Synopsis

Ellie Goulding wanders through a nocturnal city while the video shifts between street scenes, stark interiors, and intimate close-ups. Blurred lights, layered exposures, overhead illumination, and fragments of urban nightlife give the clip a dreamlike, unsettled quality. Goulding alternates between moving through the city and performing directly to the camera, her anxious expressions matching the song's emotional tension. Tinie Tempah contributes a rap verse but does not appear in the video, leaving Goulding as the sole human focus.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Hanging On" is Goulding's cover of a song by Active Child, also known as Patrick James Grossi. Her version was used to preview the era of her second studio album, "Halcyon."

• Goulding first released the Tinie Tempah version as a free download through SoundCloud on July 10, 2012. The accompanying video followed on July 13, 2012.

• The track continued a collaboration between Goulding and Tinie Tempah. She had previously appeared on his song "Wonderman," and later explained that she sent him "Hanging On" after their earlier work together.

• The video emphasizes atmosphere over narrative. Its blurred photography, stark lighting, and fragments of nightlife create a deliberately indistinct visual world rather than a conventional performance or story.

• Tinie Tempah is heard only on the recording. His absence from the clip makes the video feel like an Ellie Goulding solo performance despite the featured-artist billing.

• Goulding's version later appeared in episodes of "Gossip Girl" and "Nikita," and was also included on the soundtrack to the 2013 film "The Host."