, NY by Peter Kobor and Chris Roberson. The album features mostly acoustic tracks, although she is joined on a few songs by a full band (including Todd Haviland on bass and Dave Harris on drums). Guest vocalists include Dan Gocek, Kirk Stevens, and Andy Martin. Other musical accompaniment includes whistling, finger snapping and beatboxing. "I Wrote These" was mastered by Steve Forney at the studios at Linden Oaks, in Rochester, New York.

• Release date: October 15, 2008
• Label: Rude Butler Records
• Format: Digital download

1. "Maybe I Will"
2. "Into the Sunshine"
3. "First Impressions"
4. "Binoculars"
5. "Pen to Paper"
6. "Short and Sweet"
7. "Welcome Vacation"
8. "You Were"
9. "Stairwell"
10. "Regrets"
11. "Odd"
12. "Sugar Coats"
13. "Roles Reversed"
14. "The Debt"

[edit] I Think You Know

She began recording her third CD of original music in August 2009.,^[34] and worked with Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose as producers. The album was released on iTunes on February 2, 2010 through her own record label Rude Butler Records.

Tracks:

1. "I Think You Know"
2. "Grown A Pair"
3. "Through the Floorboards"
4. "August"
5. "Comatose"

"YouTube Covers"[link]

Her first CD of covers is entitled "YouTube Covers." It was released on November 3, 2010. It features 11 covers from such artists as The Beatles, Queen, Beach Boys, Paramore, and many others. It was released through her own record label Rude Butler Records.

Tracks:

1. "Build Me Up Buttercup" originally by The Foundations
2. "All My Lovin'" originally by The Beatles
3. "Accidentally in Love" originally by The Counting Crows
4. "Bye Bye Bye" (Live) originally by Nsync
5. "It's Raining Men" originally by The Weather Girls
6. "L-O-V-E" originally by Nat King Cole
7. "It Don't Have to Change" originally by John Legend
8. "The Love You Save" originally by Michael Jackson/Jackson 5
9. "The Only Exception" originally by Paramore
10. "You're My Best Friend" originally by Queen
11. "God Only Knows" originally by The Beach Boys

[edit] Settle Down

On June 11th, 2011, Nunes launched a Kickstarter page for her fourth album.^[35] Her goal was $15,000, but in less than 24 hours, she had already received over $19,000 in donations. By the conclusion of the campaign, the project had $77,888 in donations, making it the third most-funded music project in Kickstarter's history (behind Nataly Dawn's solo album and a collaboration between Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman).^[36] On December 6th, 2011, she posted the album art, revealing the title to be Settle Down, and announced the album's release date as February 28th, 2012.^[37]

Tracks:

1. "Stay Awake"
2. "Odd"
3. "Lullaby"
4. "Lookout For Yourself"
5. "Nothing's That Great"
6. "He is Mad"
7. "To the Damsels: Run"
8. "Fair Weather"
9. "Comatose"
10. "Pizza"
11. "Maybe I Will"
12. "I Will Go Anywhere With You"
13. "This is What I Used to Know"
14. "I Wasn't Worried"
15. "Balloons"
16. "First Impressions"
17. "Into the Sunshine"
18. "Waiting"

"He is Mad," "Pizza," and "I Wasn't Worried" are mini-songs roughly a minute in length, all of which Nunes recorded videos for and posted to YouTube^[38][39][40]. Other songs, like "Odd," "Balloons," "First Impressions," "Comatose," and "Into the Sunshine" appeared on previous albums, but were re-recorded for Settle Down. Nunes also updated the Kickstarter project page with a video of her performing "Stay Awake" in the Kickstarter offices (thanks to the overwhelming success of her campaign).^[41] On January 24th, 2012, she performed "Stay Awake" on Conan to promote the album.^[42]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Julia Nunes on Myspace
• Julia Nunes's channel on YouTube

This article may contain improper references to self-published sources. Please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources, where they are used inappropriately. (May 2012)

Christina Grimmie
Background information
Birth name	Christina Victoria Grimmie
Also known as	zeldaxlove64
Born	(1994-03-12) March 12, 1994 (age 18)
Origin	Marlton, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Pop, R&B, pop rock, dance-pop, hip-hop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, Piano
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Creative Artists Agency
Associated acts	Selena Gomez & The Scene, Sam Tsui, Allstar Weekend
Website	www.christinagrimmieofficial.com
Notable instruments
Keyboard, piano

Christina Victoria Grimmie (born March 12, 1994), known on YouTube as zeldaxlove64,^[1] is a pianist and singer/songwriter known for her covers of hit songs by artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and many more. In June 2011, she released her debut EP, Find Me.

