Let’s face it, Ellie hasn’t had a proper hit since On My Mind in 2015.

 

So, what do you think Ellie needs in order to score another big hit?

That was never 2015 :o

 

She needs to go indie and stop selling out!! Go back to original Ellie! She could do another indie style song for John Lewis tbh.

I think she needs a FULL ON pop song. She has always been a GP act, so rather than releasing very marmite songs like Hate Me, release good quality pop songs. Sixteen (despite its low peak) showed that the GP are still here for her. (#12 iTunes, #16 Spotify & #19 Apple Music).

 

Also, this needs to happen quick as radio are starting to drop her a bit. Hate Me has stalled at B-list on R1 for example!

Release something that stands out! You ain't gonna get to number 1 with a 7/10 song at best. Close To Me, Sixteen and Hate Me never would've made number 1 no matter who released them. They're all themes/sounds that have been tried and tested before.

She needs to think outside the box. Currently she's following trends, not creating them. She doesn't have to be the most innovative artist ever - look at Rita Ora's Phoenix era. Nothing there was especially new, but she managed to find a lane that suited her perfectly and she carved out her own style of pop music. Ellie's throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, and nothing is, because she's not making her own style, she's following other people's.

 

That's not to say I'm not enjoying the music but she can and should be doing better!

Absolutely agree with the above two comments. The music she's making is really faceless and has no direction; it could literally be anyone and I feel no closer to getting an idea as to who Ellie is as an artist or a person right now. Her first two eras had a sense of a personal sound and style but since then it's been very hit and miss... and more miss in recent times.

 

I can't actually remember Ellie was spoken about among my peers whilst Rita and Dua remain very relevant. Even Jess Glynne has more sense of who she is as an artist...

That's what happens when you sell out unfortunately :( She needs to go back to being her!

Agree with Michael. She needs a hook, a regular producer or something.

 

A Marshmello collab or something similar would be bang on brand, or even a rap collab which I'm not sure she's done as a feature since Wonderman.

 

If she wants a fanbase she needs an identity, to decide is she pop or is she not? Its been nearly a decade & I still don't know. None of her songs this era have been *good* songs (they've been ok) except Flux and that was never gonna be a hit bc its too off trend, mayybe if she'd released it in the winter with an ad campaign or big tv promo that wouldn't be the case.

 

If I was her creative consultant she would have a dark era, cut her hair into a bob, play on her Britishness to get her some rap features & work with up and coming producers, push her back into alternative and cool, on the fringe of pop for the era. She had that on lock 6, 7 years ago and for whatever reason willingly gave up being someone who could have been the next Lana Del Rey for some brief pop hits, one an era.

Absolutely agree with the above two comments. The music she's making is really faceless and has no direction; it could literally be anyone and I feel no closer to getting an idea as to who Ellie is as an artist or a person right now. Her first two eras had a sense of a personal sound and style but since then it's been very hit and miss... and more miss in recent times.

 

I can't actually remember Ellie was spoken about among my peers whilst Rita and Dua remain very relevant. Even Jess Glynne has more sense of who she is as an artist...

 

Agree with Michael. She needs a hook, a regular producer or something.

 

A Marshmello collab or something similar would be bang on brand, or even a rap collab which I'm not sure she's done as a feature since Wonderman.

 

If she wants a fanbase she needs an identity, to decide is she pop or is she not? Its been nearly a decade & I still don't know. None of her songs this era have been *good* songs (they've been ok) except Flux and that was never gonna be a hit bc its too off trend, mayybe if she'd released it in the winter with an ad campaign or big tv promo that wouldn't be the case.

 

If I was her creative consultant she would have a dark era, cut her hair into a bob, play on her Britishness to get her some rap features & work with up and coming producers, push her back into alternative and cool, on the fringe of pop for the era. She had that on lock 6, 7 years ago and for whatever reason willingly gave up being someone who could have been the next Lana Del Rey for some brief pop hits, one an era.

 

This is exactly it, and identity is something she did have during her first two albums. It's sad to see how much that has stripped away over the years. There has been absolutely no personality in any of the three past singles — faceless, generic, redundant, something you would skip on a Spotify playlist and forget about.

 

I'm not sure if this is an Ellie problem or a label problem — is this the music she actually likes and wants to make? Or is it the best idea that the label and A&R can come up with to keep her relevant?

 

I do think she still has it to make something more interesting and all it might take is that one right song for her to turn it around.

Agree with Michael. She needs a hook, a regular producer or something.

 

A Marshmello collab or something similar would be bang on brand, or even a rap collab which I'm not sure she's done as a feature since Wonderman.

 

If she wants a fanbase she needs an identity, to decide is she pop or is she not? Its been nearly a decade & I still don't know. None of her songs this era have been *good* songs (they've been ok) except Flux and that was never gonna be a hit bc its too off trend, mayybe if she'd released it in the winter with an ad campaign or big tv promo that wouldn't be the case.

 

If I was her creative consultant she would have a dark era, cut her hair into a bob, play on her Britishness to get her some rap features & work with up and coming producers, push her back into alternative and cool, on the fringe of pop for the era. She had that on lock 6, 7 years ago and for whatever reason willingly gave up being someone who could have been the next Lana Del Rey for some brief pop hits, one an era.

 

Omfg 100% THIS!!

 

Now she needs to release a few covers, get some press again, and then go alt pop.

agree but I also thinks needs better songs, she's releasing decent tracks but nothing that is a 10/10, nothing that says wow amazing

its like Dua Lipa, she was releasing ok songs and she was there, getting low top 20 hits, and then suddenly she released New Rules, which is a 10/10 song and everything changed

That was never 2015 :o

 

She needs to go indie and stop selling out!! Go back to original Ellie! She could do another indie style song for John Lewis tbh.

 

I agree with this!

 

The Ellie of 2010-2013 (like Lights and Halycon eras) felt very authentic and real.

 

She was mainstream but she wasn’t in your face pop and she wasn’t trying desperately to get a hit.

 

She had a lot about her then what made her stand out and the music spoke for itself too.

 

None of her last three singles feel anything like Ellie. They’re like something someone would release when they’re a debut artist lacking in direction looking for that first hit to take off to get their debut album deal. They definitely don’t feel like something someone would release coming up to releasing album 4 having been in the industry around a decade.

 

She’s literally went backwards. Had these tracks been her debut and then Lights been the long awaited fourth album we’d all be thinking god she’s come so far and improved and matured so much. She obviously has it but she’s just not using it at the moment. Maybe she’s genuinely experimenting with her sound or she’s just wanting a faceless hit.

Edited August 28, 20195 yr by Jordan Lee

I think that Close To Me and Sixteen sound very Ellie! I think they could be a lot worse. As much as I love it, Hate Me is just not her sound at all and that’s why it’s only a minor hit!