Ellie Goulding may be patiently tapping her foot right below Carly Rae Jepsen on top of the Billboard Hot 100 right now with 2010′s “Lights” (American radio: forever at the forefront of new music!), but across the pond, she’s embarking on a whole new journey.

Earlier this morning, the indie-pop princess debuted “Anything Could Happen” on BBC Radio, the lead single from her upcoming record, Halcyon. The wistful number–produced by Jim Elliot–proves that while the production’s become more full-bodied and the songwriting even more poetic, it’s the same Ellie we’ve come to know and adore, quivering vocals and all.

“After the war we said we’d fight together/I guess we thought that’s just what humans do/Letting darkness grow, as if we need its palette and we need its colour,” she croons above the sparkling electronica and piano-led stomp.

Between the song’s soldiering strut and those final primal yelps, “Anything” is a big, bold display of Ellie’s increasingly confident (and newly-dyed pink!) personality. It’s major.

And now, here’s an accompanying lyric video filled with pretty fan-made Instagrams.

Halcyon will be released on October 9. (iTunes)

I don’t really wanna be a tease, but would you care for some new Ellie Goulding, please?

Ask and ye shall receive! Earlier today, the UK indie-pop goddess unveiled a teaser for her newly announced sophomore record, Halcyon, which will be released on October 9. The clip includes brief teases of four new tracks, plus a taste of her upcoming single, “Anything Can Happen.”

In the tradition of all things Ellie, everything sounds gorgeous, sparkly and whimsical. I’m especially digging that ferocious, rollicking stomp of the first track. Someone’s getting extra sassy! And that final track? MASSIVE.

Check out the teaser below.

Halcyon will be released on October 9. (iTunes)

Time to get starry eyed all over again.

Earlier this morning, Cherrytree/Interscope officially confirmed the release of UK indie-pop darling Ellie Goulding‘s second studio album Halcyon, which will be released on October 9.

From the press release:

July 30th, 2012 \ Santa Monica, CA \ UK sensation Ellie Goulding has announced that she will release a brand-new album, entitled Halcyon, on October 9th on Cherrytree/Interscope Records. All the tracks on the album were written and co-produced by Ellie Goulding and the majority were recorded in a converted barn in Ellie’s hometown in the Hay Valley, West England with producer Jim Elliot (Kylie / Ladyhawke).

“This album for me is a journey from dark into light from confusion to understanding,” Goulding says. “I didn’t set out to write a break-up record but I think it became one.”

A break-up album, you say? Ellie gone a bit Alanis, perhaps? I am very here for this.

Producer Jim Eliot, also known as one-half of Kish Mauve, is responsible for Kylie‘s “2 Hearts” and “All The Lovers,” along with Will Young‘s “Jealousy.”

The album’s lead single “Anything Could Happen”–the real, real first taste of the record (as opposed to her dark ‘n’ dubby Active Child cover “Hanging On” released earlier this month)–arrives as a lyric video on August 13 on VEVO. And if you’d like, you can start sending Ellie some Instagrams to pretty up the video based around the lyrics. I may send some in myself!

The incredible album art for Halcyon is featured above, which sees the formerly shy folk-electro pop songstress upgrading her signature wind-whipped pose to a chilly new brand of space-age fierceness. That half-shaved head! It’s almost a bit Rated R.

The album title is a total win, too: This is the best use of the term “Halcyon” since BWO‘s Halcyon Days, without a doubt.

By the way, Ellie’s currently nestled in the Top 5 (at #4) on the Billboard Hot 100 with 2010′s “Lights” this week–an all-time high for the song. As Kylie might croon, it’s never too late!

But really: New brooding Ellie? My body is beyond ready.

As with the slow climb of Lady Gaga‘s “Just Dance” in 2008 (which didn’t hit #1 until January of 2009) and Ke$ha‘s “Tik Tok” in 2009 (which didn’t hit #1 until January of 2010), Ellie Goulding is just now entering in the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lights”–currently at #6–nearly two entire years after the song was first released on her 2010 debut, Lights.

American radio: Truly at the forefront of pop.

But exposure is exposure, and even if radio is two years late to the dinner table (shocking!), it’s still an amazing platform for her long, long, long awaited follow-up due out later this year. Ellie, apparently, is also aware of this.

No doubt timed with her recent Top 10 climb, the indie-pop songstress has just revealed the first taste of what’s to come from her upcoming album: “Hanging On (feat. Tinie Tempah),” a song that both revisits Ellie’s earliest work while exploring unbelievably exciting new territory.

The track is actually a cover of dream-pop singer Active Child‘s 2011 album track “Hanging On,” although the production has been significantly revamped.

With its one-minute introduction of fluttery, stuttered vocals, the song starts off as a familiar nod to “Starry Eyed.” Shortly thereafter, the production–as crafted by Billboard (Ke$ha, Britney)–sees Ellie floating in between sparse ambient sound, moody synthesizers and jagged dubstep-infused beats, resulting in something darker and more experimental than we’ve ever heard from her before.

“I just can’t keep hanging on to you and me,” Ellie trembles before the crashing chorus fills the speakers. With its complicated structure and Ellie’s wild yelping falsetto throughout, “Hanging On” plays like a cross between The Weeknd and Usher‘s own slow-burn masterpiece from earlier this year, the Diplo-produced “Climax.”

The only drawback of the phenomenal production is the inclusion of Tinie Tempah. I don’t dislike Tinie, but his verse lands smack-dab in the middle of an incredibly emotionally charged vocal performance. It’s intrusive and grating, instantly sucking the momentum right out of the song. If there’s a solo version that exists, let’s hope it makes the album, because that rap feels slapped on for no good reason.

“Hanging On” would never work as a single–it’s the opposite of radio-friendly. However, it’s somehow even more exciting than what I could have imagined. If the production remains this polished and next-level throughout the entire record, I won’t be surprised if Ellie goes from being a indie-pop curiosity in the States to a household name. It’s about time.

“Hanging On” is available as a free download.

Cady Groves – “This Little Girl”

Ladies and gentleman: She may look sweet, but do not cross Miss Cady Groves–that is, unless you want a bullet square between the eyes.

The 21-year-old Oklahoma-bred songstress first got her start as a MySpace act, posting her acoustic demos on her page and responding to her ever-growing fan base on a daily basis. The attention led to the release of two EP’s: 2009′s A Month of Sundays and The Life of a Pirate, released in March of 2010.

After signing with RCA Records last year, Groves is now prepping her first major label release: “This Little Girl.”

The song, which first premiered on Idolator two weeks ago, was co-penned by Groves, Sean Douglas and Tom Meredith and produced by Swedish pop whiz Kristian Lundin, the man behind such iconic pop classics as Celine Dion‘s “That’s The Way It Is,” *NSYNC‘s “Bye Bye Bye,” and one of Britney‘s very best, “Born To Make You Happy.”

“I checked your phone ’cause it was beeping / Are you alone? I know you’re creeping,” the vengeful singer reveals on top of the stabbing strings of the song’s opening verse. And then in comes the chorus; a crunchy, genius explosion of pulsating pop as Groves warns the good-for-nothing guy playing games with her heart: “You’re not the only one walking ’round with a loaded gun!”

With enough lyrical vitriol to have Kelly Clarkson shining up her rifle and just the right kind of synth-pop pulsations in between the song’s punchy production to set Ellie Goulding‘s heart a-flutter, this little girl is definitely capable of murder–not to mention a ridiculously promising career. Just don’t stand in her way!

“This Little Girl” is currently available for free from Groves’ official website.

Thanks to Muuser Calen C. for the heads up on this track!