Ellie Goulding is incredibly shy.

The ‘Love Me Like You Do’ hitmaker admits her on-stage persona is a completely different person, as she says it is a “common misconception” that she is full of confidence.

She said: “I think a common misconception with me, and maybe with other performers, too, is that we’re confident and that we’re super ‘out there’.

“But it is terrifying for me to go into a group of people and I think that’s always been the case. When I look back at even being at school and college I am just a shy person. I don’t have a huge amount of confidence. It is funny seeing myself on stage – when I have to watch myself back – you know, how I sort of take on this confident role as a performer. But as soon as I’m off stage, that’s gone again. I didn’t attend a single afterparty on my tour. And they were every night. I didn’t go to a single one. Too shy.”

And Ellie – who is married to Caspar Jopling – opened up about her exercising regime, confessing it is about having some “control” in her life.

She added to the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine: “I have to have such a huge amount of control in my normal life because my songwriting and my performances are so the opposite … When I’m in the studio I have to let myself go and completely lose control to get to a place where I can write honestly and truthfully and access something that I don’t when I’m just in the zone of training or … I don’t know, making some kind of mad smoothie or something … I have to constantly go from ‘crazy person writing songs and performing on stage’ to having to keep this control. I find training to be such a core, integral part of my life – keeping fit and healthy and strong, both mentally and physically.”