YouTube recognition[link]

Christina Grimmie is best known for her cover with fellow Youtuber, Sam Tsui, of Nelly's "Just a Dream" which has had about 60 million views between the two official versions of the video as of May 15, 2012.^[2][3] Her first video was "I Don't Wanna Be Torn", originally by Hannah Montana. She first reached YouTube stardom early on with her cover of Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." on August 2009.^[4] Since, she's had over 289 million views and over 1.5 million subscribers on her channel as of May 15, 2012, which has made her the 4th most subscribed musician on YouTube.^[5] She also placed at number 2 at the top 5 of the MyYoutube competition, behind Selena Gomez, and in front of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.^[6]

Career[link]

Grimmie has performed in the UNICEF charity concert,^[7][8] and has also performed backup vocals for Selena Gomez & the Scene, and was on the 2011 first ever Digitour, specially designed for YouTube artists. She has appeared on the Billboard Social 50.^[9] Christina is currently being managed by stepfather of Selena Gomez, Brian Teefey. She also opened for Selena Gomez & the Scene, Allstar Weekend and the Jonas Brothers during the Concert of Hope. She toured for six weeks with Selena Gomez & the Scene opening for them in the We Own the Night Tour.^[10] She released an EP, entitled Find Me, on June 14, 2011.^[10] Her debut single 'Advice' was released to Radio Disney on June 11,^[11] with the music video, directed by Sean Babas, being released on July 19 on her Youtube channel. She appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show performing with fellow YouTuber, Tyler Ward, a cover to Lil Wayne's "How to Love" that aired on October 10, 2011.^[12] On November 20, 2011, Grimmie performed at the 39th American Music Awards of 2011 Pre-show alongside with Taio Cruz to a special rendition of "Higher". She also performed her song 'Not Fragile' at the American Music Awards of 2011 Coca-Cola Red Carpet Show along with Selena Gomez's band the Scene. Christina Grimmie was the special musical guest performing her hit song 'Advice' on Disney Channel's So Random! which premiered on December 11, 2011.^[13] In January 2012 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her singing career, as she told fans on Facebook and Twitter. Grimmie was signed to Creative Artists Agency who have signed the likes of Chris Brown and Christina Aguilera in early April 2012 after moving to LA; she is currently working on a new album, as she told fans on Facebook and Twitter.

Discography[link]

• Find Me (2011)

Singles[link]

• 1."Advice"

Released: June 11, 2011

• 2."Liar Liar"

Released: October 3, 2011

Songs covered[link]

2009[link]

• "I Don't Wanna Be Torn" by Hannah Montana
• "Dear Friend" by Stacie Orrico
• "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus
• "Catch Me" by Demi Lovato
• "Energy" by Keri Hilson
• "Don't Forget" by Demi Lovato
• "Never Say Never" by The Fray
• "Crazier" by Taylor Swift
• "Everytime You Lie" by Demi Lovato
• "When You Look Me in the Eyes" by Jonas Brothers
• "One Time" by Justin Bieber
• "Unfaithful" by Rihanna
• "My Heart Will Go On" by Céline Dion
• "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts
• "Apology" by Cristina Marie
• "Fireflies" by Owl City
• "Only Hope" by Switchfoot
• "The Way I Loved You" by Selena Gomez & The Scene
• "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby
• "When I Look at You" by Miley Cyrus

2010[link]

• "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada
• "Lift Me Up" by Christina Aguilera
• "The Voice Within" by Christina Aguilera
• "Naturally" by Selena Gomez & the Scene
• "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
• "Baby" by Justin Bieber
• "Break Your Heart" (featuring Tiffany Alvord) by Taio Cruz
• "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen
• "Halo" by Beyoncé
• Medley: When I Look at You / Goodbye / 7 Things / See You Again / The Climb / If We Were a Movie / Before The Storm / Breakout / The Best of Both Worlds by Miley Cyrus
• "Telephone" by Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé
• "Impossible" by Shontelle
• "Pyramid" by Charice feat. Iyaz
• "You Lost Me" by Christina Aguilera
• "Shark in the Water" by V V Brown
• Medley: Fallin' (Alicia Keys) / Walk Away (Christina Aguilera) / Alejandro (Lady Gaga) / Billionaire (Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars) / Airplanes (B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams) / Dynamite (Taio Cruz) / Tik Tok (Kesha) / California Gurls (Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg)
• Medley: Never Say Never (Justin Bieber) / Stay (Miley Cyrus)
• "A Year Without Rain" by Selena Gomez & the Scene
• "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (featuring Alex Goot) by Usher feat. Pitbull
• "Beat It" by Michael Jackson
• "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera
• Medley: Just a Dream (Nelly) / Just the Way You Are (Bruno Mars) / Teenage Dream (Katy Perry) / Animal (Neon Trees) / Firework (Katy Perry)
• "Just a Dream" (featuring Sam Tsui) by Nelly
• "Grenade" by Bruno Mars
• "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
• "A Little More Of Us" by Stereo Skyline

