The Power of Love

Gabrielle Aplin, a songwriter from Sutton Benger in Wiltshire, was twenty when her piano reading of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song soundtracked the John Lewis Christmas advert in November 2012. It went to number one in the UK that December, a rare feat for a cover of a track that had itself topped the chart in 1984. Her arrangement strips away the original's drama and leaves a slow, hymn like melody and a lyric that promises protection from the harm of the world. Couples choose it for a first dance because it feels solemn without being heavy, and because many guests will know it from that advert.