“This song is about when you break up with someone and it’s the worst feeling in the world,” Goulding told the audience of “Without Your Love,” a number that most exemplified her power to emote. The singer’s lovely, sometimes raspy voice always retains a sense of airiness, regardless of her lyrics, but Goulding skillfully manipulates that voice to fully convey each song’s sensibility. The other cohesive element in Goulding’s performance was her expression of raw emotion. The central moment of cohesion? Goulding’s dynamic cover of Elton John’s “Our Song,” a massive hit in her native U.K., which lent itself perfectly to bridging the singer’s musical influences. “Lights” in particular received a grander response than any number off last year’s follow-up, despite the heavier radio promo received by the latter. The key to Goulding’s rising popularity seems to be her vast radio appeal, but many in the crowd seemed more familiar with her debut, Lights, which was released in 2010, than her most recent effort, Halcyon. I never thought I’d play to this many people in my lifetime.” Indeed, the singer managed to sell out the 4,000 capacity room, which had played host to Justin Timberlake two nights earlier. And I was like, ‘I want to play here.’ And now I am.” She later added, “This is just so awesome, I can’t even put it into words. “Last time I was here, I was watching Bassnectar. “This is a lot of people and it’s kind of scary,” Goulding said. At points, the singer seemed overwhelmed, particularly as the crowd went silent every time she spoke to them. The response was deafening, even as Goulding continually changed sonic direction. PHOTOS: Grammys 2013: Red Carpet Arrivals The set altered course on “Hanging On,” a song the singer said she “did with Tinie Tempah.” Throughout the 90-minute show Goulding stripped down “Guns and Horses” to an acoustic ballad, offered a live dance remix of “Only You,” and satiated the radio listeners with buoyant renditions of “Starry Eyed” and “Lights.” Lucia, Goulding’s enthusiastic backing band transformed numbers such as “Don’t Say A Word” into dynamic rock songs.
Early on in the evening, following a terse opening set from St. tour, laid out her set list in way that offered something to all of these fans. Goulding, who noted that the show was the final stop on her U.S. But there’s also the aspect of Goulding that appeals to the EDM world, particularly as the singer has been dating Skrillex and collaborating on dance tracks, which all means that Goulding’s headlining performance last night at the Palladium had to straddle genre lines, offering a diverse selection off her two albums. While Goulding’s origins seem to be rooted in the same indie hipster sect that champions Bon Iver and Florence and the Machine (see her 2011 set at Outside Lands for proof), the singer is now a full-fledged pop star, with her songs saturating the commercial radio waves.
pop musician is herself something of anomaly. If the crowd at an Ellie Goulding concert is bizarrely eclectic, it’s only because the U.K.