Ben Ellis is a Welsh singer-songwriter and social media personality who has quietly become one of the UK’s most exciting emerging artists. Born Benjamin Payne in Cardiff, he built his audience the honest way, one acoustic performance at a time, before his soulful voice and deeply personal songwriting caught the attention of BBC Radio 1, Spotify’s editorial team, and thousands of devoted fans across the globe. With over 2.1 million streams, a sold-out debut headline tour, and his Time Slows On Tour 2026 stretching across Europe, Ben Ellis is only getting started.
Biography
Ben Ellis was born Benjamin Payne on May 15, 2002, in Cardiff, Wales. He grew up in a household where music was always playing. His mother took him to a folk festival every year, and his father was a devoted classical music enthusiast, keeping Classic FM on at home. That early exposure to two very different but deeply expressive genres left a lasting mark. Ben has been singing for as long as he can remember, and by ten, he was already attempting to write his own songs, channeling whatever emotions a ten-year-old could muster into original compositions. Guitar lessons followed at fourteen, and from there, the pieces started falling into place.
After finishing school in Cardiff, Ben headed to London to study musical theatre at university. He lasted a year before realizing his passion lay elsewhere. Halfway through, he made the call to leave and pursue music full-time. It was a big decision, but one he has never looked back on. The 2020 lockdown arrived shortly after, and rather than slow him down, it gave him his first real platform.
He is currently 24 years old and is estimated to be around 178 cm (5 feet 10 inches) tall.
Career
The lockdown era was Ben Ellis’s unlikely launchpad. With nowhere to perform and nothing but time, he turned to TikTok and began posting acoustic covers from his bedroom under the handle @benellis__. His renditions of Coldplay songs were among his most shared, but he also covered artists ranging from Harry Styles and Jeff Buckley to The 1975 and Billy Joel, pulling in fanbases from across the musical spectrum. His TikTok account now boasts over 156,000 followers and 3.4 million likes.
His debut single “Not This Time” arrived on March 9, 2022, and has since surpassed 200,000 plays on Spotify. It was a confident introduction, but the real creative breakthrough came with the song “Sofia,” written after an impulsive solo trip to Bulgaria, where he spent two chaotic days meeting strangers and getting matching butterfly tattoos on a whim. He wrote the song immediately after returning, and it became one of his most talked-about tracks, putting him firmly on the radar of the UK’s emerging artist community.
Throughout 2023, Ben released a string of singles, including “Half the Time” and “Runner Up,” both accompanied by polished music videos and visualizers. That year, he also made his first trip to Los Angeles, connecting with songwriters he had initially met virtually and spending weeks in sessions that he has described as the best creative period of his life. In November 2023, he released his debut EP, Ed’s House, a collection that brought together collaborators including James October, Matt Lucasiewicz, David Boen, Sam Steel, and producers Gloria and friendlyz, among others. Ben is consistently vocal about giving songwriters their due credit, something he feels is often lacking in the music industry.
His visual identity has been equally important to his rise. His creative director and close friend, Finlay McDonald, handles the graphics, promotional videos, and visual storytelling behind the Ben Ellis brand, and the results have been notably slicker than what most independent artists at his level manage to produce.
The breakout year came in 2024. Ben joined Henry Moodie on the Good Old Days Tour across the UK and Europe, playing to established audiences every night and sharpening his live craft considerably. His catalog earned him over 2.1 million streams, Spotify playlist placements on New Music Friday UK, Fresh Finds, and SALT, 19 weeks on BBC Radio Wales’s Welsh A List, and multiple plays on BBC Radio 1, with support from presenters Mollie King, Jodie Bryant, and Maia Beth.
In February 2025, he released The Hollywood EP, with the single “Burner Phone” drawing particular attention for its innovative production. His debut headline tour followed, selling out all six dates in minutes with over 1,000 tickets gone almost instantly. He then joined Alfie Jukes on a 16-date UK and European tour before playing festivals including TRNSMT, Latitude, and BST Hyde Park. In late 2025, he was named a finalist for Music Artist to Watch at the KLAT Awards.
2026 brought another significant milestone. Ben was awarded an International Showcase Foundation grant by the PRS Foundation, providing financial backing for travel, production, and performance costs to enable him to showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas. He was confirmed among the first 100 showcasing artists at SXSW 2026 and also performed as part of the Focus Wales showcase at the festival, representing Welsh talent on one of the music industry’s most important international stages. For an independent artist without major label backing, that kind of institutional support and industry recognition carries real weight.
