Before he became famous, Calum Scott posted a cover version to his personal YouTube channel on 1 March 2014, and later performed the song for his audition on Britain's Got Talent in April 2015, the original clip of which has garnered over 415 million YouTube views. "Naive about the [music] industry" and worried his "career was over" after he wasn't signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment when "the show was over and it went quiet", Calum thought his "opportunity was gone". Tracking the data behind the sudden rise in engagement and speed of new subscribers to Calum's channel over several months, A&R executive Conrad Withey encouraged him to release the song officially. With Conrad's endorsement, Calum signed independently with Warner Music Group, and the song was released as his debut solo single on 15 April 2016, with a 3 June 2016 release in other territories under Capitol Records.
With this early exposure, Conrad's Instrumental, a London-based AI algorithm-based A&R start-up looking to streamline "notoriously inefficient methods of talent discovery" using internet engagement to cut costs with a "data-driven" platform that would controversially prioritize "popular[ity]" over "artistry" in support of "online engagement", "internet stars" and "brand and content partnerships" rather than "musicians", reversing preconceived notions of building fanbases from scratch by capitalizing on those that already existed, went on to contract their services with all the 'Big 3' and revolutionize A&R signing of artists.
Scott's cover was noted for its "soft focus", with critical reception being polarized, and streaming performance being very strong in the UK and Australia, followed by sleeper hit longevity throughout Europe. Two EDM remixes of the cover were commissioned and released by Calum's label from Tiësto on 15 July 2016 and Hull-based Ben Dooks on 29 October 2018. Different music videos were commissioned and released later in 2016 for Calum's cover as well as the Tiësto remix.
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