Ellie Goulding was added to the pantheon of promising next big things when she scooped the Brit's Critics Choice award and topped the BBC Sound of Poll for 2010. Just 23 at the time, the expectation was piled yet higher on Ellie's slender shoulders with the fact that the last person to win both accolades in the same year was Adele.

With Adele currently in orbit, circling the earth on her very own custom-built diamond-encrusted moon, what of Ellie Goulding? Well, she's been quietly doing the business. Her 2010 debut record, Lights, topped the album chart here and fared well in the US (No 21). The comparative quiet of last year and this may suggest Ellie's simply been away preparing her response to Difficult Second Album Syndrome. That's as maybe but she's also been conquering America. Seriously - her 2011 single Lights may have hovered outside the Top 40 here but in the US it reached No 2 on the main Billboard chart, turning double platinum in the process. Boom.

The second album, Halcyon, is out next month and Ellie Goulding is gearing up for promotional work here and abroad. The first single from the record, Anything Could Happen, suggests it will all work out.

Ellie's December dates kick off at the Bristol Academy on 7th, followed by Liverpool, Brixton, Glasgow and more, before the final date at the Southampton Guildhall on 18th December. We will have tickets available from 9am on Friday 21st September, priced from £22.50. Halcyon is released on 8th October.

Ahead of the new material, Ellie is playing the Roundhouse on 26th September as part of the iTunes Festival and then a Q Awards gig at London's Jazz Café on 5th October. We have Premium (re-sale) tickets for the Q date available now.