His third EP, The Train Where Time Slows, was released in 2026, written in the aftermath of a significant personal breakup and shaped partly during two separate trips to Los Angeles. Produced by Grammy-nominated Matt Rad and longtime collaborator James October, it’s his most emotionally direct project yet and is available in a deluxe edition on limited-edition vinyl with a double-sided signed poster.
Beyond his own music, Ben has used his growing platform to champion other Welsh artists. He founded a new music night called PLUCK alongside BBC Radio 1 presenters Sam and Danni, giving emerging Welsh talent a stage they might not otherwise have had. It speaks to a side of him that goes beyond personal ambition.
Songs & Albums
Ben’s discography has grown steadily and with clear artistic intent since his 2022 debut. Here is an overview of his key releases:
Singles: Not This Time (2022), Sofia (2023), Half the Time (2023), Runner Up (2023), Ed’s House (2023), No One Sleeps In Hollywood (2024), Does It Get Cold In California (2024), Burner Phone (2025), Where She Goes (2025), When It Ends (2025), Holding On To Nothing (2026)
EPs:
- Ed’s House (November 2023)
- The Hollywood EP (February 2025)
- The Train Where Time Slows (2026, also available as a deluxe vinyl edition)
The Train Where Time Slows EP Tracklist: Where She Goes, When It Ends, Still Be Friends, Holding On To Nothing, Animal, Move Honey, End of Days
He has also built a dedicated following through an ongoing series of acoustic covers on TikTok and YouTube, covering artists including Coldplay, Harry Styles, Jeff Buckley, The 1975, Cage the Elephant, and Billy Joel.
Concerts and Tours
Ben Ellis has gone from bedroom TikTok sessions to proper touring in a remarkably short space of time. After supporting Sody at London’s Bush Hall in 2023, he opened for Henry Moodie on a full UK and European run in 2024, then headlined his own sold-out six-date UK tour in 2025 before joining Alfie Jukes across sixteen dates in the spring.
His Time Slows On Tour 2026 is his most ambitious run yet, spanning both Europe and the UK. Confirmed dates include Cologne on September 30, Hamburg on October 1, Paris on October 5, Bristol on October 8, Birmingham on October 9, and Glasgow on October 11. He is also set to appear at the Megaland festival in the Netherlands in June 2026, sharing a bill with the Foo Fighters, YUNGBLUD, and Wet Leg, among others.
Social Media
Ben’s social media presence is central to who he is as an artist. He doesn’t use it to broadcast; he uses it to build genuine relationships, and fans consistently describe him as more like a friend than a distant celebrity.
- TikTok: @benellis__ (156,800+ followers, 3.4 million likes)
- Instagram: @benellismusic (72,000+ followers)
- YouTube: Ben Ellis
Personal Life
Ben Ellis keeps his personal life fairly private, but his music tells a different story. His 2026 EP The Train Where Time Slows was written in the wake of a significant relationship ending, and the themes of heartbreak, clarity, and confusion run throughout. He hasn’t named anyone publicly, and that privacy feels deliberate.
He is currently single, has no children, and by his own account is deeply focused on building his career. He has spoken warmly about his parents and credits them with shaping his musical instincts from a young age, his mother through folk festivals and his father through a love of classical music. His creative partnership with Finlay McDonald, his best friend and the visual mind behind the Ben Ellis brand, is another relationship he speaks about with real gratitude. He has called Finlay’s decision to reach out via a “dodgy DM” one of the best things to ever happen to his career.
Net Worth
Ben Ellis’s net worth is estimated at between $50,000 and $150,000. That figure might seem modest, but it’s a realistic reflection of where an independent artist at his stage typically stands financially, and it doesn’t capture where his earning potential is headed.
His income streams are varied. Spotify royalties from 2.1 million streams would generate roughly $6,000 to $9,000 in cumulative royalties at standard rates before distributor splits. TikTok creator fund payments and brand partnerships add a supplementary layer for creators in their follower bracket. Ticket revenue from his sold-out six-date headline debut, with over 1,000 tickets at typical small-venue pricing of £15 to £25, could bring in somewhere between £15,000 and £25,000 gross before costs. Festival performance fees, merchandise, vinyl, and EP pre-orders, and his growing presence on the support tour circuit all contribute to the picture.
What matters more than the current number is where things are pointing. BBC Radio 1 support, major festival bookings, a rapidly expanding European fanbase, and a second headline tour on the horizon all suggest that this estimate could look very different within the next twelve to eighteen months. For an artist who has built everything independently, without a label, and largely on his own terms, the foundation is already more solid than most.
