Tom Grennan

Tom Grennan first drew notice through his guest appearance on the 2016 Chase & Status track “When It All Goes Wrong,” yet his own releases blend gritty soulful pop with indie-folk textures. A succession of EPs and singles issued by Insanity Records paved the way for his 2018 debut album, Lighting Matches, which reached number five on the U.K. Albums Chart; two years later he returned to the summit of that same listing with Evering Road, then issued the follow-up What Ifs & Maybes in 2023.

Raised in Bedford, England, Grennan had aimed for a football career until music took precedence. He honed his craft through several years of solo acoustic performances in London pubs, eventually securing a deal with the Sony-affiliated Insanity Records, which put out his first single, “Something in the Water,” in 2016. That recording was produced by Charlie Hugall (Florence + the Machine, Ed Sheeran, Kaiser Chiefs). The Chase & Status collaboration lifted his profile, after which Grennan released the EPs Release the Brakes, Something in the Water, and Found What I’ve Been Looking For, giving listeners an early sense of his individual approach.

Early in 2018 he unveiled the brisk, string-laden single “Sober,” then “Barbed Wire,” both pointing toward the sound of his first full-length. Lighting Matches, produced by Dan Grech-Marguerat (the Killers, Radiohead) and Fraser T. Smith (Stormzy, Adele), landed that summer and peaked at number five on the U.K. Albums Chart. The spare acoustic cut “City of Stars” surfaced in 2019, while the following year brought the more expansive pop tracks “This Is the Place” and “Oh Please.” Signaling a shift toward soul and gospel influences, Grennan put out “Amen” and “Something Better” in 2020. His second album, Evering Road, arrived at the start of 2021 and claimed the top spot on the U.K. albums chart.

Grennan opened 2022 with the uplifting “Remind Me,” then joined KSI for the U.K. Top Ten single “Not Over Yet.” Concentrating on his next project, he offered only a handful of further releases that year: the World Cup-themed England anthem “Lionheart (Fearless)” alongside Joel Corry and the track “All These Nights.” At the outset of 2023 he released “Here” ahead of the arrival of his third album, What Ifs & Maybes.