New Zealand-born Daniel Bedingfield grew up in southeast London. Mostly influenced by contemporary R&B artists, his sisters Natasha and Nicola teamed up with him to assemble their first band, called the DNA Algorhythm. Inspired by a girlfriend from Leeds, Daniel Bedingfield recorded "Gotta Get Thru This" in his bedroom with a microphone plugged to his home computer. In December 2001, just a few weeks after its release by the independent Relentless Records, his song went straight to the top on the U.K. singles chart. At the age of 21, the promising pop singer became a local celebrity. Signing to Polydor UK, Bedingfield worked on some new material and released his first album, Gotta Get Thru This, in the fall of 2002. Second First Impression followed in 2005.