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Gabriella Cilmi

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Gabriella Cilmi

Gabriella Lucia Cilmi[1] is an Australian singer and songwriter. She is best known for her debut single "Sweet About Me", released in March 2008.

Early life

Cilmi was born on 10 October 1991 in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong. She lives with her parents Paula and Joe (Italian-Australians whose origins are in Calabria, Italy) and her brother Joseph. She attended Sacred Heart Girls' College, but now continues her education via correspondence.

At an early age she developed an interest in a wide range of musical styles, including Nina Simone, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Sweet, T.Rex and Cat Stevens.[2] Despite her natural aptitude and vocal talent, she was told that she lacked the discipline necessary to pursue a singing career. Idolising Janis Joplin, during this time she sang with a band performing cover songs by Led Zeppelin, Jet, Silverchair and others.[3]Cilmi recorded original songs with writer/producers Barbara and Adrian Hannan of The SongStore.[4]

In 2004, she captured the attention of Michael Parisi, a record company executive from Warner Music, while giving an impromptu rendition of the Rolling Stones' song "Jumping Jack Flash" at the Lygon Street Festa, a community festival in Melbourne. At the age of thirteen, Cilmi travelled to the US and UK with Adrian Hannan and was offered four major US deals. She eventually signed a contract with Island Records UK.

Musical career

The tracks "Don't Tell Me" and "Sorry", co-written with Barbara and Adrian Hannan, appeared on the soundtrack of 2005 Australian film Hating Alison Ashley.[4]

Cilmi shares a manager (Cassandra Gracey), writer/producers (Xenomania) and UK record label (Island) with the Sugababes, and supported former Sugababe Mutya Buena at the Jazz Café in London in 2007. She made her UK TV debut on 14 December 2007 when she sang her new single "Sweet About Me" on Later with Jools Holland. In December 2007 Cilmi's song "Sanctuary" featured in the film St Trinian's and on its soundtrack.

Cilmi has also sung on the theme to UK TV Series Echo Beach which aired in early 2008 on ITV1. It is a cover of "Echo Beach" by Martha and the Muffins.

In January 2008 Cilmi supported Rufus Wainwright on his Australian tour. In February 2008 she supported the Parisian band Nouvelle Vague on their UK tour.

Cilmi's first album Lessons To Be Learned was written and recorded with hit production team Xenomania and was released on 31 March 2008 in the UK. She has been compared to Amy Winehouse[5]and also Macy Gray, because of the occasional fracture in her voice[citation needed].

The single "Sweet About Me" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number sixty-eight (9 March 2008) and rose to number fifty the following week. The single rose again to number twenty several weeks after the physical CD was made available. Despite then falling back to number twenty-three, it re-entered the top twenty at number nineteen on 18 May, the single reached its highest position of number six so far, on the chart dated 15 June 2008, and it so far reached number seventeen in the Irish Singles Chart. It debuted at number thirteen in Australia on downloads alone, and has peaked at number one. The song also got to number 6 in the Dutch top 40, in September 2008.

It is currently used in a TV commercial for Sure "upside-down" deodorant in Denmark and the UK, which has resulted in Danish radio playing the song repeatedly.

She performed "Sweet About Me" on the Australian breakfast news program Sunrise on the Seven Network on 1 April 2008 and again on the talk show Rove five days later. She also performed this single on Ireland's chat show The Late Late Show on Friday, 23 May 2008.

From March to May 2008 she supported the Sugababes on their UK Change Tour, as well as supporting Nouvelle Vague. She also opened for James Blunt on his June 2008 Australian tour.

After "Sweet About Me" dropped to number two for several weeks, she reclaimed the number one spot on 19 May 2008 on the Australian ARIA Charts. On 9 July 2008, Cilmi's second UK single, "Save The Lies", was exclusively premiered on The Sun's website. On the 13th, the "Out Of Office Remix" was premiered on the Fresh40 chart show.

Awards and nominations

Nominated for 6 ARIA Awards in 2008: Single of the Year ("Sweet About Me"); Best Female Artist; Breakthrough Artist - Album; Breakthrough Artist - Single; Best Pop Release; and Highest Selling Single.

Discography

Main article: Gabriella Cilmi discography

Television appearances

References

  1. ^ Warner Chappell Music entry
  2. ^ Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet at 16
  3. ^ Meet Aussie singer Gabriella Cilmi
  4. ^ a b SongStore biography
  5. ^ "Is Gabriella Cilmi the new Amy Winehouse?", The Times Online, February 10, 2008

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Gabriella Cilmi.
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