Ellie Goulding is ready for her close up

You may not know Ellie Goulding, but chances are you'll recognize her voice. The English singer is behind such hits as "Close to Me", "Lights" and "Love Me Like You Do" – and is a real star in the UK, a person who is often the subject of tabloid.

Some people, including Goulding herself, would argue that she has not yet reached the same "pop star" status in the United States.

"I like this feeling of 'this girl is singing on the radio. I do not know who she is, but I like it, "Goulding told HuffPost.

One thing is sure, though. Ellie Goulding is almost everywhere. Since arriving on the scene ten years ago, Goulding has ambaded 300 million torrents worldwide, played for the then president, Barack Obama, and counts the British royal family among his friends.

"Every time I go on stage, it's that feeling and everything that floods me floods at once and I realize how lucky and grateful I am to be," she said. . "I had moments in my career where I really had to go back to my hotel room and say," Did it really happen? "It happens often."

Goulding is now preparing for the release of his fourth album and has been launching new songs since the beginning of the year. His latest is a collaboration with rapper Juice Wrld on "Hate Me".

We discussed her new music and her upcoming marriage, as well as her relationship with social media and her body.

Tell me how the song "Hate Me" and the collaboration with Juice Wrld came into being.

I like to sing things completely out of my comfort zone – and it was a song where I said to myself, "It will be interesting to do." I have the impression that I am I'm always left out and obviously I'm very specific about what I'm putting my voice on. But at the same time, I like the idea of ​​doing something that is not comfortable for me. I had never really written a song diss or anything like that before and I did not like being too revengeful in my music, so it was different for me. Then, the second time I heard Juice Wrld on the radio every time it was a year ago, I knew he was special. I was a fan of him immediately. He was my first choice on this song and, thankfully, he said yes, so I was very happy.

With social media at your fingertips, relationships are visible to all and we can simply delete them with a click of the mouse. How much did you channel that into the song and the video?

Yeah, it feels like social media is at a point where it can destroy relationships, which makes me crazy to think that there is another fictional world that honestly becomes one of the factors of falling relationships . I have trouble understanding. It's that kind of defense that people have when they separate and I think we adopt some kind of defense mechanism that we adopt to handle the breakup because breaking up with someone is really like doing mourning for someone. It's as if you lose someone, that you will never meet anyone again with that kind of intimacy … You will never be able to replicate what you have with that person, that this either bad or good. There is a kind of mourning. It's about a lot of things I'm writing about. I find the idea of ​​two people separating, having been together for a while, just for … something else that I can understand. I like to write about things that confuse me.

What is your own relationship with social media?

I am going to have a healthy and unhealthy relationship with social media. Some days, I feel no desire to continue, and others, I have to get up and go directly on Instagram to see what others are doing. The more you realize that people live and are not, the more you just want to go out and do these things and not feel obligated to validate them with a photo or proof that you do them. The other day, I attended an exhibition. It was a beautiful exhibition at the London Tate and I could not really see the show because of the sea of ​​phones. This kind of … I do not know. That did not upset me, but it certainly did something because I realized that no one really lives in the present moment.

I think people are even aware of it. Sometimes becoming an Instagram model or what's called an individual or a person's livelihood, but for music … I like using it to get in touch with my fans. I like that they know that I am here, that I see them and that I see their opinion, that I see their energy and that I see their love for me or their disappointment for something. It's a solitary game. It's a lonely and strange world because your fans comfort you.

You have released songs from your upcoming fourth album. What can we expect from your first album in almost four years?

Well, there will definitely be two separate themes. I'm kind of playing with the idea of ​​publishing two different things, but only because I feel like it's a moment in the music right now for freedom and not feeling tied to one thing … Especially in the world of pop, it's just gone crazy. I think there are countless collaborations, countless double outings and samples of other songs. It's a bit crazy at the moment, so I'm enjoying it a bit because I like to take the time to really perfect the album. In the meantime, I feel like I can have a little fun with what I'm doing.

