Ella Eyre is one of the most hotly-tipped singers around, but she's not averse to admitting a fondness for Toni Basil's monster novelty hit Mickey.
As well as being nominated for the BRIT Critics' Choice award in 2014 (only losing out to Sam Smith, who hasn't done too badly for himself), she's guested on two massive hits - Waiting All Night (with Rudimental) and Gravity (with DJ Fresh) - co-written the No.1 smash Changing by Sigma, as well as scoring two top 20 tracks under her own steam.
With her album, Feline, due to emerge in August, and a new single, Together, (watch here) being released 17 May, we caught up with Ella to discover her Ultimate Playlist, together with the stories behind the selections.
Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify
Favourite Sad Song
"I think, probably, Adele Someone Like You, but the Brit Awards version in 2010. The one she sang at the Brit Awards was just heart-wrenching. I think that was actually the moment that I sort of fell in love with her. I always liked Adele, but I was there that year, when she did that and she completely captivated me and blew my mind. It was unreal."
Favourite Song From A Movie Soundtrack
"My favourite movie soundtrack of all time has got to be Gladiator. I remember watching that movie when I was ten, or whatever, and being completely captivated by how important the music was for that movie. I'm a big fan of Hans Zimmer's stuff anyway, but that is the one."
Favourite Song From Your Childhood
"Probably Romeo by Basement Jaxx. I heard that song come on the other day and I was just like 'oh my god!' It's just one of those songs that comes on in the car and everyone knows the words and you've gotta crank it up! They are amazing."
Favourite Song That No One Else Knows
"I'm gonna say this guy called Jake Isaac, who people may not know. He's supported me on a couple of my tours; he's just released a new EP, and this song Home I'm obsessed with. It puts me in such a good mood."
Favourite Club Anthem
"I think it's got to be something that everyone knows and everyone loves. Probably Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris I Need Your Love - it's one of those songs where you act it out and you do all the gestures when you're off your face on vodka and coke!"
Favourite Wedding Song
"Something like the Hey Macarena! Awful, awful song but it gets everyone on the dancefloor doesn't it really? I don't think I've met anyone who doesn't know that song. And if they don't, they're lying."
Favourite One-Hit Wonder
"Hey Mickey - Toni Basil. That is a tune. I actually remember being given the free single in The Sun newspaper when I was like 8 years old and playing that song over and over again."
Favourite Lyric from a Song
"It's from that Gnarls Barkley song Going On and it's "Anyone that needs what they want, and doesn’t want what they need I want nothing to do with". When I heard that lyric, it was something that was very specific in my life at the time, and you know when you hear a lyric that speaks to you and to people that are around you, and it just fits. It's just one of those songs and one of those lyrics that you just go, "yeah, yeah, so true"."
Favourite Current Song
"I don't know if it's in the top 40 but I'm still obsessed with Elastic Heart by Sia. I find her quite an interesting character and I can never really work out what she's saying - because I don't understand her pronunciation sometimes, but the lyrics in that song really get to me and I think her melodies are just so precise and amazing. There's so much emotion that you kind of get what she's saying from the way that she's singing."
Favourite Song From Your Own Music
"I should say my next single, but I'm not going to! It is one of my favourites - but my favourite [at the moment] is a song that I wrote in January which is the last song to go on the album and it's called Even If. It's a ballad, it's literally me and a piano and I wrote it in 45 minutes in LA, I think I was just having a really bad day and it came quickly to me - but for me it's one of the most sentimental songs on the album. People seem to really get it when I've been singing it live, which is nice."
(Image: Rex)
