Ellie Goulding Gets All ‘Thelma and Louise’ In Her ‘On My Mind’ Video
Update, 9/21: Ellie has shared the video for "On My Mind." Goulding told Radio.com that the Vegas-shot visual is partly inspired by Susan Sarandon-Geena Davis caper Thelma and Louise, though her occasional female companion remains something of a cipher in the clip. It was directed by Emil Nava, who's known for helming the video for "Thinking About Loud" by Ed Sheeran...the guy "On My Mind" is definitelynot about. Watch the video above.
9/17: Ellie Goulding delivered on her new music promise today (September 17), sharing the lead single from her upcoming Delirium album.
"On My Mind" is a spirited confessional about a game-playing crush, with a very catchy beat and a Sting-by-way-of-Maroon 5's "Maps" guitar riff. Where Ellie's vocals experimented with a reggae patois on Major Lazer's "Powerful" earlier this year, she flirts with an almost hip-hop flow here, singing "You were talkin' deep like it was mad love to you / You wanted my heart but I just liked your tat-toos," in time with the track's stuttering rhythm. This is the British singer at her most "urban," but she keeps it authentically Ellie with her lyrical candor.
Given "On My Mind"'s rap-adjacent cadence, lyrics about hotel hijinks and the lines, "Now I always hear, always hear them talking / talking 'bout a girl, 'bout a girl with my name / Saying that I hurt you but I still don't get it / You didn't love me, no not really," some folks are already wondering if this is Ellie's answer to a certain Ed Sheeran song (we all know he has tattoos, after all). But she told MTV News, "I’m sorry to all the people that want it to be about someone — it’s not, it’s like a myth. I like guys with tattoos, my boyfriend has tattoos…but I don’t mind. People can read into it however they want. It’s fun to do that, I would do that too." She said the song was based on her experiences, as well as those of her collaborators including Max Martin, who produced and wrote on the song.
Listen to "On My Mind" above, and check out the track list for Delirium, due out on November 6.
Delirium (Deluxe Edition)
- "Intro (Delirium"
- "Aftertaste"
- "Something In the Way You Move"
- "Keep On Dancin'"
- "On My Mind"
- "Around U"
- "Codes"
- "Holding On For Life"
- "Love Me Like You Do" (From Fifty Shades Of Grey)
- "Don't Need Nobody"
- "Don't Panic"
- "We Can't Move To This"
- "Army"
- "Lost and Found"
- "Devotion"
- "Scream It Out"
- "The Greatest"
- "I Do What I Love"
- "Paradise"
- "Winner"
- "Heal"
- "Outside" (feat. Ellie Goulding)
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