"The Writer" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Ellie Goulding | ||||
from the album Lights | ||||
Released | 8 August 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:11 | |||
Label | Polydor | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Starsmith | |||
Ellie Goulding singles chronology | ||||
|
"The Writer" is a song by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding from her debut album, Lights (2010). It was released as the album's fourth and final (not including the Bright Lights re-release) single on 8 August 2010.
Goulding told Sky Songs that "The Writer" is "the most personal and emotional song I've written yet", adding, "It's about how you'd do anything and change absolutely everything about yourself if necessary, just to be noticed by this one person." [1]
The Observer 's Polly Vernon named "The Writer" the "love song of the summer" and called it "raw, eloquent, generally gorgeous", while describing Goulding's voice as "ghostly sweet, saved from sickliness by guttural Björk-ish quirks." [2] OddOne of Unreality Shout felt that "[n]ot once has she sounded more warming than in this beautifully written love song of devotion to a lover", but noted that "being her first ballad, she does fall at some hurdles, like the middle 8: whilst Ellie's breathy vocals may appear to bridge the emotion between the two final choruses, it actually does feel a bit like she's gone back to her colder self, not making the emotion clearly defined despite the very comforting lyrics." [3]
Ryan Love of Digital Spy gave the track three out of five stars and wrote that "Starsmith's typically twinkly production allows those vocals to shine through as she urges a potential boyfriend to help her become just the right kinda gal for him—and the overall effect is as sweet and pretty as a pink frosted cupcake." [4] Michael Cragg of musicOMH compared the song to Dido "with a more four-to-the-floor backing." [5] Pitchfork Media's Stephen Troussé, however, referred negatively to it as "a big bluster of a song, with a chorus where the spectre of the Cranberries' Dolores O'Riordan is all too vivid, whose future success could be Goulding's undoing." [6]
"The Writer" debuted at number 101 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending 24 July 2010, [7] entering the top 100 at number sixty-eight the following week. [8] In its fifth week on the chart, [9] the single peaked at number nineteen with 12,446 copies sold. [10]
The music video for "The Writer" was directed by Chris Cottam and filmed at Happisburgh Lighthouse in Happisburgh, Norfolk in June 2010 and was uploaded onto Goulding's official YouTube channel on 9 July 2010. [11] [12] The video shows Goulding walking around a field and exploring Happisburgh Lighthouse. It also includes in-studio sequences of her in front of a bright screen, giving the impression that she is in front of the actual light of the lighthouse.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Writer" | 4:14 |
2. | "The Writer" (Live Acoustic Version) | 4:12 |
3. | "The Writer" (Alan Braxe Remix) | 6:05 |
4. | "The Writer" (Friend's Electric Remix) | 3:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Writer" (Starsmith Edit) | 3:43 |
2. | "The Writer" (Album Version) | 4:14 |
3. | "The Writer" (Instrumental) | 4:13 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lights. [15]
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
---|---|
European Hot 100 Singles [16] | 60 |
Scotland (OCC) [17] | 17 |
UK Singles (OCC) [9] | 19 |
"Your Song" is a song written by British musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single.
Happisburgh Lighthouse in Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast is the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain. It is also the oldest working lighthouse in East Anglia.
Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and A&R. After signing to Polydor Records in July 2009, Goulding released her debut extended play, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, later that year.
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English singer Ellie Goulding has released five studio albums, two remix albums, eight extended plays, 45 singles, 11 promotional singles and 43 music videos. As of March 2020, Goulding had sold 15 million albums and 102 million singles worldwide. Additionally, she had sold over 1.5 million albums and over 4.3 million singles in the United Kingdom alone as of February 2014.
"Lights" is a song by English singer Ellie Goulding from Bright Lights (2010), the reissue of her debut studio album, Lights (2010). Written by Goulding, Richard Stannard and Ash Howes, the song was inspired by Goulding's childhood fear of the dark. It was released on 13 March 2011 as the album's sixth single overall, and second from Bright Lights. Originally a bonus track on the UK and German iTunes edition of Lights, the song was re-edited for inclusion on Bright Lights in late 2010, serving as the single version.
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Halcyon is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding, released on 5 October 2012 by Polydor Records. The album was recorded between 2011 and 2012, during promotion for her debut album, Lights (2010). Goulding worked with several producers on the album, including Jim Eliot, Starsmith, Billboard, Justin Parker, Monsta, Madeon and Mike Spencer, in addition to collaborating with artists such as Tinie Tempah and Calvin Harris.
"Anything Could Happen" is a song by English singer Ellie Goulding from her second studio album, Halcyon (2012). It was released on 17 August 2012 as the album's lead single. Written and produced by Goulding and Jim Eliot of English electropop duo Kish Mauve, the song received positive reviews from music critics. "Anything Could Happen" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "Anything Could Happen" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Poland, the top 20 of the charts in Australia, the Czech Republic Ireland and New Zealand and the top 50 of the charts in the United States.
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"Burn" is a song by English singer Ellie Goulding from Halcyon Days (2013), the reissue of her second studio album, Halcyon (2012). The song was written by Ryan Tedder, Goulding, Greg Kurstin, Noel Zancanella and Brent Kutzle, while production was handled by Kurstin and vocal production was done by Tedder. It was released on 5 July 2013 as the lead single from the reissue. The song was originally recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her third studio album, Glassheart (2012), but it was ultimately scrapped.
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