Ella Henderson: “When The Grinch and Elf come on TV, I know it’s Christmas”

The Ghost singer chats returning to The X Factor, going on tour with Take That and all things festive.
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Ella Henderson burst on to our screens two years ago as a contestant on the ninth series of The X Factor. Just two years later, she’s racked up two UK Top 10 singles (Ghost, Glow) and a Number 1 album (Chapter One) in the space of six months. With new single Yours out this week, we catch up with the woman of the moment.

“When it comes to choosing any single, I like to go with my gut instinct first and foremost", Ella tells OfficialCharts.com. "The way my album is written, everything reflects different periods of my life. Yours is something that’s going on in my life right now so it’s something that I can be as real as possible with. You want to feel like you’re fully behind the song. You don’t want to wish you were doing another song from the album. I think when you believe in a song, that’s the one you go for.”

The song also entered the Official Singles Chart Top 75 two weeks ago, after featuring on Hollyoaks. The episode, which saw Gemma Merna play out her final scenes as Carmen McQueen, scored the E4 soap its highest ratings in three years, with 1.17m viewers tuning in.

“It was mental, I landed from America and the next morning I woke up and everyone was messaging me saying, “Look what’s happened!” I watched the episode and I couldn’t believe it, I was so shocked. It was great to see that reaction to the song. No one knew it was me, which was kind of the amazing thing about it. People were using Shazam to figure out who it was! It was amazing to see that reaction - it is for any song, but particularly something that means so much to you.”

Of course, it was Ella’s debut single, Ghost, that first propelled her to super stardom. Co-written with OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, the track spent two weeks at the Official Singles Chart Number 1 spot in June, and went on to become one of the biggest-selling singles of the year to date.

“Ghost changed my life. I definitely wasn’t prepared for what the song did for me and how many doors it opened. It literally sent me across the globe. When it comes down to it, it’s just amazing what music can do. I feel like Ghost represents everything that I would want it to as an artist.

"When I released it, I remember feeling so nervous and worrying that people wouldn’t appreciate it, or that it wouldn’t get played anywhere and no one would ever really hear it. Taking one or two years out to write an album, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s scary coming back into things, and to receive that kind of support was just very surreal, very unexpected."

A world away from the 16 year old girl from Lincolnshire who auditioned for The X Factor in 2012, Ella last week returned to Wembley stage for a triumphant performance of Yours.

“I haven’t returned to the show since the day I came off - it’s been two and half years. It’s kind of scary - standing in the spot where everything began for me - but it’s very exciting. It’ll be really nice to compare my performances on the show then and now, and to see the transition.

"[When I go on tour] I’d love to start off small and do those intimate performances in theatres. I think they’re really important to do, I want to do everything in stepping stones. My budget will definitely go towards the music itself and my band. I’d love to one day be able to put on a show where every single instrument that’s on my album is there on stage with me. It would be amazing to have strings and a harp on stage."

But, at least for now, the intimate settings will have to wait, as last month Take That announced that Ella will be joining them on their 2015 UK arena tour.

“I’m so so so excited. I met Gary when I was on The X Factor, and then I did a bit of writing last year with Mark Owen. It’s really nice to know that they personally requested me! For them to still be at the top of their game at this point in their career is amazing. To have the experience of doing an arena tour with them will be priceless!"

So with Christmas just round the corner, will Ella get a well-deserved break?

"I’m working literally right up until Christmas, but I’ll definitely be spending it with my family. I can’t wait to catch up with them, I haven’t been able to do that in a long time.

"I love giving. I like seeing what people think of your present for them. I used to be so OCD about getting everyone the perfect present, but now I don’t have the time! I have to do everything online and it's really stressing me out!

"When The Grinch and Elf come on TV, that's when I know it’s Christmas - I watch them every year. And George Michael! Even when I hear Careless Whisper I think of Christmas. His voice just reminds me of Christmas! My dad loves Last Christmas so that always gets pounded in our house.

"My all-time favourite Christmas song Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. I wish I’d written it, I swear it nearly gets to Number 1 every Christmas! And I love The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York. I love all the classics."

Yours is out now.

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