2011[link]

• "Firework" by Katy Perry
• "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri
• "Only Girl (In the World)" by Rihanna
• "Back to December" by Taylor Swift
• "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
• "F**kin' Perfect" by Pink
• "Through Glass" (featuring Mark Grimmie) by Stone Sour
• "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
• "Pray" by Justin Bieber
• "Who Says" by Selena Gomez & the Scene
• "E.T." by Katy Perry
• "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green
• "Price Tag" by Jessie J feat. B.o.B
• "Bound to You" by Christina Aguilera
• "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga
• "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele
• Medley: Crushcrushcrush / The Only Exception / Decode / Misery Business by Paramore
• "Someone Like You" Adele
• "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato
• "Billie Jean" (featuring Noah Guthrie) by Michael Jackson
• "Lonely Day" (featuring Mark Grimmie) by System of a Down
• "How to Love" (featuring Tyler Ward) by Lil Wayne
• "One and Only" by Adele
• "Your Song" by Elton John
• "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine
• "We Found Love" by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
• "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars
• "The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry
• "O Holy Night" (Christmas carol)

2012[link]

• "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz
• "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
• "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye feat. Kimbra
• "Cinema (Skrillex Remix)" by Benny Benassi
• "Safe & Sound (song)" by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
• "In Christ Alone" by Owl City
• "The Dragonborn Comes" from Skyrim

Top 10 most viewed videos[link]

As of April 22 of 2012, the 10 most viewed videos uploaded by Grimmie are:^[14]

• ^1 The total views of "Just a Dream" are the combined views from Christina's and Sam's YouTube channels. The copy of the video on Christina's channel is second most-viewed with 11.7 million.

Filmography[link]

Awards & Nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Ellie Goulding
Goulding performing at Lincoln Hall, Chicago, U.S., March 30, 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Elena Jane Goulding
Born	(1986-12-30) 30 December 1986 (age 25) Hereford, Herefordshire, England
Origin	London, England
Genres	Indie pop, electropop, synthpop, folktronica
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, drummer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums, piano, clarinet, mandolin, tambourine
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Neon Gold, Polydor, Cherrytree, Interscope
Associated acts	Starsmith, Frankmusik, Diana Vickers, Gabriella Cilmi, Little Boots, Tinie Tempah, Erik Hassle, Lissie, Mumford & Sons, Skrillex,Swedish House Mafia, Lupe Fiasco, DJ Daaar
Website	elliegoulding.com

Elena Jane Goulding (born 30 December 1986),^[1] known professionally as Ellie Goulding, is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became 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 EP in 2009, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, followed by her debut studio album Lights in 2010. Her album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and has sold over 650,000 copies in the UK. "Lights" was released in America March 8th 2011, where the title track has been certified platinum by the RIAA (excess of 1 million units sold) ^[2].

Goulding is a soprano,^[3] and her musical style has been compared to that of Kate Nash, Meiko, Lykke Li and Tracey Thorn.^[4]

Background and personal life[link]

Goulding was born and brought up in a small town near Hereford, Herefordshire, the second of four children.^[5][6] She began playing the clarinet at the age of nine, and at 14 began learning guitar. She attended Lady Hawkins' School in Kington, where she won a main part in a school production, the Wizard Of Oz, as the scarecrow. She started songwriting at the age of 15 and while in college she won a singing competition.^[7]

After commencing a drama course, politics course, and an English course at the University of Kent,^[8] where she was exposed to electronic music, she developed her sound on the track "Wish I Stayed" with the help of Starsmith and Frankmusik. Starsmith 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,^[9][10] and moved to West London.^[11]

She is a keen runner, running six miles every day, and in 2010 announced plans to run a marathon.^[6] 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,^[12] and has announced that she will be doing the same across Europe and the United States. Goulding is considered to have an impressively athletic physique.^[13][14][15]

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Signed to Polydor Records in September 2009,^[9] Goulding's debut single, "Under the Sheets", was released digitally in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2009,^[16] peaking at number fifty-three on the UK Singles Chart.^[17] In October 2009 she toured the UK supporting Little Boots,^[18] and appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, performing "Under the Sheets" and "Guns and Horses".^[19] "Wish I Stayed" was available as a free download as the Single of the Week on iTunes Store UK from 22–28 December 2009.^[20]

[edit] 2009–11: 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

Goulding performing in Amsterdam on 17 September 2010.

