I remember very specifically the first time I heard Ellie Goulding. I was in the house I shared with a few friends in college, when my friend Brian brought up a blonde British girl on YouTube playing from a room, bathroom, etc. 

“Kari, I love her. Look how much smiles town she is.”

He then planned to track her down and propose. Unfortunately for Brian, most of Great Britain felt the same way about the blonde British girl named Ellie Goulding. Her first album blew up in the UK and continued to spread through the US, garnering multiple tours and stints at Coachella, with fans adorning “Starry Eyed” sunglasses to show their love.

Her second album release, Halcyon, shows a step forward into the spotlight, as the songs have been amplified and electrified (at times literally, by way of dub step). My instant favorite from the album, which I still need to listen to again, is “My Blood,” which pumps its anthemic chorus into your veins and forces you to sing along even if you don’t know the lyrics yet. Don’t believe me? Wait for the one-minute mark.

Ellie’s album is a sign of bigger and better things to come: she’s come a long way from YouTube and there’s no sign of turning back.

“My Blood”