Promising star Ellie is a Brit of all right

Twenty-two-year-old Ellie Goulding dropped out of university to follow her dream career in the music industry and her bravery will be rewarded on Tuesday when she receives a Brit Award as the breakthrough act of 2010.

Goulding, from Kington in Herefordshire, has already topped the BBC Sound of 2010 list, which has previously heralded the careers of artists such as Adele, Mika and 50 Cent.nextpage

On Tuesday, she will receive her Brit as the Critics' Choice for this year. The list of promising music acts is compiled with the help of 165 music experts including NME editor Krissi Murison, BBC Radio 2's Mark Radcliffe and Alison Howe, producer of Jools Holland's TV showcase Later.nextpage

Goulding, whose music blends traditional acoustic singer-songwriter style with electronica, said: "I didn't expect to get anywhere a few years ago. I didn't even expect to have a record deal. I'm very happy." Goulding learned to play the guitar and write her own folk-inspired music at the age of 15.nextpage

It was when she was studying drama at university that she was exposed to electronic music and, with the help of chart act Frankmusik, who she contacted on MySpace, she developed her own sound which has been likened to the music of Imogen Heap and Lykke Li.