English singer/songwriter Gabrielle Aplin had already built up a catalog of self-released EPs when her haunting rendition of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love" shot to number one in late 2012. However, it was her own buoyant folk-pop songwriting that helped her 2013 debut album, English Rain, go gold in the U.K. and chart around the world. For the remainder of the decade Aplin maintained a consistent output, delivering a follow-up album, Light Up the Dark, numerous singles, EPs, and holiday releases, and even finding breakout success in Brazil with her hit "Home." Starting her own label, she continued to grow her sound on 2020's pop-heavy Dear Happy. In late 2022, using a back to basics songwriting approach, Aplin began releasing singles from her forthcoming fourth album Phosphorescent.

Aplin was raised in the small village of Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, where she learned to play guitar at the age of 11, and also took up the piano. Her musical development was documented on her YouTube channel, which included a collection of diverse cover versions of artists such as Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, and Katy Perry. Her videos amassed a huge following and she soon began to write her own original material. This led to her first self-released EPs, Acoustic EP (2010), Never Fade (2011), and Home (2012), which illustrated her penchant for honest, heartfelt songwriting, and uncovered her own folk sound. After Never Fade was released in 2011, Aplin was invited to BBC's Maida Vale studios to perform on the BBC Introducing… sessions as her star continued to rise.

Following more internet exposure, alongside airtime on BBC's Radio 1 and a headline tour, Aplin signed to Parlophone and began working on material for her debut full-length. During this period her popular cover version of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love" made it to number one in the U.K. charts thanks to its placement in a Christmas advertising campaign for retailer John Lewis. In 2013, Aplin released her debut full-length album English Rain, which featured a body of new work, alongside the title track from her early EP Home. The album was a success, reaching number two in the U.K. and, to coincide with the 2014 U.S. release of her English Rain EP, she went on her first North American tour. Aplin's next LP, Light Up the Dark, arrived in September 2015. In 2016 Aplin became a sensation in Brazil when her song "Home" appeared in the popular soap opera Totalmente Demais -- she even made a cameo in the final episode of the season. In December of that year, she released the Miss You EP. After parting ways with Parlophone, Aplin launched her own indie imprint, Never Fade Records, and released the Avalon EP in October of 2017. The following year, she issued another single, "My Mistake," and collaborated with Welsh singer Hannah Grace for the holiday-themed EP December.

The effervescent "Nothing Really Matters" arrived in 2019 ahead of Aplin's next full-length effort, 2020's pop-driven Dear Happy. Her first new album in five years, it reached number 25 on the U.K. charts. Like many artists, Aplin's output slowed during the global pandemic with 2021's "When the Lights Go Out" and a holiday single called "Just Like Christmas" marking her only releases that year. After relocating to Somerset, she settled into a groove, writing new songs for the sheer pleasure of it, far away from industry pressures. Throughout 2022, songs like the breezy "Skylight" and the acoustic "Don't Know What I Want" reflected this new direction and were slated to appear on her fourth album, 2023's Phosphorescent. ~ Scott Kerr, Rovi