Ellie Goulding used to worry she wasn't ''aesthetically pleasing enough''.

The 'Burn' singer - who shot to fame after winning the Critics Choice Award at the Brits in 2010 - was concerned that her looks might limit her success and tried to conceal her features during photoshoots.

She told ES Magazine: ''At one time, I was getting all this musical success, but I wasn't getting all the things that went with it, like magazine covers.

''I was convinced for a long time I wasn't aesthetically pleasing enough. I would have to angle my face to hide the side of my nose, or my chin.

''Then I stopped caring. I let go. Put a different energy out there -- then [the covers] all started to happen.''

Ellie, 27, also slammed critics who has called her ''too athletic'' after she appeared on UK TV show 'The X Factor' last year in a sheer Julien Macdonald dress.

She said: ''They said my body was 'too athletic'. Too athletic?

''Isn't it admirable that someone has worked so hard to look good and be healthy?''

The blonde beauty - who has previously dated Radio 1 DJ Greg James and Skrillex and has been romantically linked to Ed Sheeran and One Direction's Niall Horan - also opened up about her relationship with McBusted's Dougie Poynter.

She said: ''It feels great to be with someone without needing them.''