'Starry Eyed' hitmaker Ellie Goulding has revealed that her record company initially tried to encourage her to style herself after other female solo acts and this advice caused her to suffer frequent panic attacks.

During a new interview with ELLE magazine, the beauty explained that her confidence has grown signficantly since first bursting onto the scene and she now embraces the things that make her who she is:

"When I started out, I couldn't cope with it. I felt embarrassed by it. I didn't quite know who I was supposed to be. I was never confident in my looks. I hated my chin, my nose, my eyebrows."

"I was told by people at my record company to watch videos of other girls, like Little Boots, and Elly Jackson from La Roux, and try and look like them. I had panic attacks so bad I couldn't leave my flat; I couldn't bear people looking at me. I would worry that I would never be able to sing because I couldn't even get up. I was also horribly ashamed of myself because I felt like some sort of drama queen and all I wanted to be was strong."

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Watch a new red carpet interview with Goulding here: