Burn

Story of Song

“Burn” was originally demoed by Leona Lewis, but she turned it down when her album was given a new direction of more ballads. When asked about the origin of the song, Ellie Goulding told Radio.com that: “It’s something different for me, It has a different rhythm, it’s a different kind of vibe and I really enjoy performing it and singing it.”  Ellie’s Halcyon album originally had much more of a darker feel, but the additional songs she made brought a more joyous feel.  Ellie told Q Magazine that: “I wrote the album about someone that’s not in my life anymore. And I felt there was something missing on the album — the silver lining, the calm after the storm. So these songs are just my absolute love of pop music. It made me happy that I got to be so absolutely disgustingly brutally honest with Halcyon.” Ellie also told The Observer that “Burn” is “probably the most poppy song I’ve released.  But it’s all me. I wanted to release ‘Burn’, I loved it, even if it is a vague sentiment. I think it’s a truly great song. “

Release date

Released July 5, 2013

Songwriter/s

Ryan Tedder – Ellie Goulding – Greg Kurstin – Noel Zancanella – Brent Kutzle

Label

Polydor

Chart Rankings

“Burn” brought Goulding her first number one single on the UK Singles Chart, selling 116,857 copies in the first week and holding the number one spot for three consecutive weeks. The song was the 15th bestselling single of 2013 in the UK and also the bestselling single by a British female artist for 2013.  Besides the UK,  “Burn” earned the number one spot in Hungary, Italy, Scotland and Slovakia, and reached the top ten in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,  Ireland, Lebanon, Luxembourg Digital Songs, Mexico Top 20 Ingles, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal Digital Songs, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, US Adult Top 40, and US Mainstream Top 40.  The song was certified 4x Platinum in Sweden, 3x Platinum in Australia and the United States, 2x Platinum in Italy and Venezuela, and Platinum in Germany, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. “Burn” was also certified Gold in Austria, Belgium, and New Zealand.  The song received certifications for digital downloads as well, earning 2x Platinum in Denmark and Gold in Spain.

Artist’s age on release date

Ellie Goulding was 26 years old when Burn was released.

Cover Versions

Postmodern Jukebox – Vintage ‘60s Girl Group, Boyce Avenue acoustic cover on Apple & Spotify, Conor Maynard, Samantha Potter, Angelic, Alex Goot, Avery, and Ali Brustofski.