Ellie Goulding up for two Brit Awards

Singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, from the Shropshire border, continued her meteoric rise to fame when she was nominated for Brit Awards in two categories.

The 23-year-old, who grew up in Kington near the south west Shropshire border, is up for Best Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.

The nominations mark a continuation of the acclaim she enjoyed last year when her debut album, Lights, topped the charts.

And it's not the first time Ellie has scored success with judges at the Brits. She scooped the Critics' Choice Award at the 2010 Brits.

Last year she enjoyed success in the singles charts with her stripped down version of the Elton John classic, Your Song.

The tune became her highest-charting single to date when it reached number two on the UK Singles, topping Olly Murs and Rihanna on the chart in November. The song was featured in the John Lewis Christmas 2010 TV advert in the UK.

The singer now plans to take about a month off to "disappear" and write songs for her second album.

"It's my 'find myself' month, when I'll also start work on album two," she said.

"I'm not going to an exotic beach hut, though.

"That wouldn't work for me when it comes to writing music. I want to go somewhere small and cold in the woods."

In a blog entry for her American record label, Goulding confirmed the title track from Lights, would bes her album's sixth single.