I have been doing this for a long time. I think people forget it, and my fans sometimes they may not like a new song, they may not understand it. But all I do is for a reason and for a purpose. And it's for my sanity, my personal pleasure, my entertainment, it's a little what I've always done. It's not like I changed my format. I always did what I wanted and I always made sure to have my own rules.

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since you released your first song. Does it seem long to you? How would you summarize this trip if you had to do it?

It's a good question. It's really a very colorful and bumpy ride. I can not lie and say that it's a very sweet and really fun navigation all the time. There were dark moments, hard times, but there were also some incredible moments that I will never forget. But everything went so fast that, when I finally decided, a few years ago, that I was going to relax a bit, take a step back and watch things, let others continue doing their work. I moved to New York City and I met my fiance and I had to think about everything that happened and I really had to understand everything. I do not think I ever sat and took everything. At first was very overwhelming. I realized that I had made this extraordinary journey from where I had come so far. I must therefore appreciate it from time to time.

How is planning a wedding while creating an album?

I really enjoy it and I never really imagined getting married. I was pretty open about it, so when that happens, you do not have to think too much. This is happening and life is happening. And I'm 32 now and I did not know how old I was going to be when I found that one, the quotes, but it turns out that it has 32 years old, yeah … It's funny because when we find this person, everything falls into the kind of place without … I never imagined finding any one and let alone marry him . When that happens, it's so easy to make that decision. I based all my songs on complications and confusion and then suddenly, none of that.

I just have to go to a different place when I'm in the studio, because I certainly can not write songs using the problems and the moments of my life, because right now, I do not really have any.

So, is it difficult to go to this space where you write this kind of music?

Yes, a little because you have to somehow … You must be an actor, really … Some of my biggest idols in the world – the singers – have played many characters and many alter ego. I think it's okay. To be honest, I'm happy to be in this place. I am happy not to have to cry at the studio or to open to strangers about what I live … I have always enjoyed the honest, and we have always had a good song but you can & # 39; I do not wish to be in this bad place for songs. You must accept when you are in a happy place and then, if you are a good enough songwriter, you can usually find your way there just to write a good song.

Congratulations on the success of Close to Me. Could you have imagined that this song became so successful?

There were times in the session when I thought to myself, "It's a catchy song," but I did not expect her to do what she did. done and, to be honest, I just appreciate the United States because my music does it. well here and I'm just that random english girl who has that voice. Most Americans have already heard my voice somewhere and I love this mystery. I like that kind of feeling: this girl is singing on the radio, I do not know who she is but I love him. I would be happy to do this forever, it meant that people could hear my music and that I could have an effect on people without becoming a celebrity or being in the foreground. I love it and I think I am very lucky to have it. In the United Kingdom, it is obvious that the situation in the tabloids is different here and I swear that so many different people told the press that the press was different here. I have experienced this stuff here and I must say that it was not really nice for me. So, being able to give my music to people separated from everything I do and that I can do it is a very good situation.

Your music was in "Game of Thrones" this last season. I've heard that you really want to sync with the HBO series for a long time.

I really wanted to be part of Game of Thrones. I kind of begged them to participate, but they do not need an extra feminine (laughs). I was very happy to be part of "Game of Thrones" and to love this song [“Hollow Crown”].

At first we talked a bit about social media with "Hate Me". To go back, what do you think of using it to talk about yourself and promote body positivity?

To be honest, I have spent many years eating with my diet and not doing the exercise the right way … I know everyone says that every woman, every person has self-esteem insecurities and their body and physical appearance, but I have long struggled to think about my weight and things like that. But it's really the same thing as finding that kind of happiness the second I accept myself as if I were what I was, I had the impression to have acquired this kind of different strength and of course, it has trained me, exercised the right way, eaten properly, be a little healthier, and I think I just had a very good balance now. I feel very happy in myself right now. I always have things that I do not like at home, but I train very hard, I do exercise regularly. It's so much better that you get up, do something and get your blood pumped.