Goulding's debut album Lights was released in March 2010, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number six on the Irish Albums Chart.^[23][24][25] Its singles, "Starry Eyed", "Guns and Horses" and "The Writer" peaked at numbers 4, 26, and 19 respectively.^[17] The album has sold over 650,000 copies in the UK as of April 2012.^[26] In August 2010, Goulding released a second EP, Run Into the Light, containing remixes of songs from 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.^[12]

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.^[27] 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.^[28] The single became Goulding's highest-charting single to date, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart.^[17] The song also charted in some European countries in early 2011.^[29]

Goulding toured in support of Lights and supported Passion Pit in March 2010 and John Mayall during his British tour in May 2010.^[30] During the summer she performed at a number of festivals. On 29 May she performed at the Dot to Dot Festival in Bristol.^[12] She performed a set on 25 June at the Glastonbury Festival 2010 on the John Peel Stage.^[31] Her third EP was a live recording of part of her set at the iTunes Festival 2010.^[32] The whole set was ultimately included as bonus content on the iTunes version of Bright Lights.^[33] She made her T in the Park debut on 11 July.^[34] She played on the Nissan Juke Arena at the 2010 V Festival in late August.^[35] In September she was part of the line-up at Bestival 2010 on the Isle of Wight.^[36] 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.^[37] A track from Lights, "Every Time You Go", was featured in the Vampire Diaries episode "Founder's Day", "Your Biggest Mistake" appeared in an episode of The Inbetweeners.^[38] and "Believe Me" appeared in an episode of 90210. She began a tour of the United States and Canada in February 2011 to coincide with the release of the American edition of Lights.^[39] In August/September 2010 the singer was an opening act on Irish alternative rock band U2's U2 360 Tour in Munich, Germany, Vienna, Austria, and Zurich, Switzerland.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2011 it was announced that the title track from Lights would serve as the second single from Bright Lights.^[40] In early 2011 she recorded an original song for the film Life in a Day. Goulding was placed at number five on Rolling Stone's annual hot list in February 2011.^[41] In February 2011 she returned to the BRIT Awards where she was nominated for Best British Female and Best British Breakthrough Act, but lost out to Laura Marling and Tinie Tempah, respectively.^[42] Previously she had performed at the BRITs launch party where the nominations were announced.

She also played live at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2011.^[6] 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.^[43][44] She served as one of many live performers 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.^[45] She was introduced to Prince William by Tinie Tempah at a music festival during the summer of 2010. Goulding performed, for the second consecutive year, at Radio 1's Big Weekend on Saturday 14 May.^[46]

Goulding headlined the 2011 Wakestock Festival in Wales, performing on 8 July.^[47] In August she, again, performed at V Festival for her second year in a row.^[48] Following the re-release of Lights and the American release of the album, Goulding said she would soon begin work on a second studio album with an expected release in September 2011.^[49]

On 6 August 2011, Goulding performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago.^[50] Goulding performed at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert on 11 December 2011 in Oslo, Norway, where she also served on a panel discussion with Amy Lee of Evanescence and Janelle Monáe.^[51] On 1 December 2011, Goulding performed at the White House during the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, alongside the likes of Big Time Rush and will.i.am.^[52] On 18 January 2012, Goulding performed "Lights" on Late Show with David Letterman.^[53]

2011–present: Second studio album[link]

In February 2011, Goulding told the Daily Star that she had plans to release a follow-up to Lights sometime in 2012, commenting, "I'm not going to go away for ages. It'll be out this year or the start of next."^[54] The following month, when asked about the album's musical direction in an interview with gossip website Dean Piper's World, Goulding stated, "It's started to sound very dark and very weird. This album is going to be even more emotional [...] I wanted to make it so there is hope. I want to make an effect whether it's happy or sad."^[55] In April 2012, Goulding stated that she hoped the album would be released in October 2012.^[26] That same month, her single Lights was certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA ^[56].

Work with other artists[link]

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.^[57] Her song "Not Following" was used by German singer Lena on her debut album My Cassette Player.^[58] Goulding was featured on rapper Tinie Tempah's single "Wonderman" from his debut studio album Disc-Overy. Goulding's "Under the Sheets" was also remixed by American rap duo Chiddy Bang, featured on their 2010 mixtape Air Swell, and by DJ Frenzy (F^K Y3AH! Breaks Mix). Frankmusik, who produced Goulding's song "Wish I Stayed", told Digital Spy he hoped to collaborate with her on his second album, Do It in the AM.^[59] "Lights" was remixed by Bassnectar, which appears on his 2011 album Divergent Spectrum.

On 19 September 2011, it was announced that Goulding would open for Katy Perry on her "California Dreams Tour", replacing Jessie J due to a foot injury.^[60][61]

On 14 December 2011, Mika announced that Goulding had involvement in his upcoming album The Origin of Love.^[62]

Goulding collaborated with American electro artist and producer Skrillex on a song titled "Summit", included on his 2011 EP Bangarang.

Discography[link]

• 2010: Lights

Tours[link]