Ellie Goulding has opened up about her postpartum struggles after giving birth for the first time, revealing she has no memory of making her 2023 album Higher Than Heaven.
A Robotic Return to the Studio
The 39-year-old singer, known for hits like Love Me Like You Do, recorded the album just one year after her son Arthur was born in 2021. However, she admits she rushed back to the studio prematurely and has since completely forgotten the entire experience.
Speaking on Later... With Jools Holland, Goulding explained: "Music and performing is the thing that keeps me going. I have two children now, so the first time I went back in the studio, I was kind of a robot. I made this 2023 album called Higher Than Heaven, and I don't remember it."
Relatable Postnatal Phase
She continued: "Any woman that's had a baby can relate to that postnatal phase of, 'What the hell just happened to me?' So I wrote all this music." The star noted that someone recently heard a song from the album and thought it was AI-generated. "I was like, kind of, because I was like a robot and didn't know what I was doing for a time," she added.
Now, with a daughter named Iris born in March, Goulding feels more equipped to balance work and motherhood. Her forthcoming album, I Know Too Much, is set for release in September, just six months after giving birth.
A 'Divorce Album' with Honest Lyrics
Following her 2024 divorce from Caspar Jopling, father of Arthur, Goulding has cheekily dubbed the new album a 'divorce album'. She revealed the title track is "probably the most honest song I've written."
"It is what it is. I know too much. It's tongue in cheek, but it's also some kind of comment on my life so far, and music. I couldn't think of a more apt title for everything I was singing about. I do know too much. Way too much," she said.
Last week, Goulding dropped the track Black Prada Dress from the album, describing it as setting the tone for I Know Too Much. She explained: "The album came from the idea that maybe we can know too much. There is a certain kind of freedom in the ease of not knowing."
Goulding added: "Through the chaos of this great change, I went to my comfort zone and found my refuge in the studio. Writing a song has always been my best form of therapy."
I Know Too Much is out September 4.
