Gabrielle was born and brought up near Bath, the first of two children, and grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen. She self taught herself and began playing piano around aged 12 and the guitar at around 14. She attended Sheldon School in Chippenham and then in September 2009 decided to go to City of Bath College to gain a diploma in popular music.


Music career

Early career

Gabrielle used Youtube to gain a following, and as of December 2011 she has over 40,000 subscribers. Her most viewed videos include The Liar and the Lighter originally by You Me At Six, Teenage Dream originally by Katy Perry and Forget You by Cee Lo Green. At some point in 2009, Gabrielle uploaded her original songs to BBC Introducing. In 2010, Gabrielle set up her own website.

Gabrielle's first release was her 5-track acoustic EP which was made available to download on the iTunes store at midnight on the 13th September 2010. It reached the top 25 in the UK iTunes album chart. It features the song "Reverse" which was used on Made in Chelsea.

Never Fade EP

Her second EP was entitled 'Never Fade EP' and saw Gabrielle expand her sound, showcasing a more folk/pop sound. On this EP she played all the instruments herself. A video for the title track was released in addition to this. The EP was released on the 9th May 2011 and reached the top 14 in the UK, top 50 in Australia and top 100 in America. This EP featured the track 'Panic Cord' which was also used on Made in Chelsea.

BBC Introducing

Gabrielle uploaded her songs to BBC Introducing at some point in 2009, where they were noticed by her local radio show BBC Wiltshire.[6] She was invited to play for them and has since done several sets with them.

In 2011 Gabrielle was invited to perform 4 songs along with a band at Maida Vale Studios where she sang 3 of her own compositions, Ghosts from her Acoustic EP, Never Fade and Puzzle Piece from her Never Fade EP, and finally a cover of the Coldplay song Fix You.[7]

Home EP

Gabrielle announced in the second half of 2011 that she was working on her third EP, 'Home EP', which will be released on the 9th of January 2012 via iTunes. Her channel features her performing the songs from the EP in St Mary's Church in her home town Bath. Aplin stated in a video near the release that "Although all my songs are autobiographical, this is the most honest thing I've ever written and recorded." [8] The EP was then release on the 9th of January at midnight and went to peak at #10 on the UK iTunes chart beating the likes of Ed Sheeran and Foo Fighters. In addition to the release, 'Home' was also featured on iTunes as the single of the week and was available to download for free as a part of iTunes' 'New Artists 2012' promotion. The majority of feedback was positive.

Debut album

On 29 February 2012, Gabrielle announced on her Facebook page that she had signed to Parlophone Records. [9] She began recording her debut album in March, and she expects the album to be released in August.

Tours

Gabrielle, so far, has complete 3 Headline UK and Ireland tours. Her first headline tour, coincided with the release of her Acoustic EP in September 2010, taking in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol. After the success of the first headline tour she then embarked on a further date headline tour in November/December 2010 taking in additional cities including Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle. Her next tour took place shortly after the release of her Acoustic EP and took place in November/December 2010 where she played at more cities including Leeds, Plymouth and Newcastle. Her third tour coincided with the release of her Never Fade EP and took place in May 2011, where she played abroad for the first time in Dublin.

Following this Gabrielle embarked on her first set of Festivals taking in Glastonbury's Acoustic Stage, Secret Garden Party, Kendal Calling, Barn On The Farm and many more. In addition to this, she supported Matt Cardle at the KOKO Club in October 2011 and as well as Charlie Simpson for two shows during his Young Pilgrim Tour in October 2011.

On November 14 she embarked on her next UK tour starting off with the Borderline in London. She played a few songs from her 'Acoustic EP' (with the likes of Ghosts), tracks from her 'Never Fade EP' (Panic Cord and Lying to the Mirror) alongside a few covers such as 'Sheila' and a rendition of 'Fix You' by Coldplay. In addition she showcased songs such as 'Home' and 'Keep Pushing Me' which will be featured on her new EP, Home.

For 2012, Gabrielle hopes she will not only be able to tour the UK; in which she is doing so again as of the 29th of February, starting off in Cardiff and finishing on the 31st of March in Belfast; she hopes to be able to tour more internationally and has hinted to there being tour dates in America, Australia and more via her Facebook page.