Ellie Goulding: Live at The O2

You could say that Ellie Goulding’s first ever Irish arena show had it all: Fireworks, mind-bending visuals, sweet love ballads, an MIA cover, and this decade’s must-have item: A Calvin Harris floorfiller.

But while it’s obviously enough to get bums on seats it’s difficult to get your head around the juxtaposition of indie-folk sweetheart against electronic club banger. The trouble is Goulding does them both pretty well.

When we get a run of tracks that includes hits ‘Anything Could Happen’, ‘I Need Your Love’ and ‘Burn’ it’s difficult to find fault with Goulding’s performance: She’s beyond charming between songs, vocally faultless throughout and by the end has everyone in the sold-out O2 going bonkers as confetti falls, fireworks erupt and 14,500 dodgy falsettos echo around the venue.

Goulding’s husky vocal also excels during a succession of ballads, particularly on covers of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ and The Waterboys’ ‘How Long Will I Love You’, which both get huge sing-alongs from a besotted crowd. Soaring vocals and driving guitar rhythms then take ‘The Writer’ into power-ballad territory before we get a percussion heavy take on MIA’s ‘Bad Girls’, and you have to ask the question: “Is Goulding suffering an identity crisis?”

If Halcyon/Halcyon Days signaled a departure from her sweet balladeer persona then clearly Goulding isn’t ready to take the (successful) transformation into electro-pop diva fully into her live set just yet.

Saying that, Goulding has definitely won this battle. But is it decision time for the Herefordshire lady? Nail your colours (whatever they may be) to the mast Ellie and see who salutes.

I should really mention those incredible visuals too. The ever- changing backdrop was made up of huge diamond-shaped screens that flashed with kaleidoscopic landscapes and crashing waves of every colour imaginable. Kudos to whoever is behind them.