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Goulding's Gloss: When Grunge Gets a Pop Star Polish




There's a certain irony, isn't there, in watching ripped fishnets and faded flannels strut down a runway, reimagined in silk and cashmere? Grunge, that defiant middle finger to excess and artifice, repackaged as luxury. And yet, here we are, again. This time, it's Ellie Goulding, the British songstress, who's taken the spirit of the Pacific Northwest, circa 1993, and run it through her own very specific pop star filter.


Goulding, of course, isn't the first to mine this particular vein of nostalgia. Hedi Slimane built an entire Saint Laurent aesthetic on it, all skinny black jeans and disaffected youth. Even Marc Jacobs famously got his start by channeling the era's slouchy silhouettes for Perry Ellis (a move that got him fired, but ultimately cemented his legacy). But Goulding's take feels different, less a literal interpretation and more of a sonic mood board.


Her latest album, let's call it "X," is full of these contradictions. Soaring choruses layered over fuzzy guitars. Lyrics that flit between heartbreak and empowerment. It's music that feels both raw and polished, like a diamond dug out of the dirt. And her style reflects this duality. One minute she's in a slinky slip dress, the next a pair of combat boots and an oversized bomber jacket. It's a high-low mix that somehow works, a testament to her own chameleonic persona.


I remember seeing Courtney Love perform back in the day. Hole, at their peak, were a force of nature. Raw, untamed, completely unpredictable. There was a rawness, a vulnerability, that felt dangerous, exciting. You never knew what was going to happen next. It was thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.

Goulding, of course, operates in a different world. The stakes are different. Pop music, by its very nature, is about polish, about aspiration. But there's a sense, listening to her music, watching her perform, that she's trying to bridge that gap. To bring a bit of that grunge spirit, that sense of unfiltered emotion, to the pop landscape.


And maybe that's the point. Maybe it's not about recreating the past, but about finding new ways to express those same feelings of angst and alienation. Because even though the world has changed, some things, it seems, never really go out of style. The need to belong. The desire to break free. The search for identity in a world that often feels too big, too loud, too much.


Goulding's gloss, then, isn't about erasing the grit, but rather about refracting it. It's about taking those raw emotions and channeling them into something new, something beautiful, something that resonates with a generation raised on a diet of both Nirvana and Beyoncé. And in that sense, perhaps, she's the perfect pop star for our times.

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