Gabrielle Aplin - 14/11/13



I've been a huge fan of Gabrielle Aplin for a couple of years, long before she signed with Parlophone in February 2012.  She is the one of the musicians, among several others, who has emerged and gained popularity through her YouTube covers.  The 21 year old singer-songwriter posted her first video (a cover of My Heart by Paramore) on her channel 'Gaberrz' five years ago, and she has certainly developed as an artist since then.

Despite the lack of any initial support from a record company, Aplin was able to release EPs independently on her own 'Never Fade' label.  Since then, she's gone onto have three EPs which were well received by her fans, leading to her finally being signed.  Her biggest breakthrough was most likely the announcement that her cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's ballad 'The Power of Love' was to be used on the John Lewis Christmas advert in 2012.  Her debut album 'English Rain' reached number 2 in the UK charts, and she has been relentlessly touring and playing festivals following the LP's success.

So to see her perform a sold out show at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on Thursday was a wonderful thing.  My friend and I bought tickets for the gig from a lovely girl on Twitter (always a nerve-racking business), and I was so looking forward to finally seeing Gabrielle live.  Aplin had run a competition a few months ago for people to win the chance to support her on the individual dates of her tour.  The winner of the London date was singer-songwriter Nick Wilson (youtube.com/uknickwilson) who was very deserving of being the opening act.  He perfomed several original songs along with covers of 'Jealous Guy' by John Lennon and 'High Hopes' by Kodaline.  I'm sure he certainly gained a lot of new female fans from his performance; myself included.  The second opening act was ex-YouTuber Kate McGill's band Meadowlark who were also very enjoyable to watch.

With help from her band, Gabrielle Aplin put on a brilliant show, performing a combination of songs from her album and from the old EPs.  Opening with the second track on the album 'Keep on Walking', Aplin bounced on stage with an enviable amount of energy and confidence, seemingly unfazed by the enormous three-tier crowd.  Incorporating several of her most well known songs into the setlist, such as 'Panic Cord', 'Please Don't Say You Love Me', 'The Power of Love' and 'Home', Aplin also included a new song titled 'Pouring Out' and a cover of Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball'.  I was so happy to her perform the song 'Start Again' which she wrote for the soundtrack of the most recent series of Skins.

My friend and I were planning to stay afterwards to try and meet her, but it was ridiculously cold  in London and we were both very tired - what wimps.  Overall, Gabrielle was brilliant and I would definitely recommend going to see her if you ever have the opportunity.

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