Ellie Goulding - Lights (US Edition)

by itemvn  |  July 20, 2011

Lights is the debut studio album by English recording artist Ellie Goulding. It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 March 2010 by Polydor Records. Produced by Starsmith, Frankmusik, Fraser T. Smith and Richard Stannard, the album received mostly positive reviews from music critics. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spawned four singles: "Under the Sheets", "Starry Eyed", "Guns and Horses" and "The Writer". By the end of 2010, the album had sold 387,600 copies in the UK.

The album was re-released on 29 November 2010 as Bright Lights, including six brand-new tracks. It has so far produced two additional singles, those being a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" (which went on to become Goulding's biggest hit to date in the UK, reaching number two) and the title track "Lights". Following the re-release, the album saw a surge in sales in both the UK and Ireland. On 8 March 2011, the album was released in the United States featuring three songs that were previously not available on the original version, but were included on the Bright Lights reissue.

Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph praised the "lush electro-dance production of Starsmith" saying it "evokes a gushing, breathless rush of heady emotion that might have benefited from at least a dash of restraint and intimacy."[7] Mike Diver from BBC Music described the album as "an expectations-passing collection that should see fans of the singer's material to date elevating her to superstar status—perhaps not Gaga league, but certainly the equal of the current solo female du jour, Florence Welch." He added that "ballads like 'The Writer' and 'I'll Hold My Breath' retain the glossy attraction of singles 'Under the Sheets' and 'Starry Eyed'" and cited "Wish I Stayed" as "the album's skilfully sound-scaped highlight, percussively brutish but comely of light keys."