Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding, winner of the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, spoke recently to the Evening Standard about meeting Prince William for the first time backstage at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Bangor last May, and described him as "gushing" over the show.

Unbeknown to Ellie, Prince William and CATHERINE MIDDLETON were watching Ellie perform backstage, and after the gig, she was accosted by Tinie Tempah (who collaborated on the single 'Wonderman' with her), who introduced her to Prince William. "Prince William was just really gushing, and, like, "I really enjoyed the show." He is so nice, just genuinely the nicest human being." Following that meeting, Ellie received a surprise call from the Palace in February of this year asking if she would perform at the royal wedding. A representative for the Palace came over to America, where Ellie and the band were currently touring, and after listening to her and the band perform, the deal was sealed. She told the band a couple of days later. "And then we all just forgot about it because we had to focus 100 per cent on the task in hand, which was America. But when we got back, even though we'd just toured, we rehearsed for another week just for the wedding."

Ellie is off to America again soon, but after her return, and a well-deserved break, she plans to begin work on her sophomore album. "I've a feeling it will be less electronic and it is going to be darker," she grins. "A lot darker."