Some people are just born for stardom. From an early age Australian sensation Gabriella Cilmi knew she would be involved in music. And even though a cold piano teacher told the then 8-year-old Gabi she had no musicality, she pressed on. She proved the snooty instructor wrong when she began singing with some school friends in a Led Zeppelin cover band and eventually got a record deal at the age of 13.
With a spine-tingling, sultry voice mature beyond her tender years, Cilmi (pronounced Chill-Me) began recording her debut on breaks from school. The four year labor of passion and love for her craft birthed Lessons to Be Learned. The set is an amazing potluck of songs that range from the retro-soul sounds of her first single “Sweet About Me” to the light rock of “Sorry“ and the electro-pop/rock of “Save the Lies.”
At 17, Gabriella is ready for the stardom she was put on the earth to obtain. Lessons to Be Learn is already a certified smash in her native Australia where she dominated the Australian Recording Industry Association Awards — the country’s version of the Grammys — last year. The album is also a best-seller in the UK, earning the songstress nominations for the Brit Awards. How’s that for no musicality?
On March 17, Lessons was released stateside. Now the Americans can be in on this ‘sweet’ little secret.
Neon Limelight caught up with Gabriella by phone in January on her whirlwind trip to New York (and then to Los Angeles we learned) where she was gearing up to take on America. Find out what she had to say about those pesky Amy Winehouse comparisons, pressures to succeed, and planning a Johnny Cash tribute concert with Lupe Fiasco.
NL: So what are you doing in New York?
GC: Well, I’m not in New York at the moment. I was in New York a couple days ago. We played a gig at Joe’s Pub just for press and stuff like that. It was my first gig in New York so it was kinda cool. All of New York is kinda crazy. We’re in L.A. now.
NL: What was your first visit to the US like?
GC: I went here for the first time when I was like 13, so I’ve been here before but coming back is really cool. It’s so different, like New York can’t be anymore different to L.A. It’s cool. You get a bit of everything. L.A. is like its own country. It’s really different everywhere you go, but it’s cool. I like the food here, and I love the way you get big portions of everything. [laughs]
NL: What other places have you visited in the US so far?
GC: We were in San Diego for a day or two. I have family there–I’ve never met them, but they’re there somewhere. [laughs] But that’s all I’ve been so far, but we’re playing South by Southwest (SXSW) [in Austin, Texas] which is really, really, really sweet. I can’t wait to go there! I heard Austin is supposed to be one of the coolest places in the world.
NL: Oh, you’re going to love it!
GC: Yeah! I’ll get to see all the bands! It’s going to be really cool.
NL: How was the response at Joe’s Pub?
GC: It was really cool! It was nice to play. I had like this massive cold that night, so that was a bit of a bummer. I was coughing in between songs. [But] it was a really cute little venue, just a really nice place. Everyone’s played there so it was really cool. It’s nice and lounge-y.
NL: It’s kind of where all the singer/songwriters get their start. They like have to play there.
GC: Yeah, and it was nice and intimate. Just really cool.
NL: You’re already pretty big in and UK and Australia, but explain your music for potential new fans in the US.
GC: Well, I like all different kinds of music. I used to jam with my mates back home and we’d play Led Zeppelin covers and stuff like that, and I’m a massive Kings of Leon fan, so I love music like that but I also love Nina Simone, Cat Stevens, and Janis Joplin’s like my hero. So I do love all different kinds of music.
I don’t know how I would describe my music. It’s like pop meets glam-rock.
NL: The new single, Sweet About Me, is an awesome song. Tell us what the song is about.
GC: I wrote Sweet About Me after I came back from a trip to Paris. I love Paris. It’s like my favorite place in the world–I could move there. But I was listening to all the Parisian pop music, that kind of psychedelic stuff. I guess Sweet About Me is kind of my warning to the world. I know what I’m talking about. I don’t like to take crap from people. [laughs] I think a good way to describe it is it’s kind of a grown up nursery rhyme. It gets stuck in your head, so it’s like a nursery rhyme in that sense.
NL: Do you write from your own experiences or do you take experiences from friends and family for a song?
GC: All different kinds of stuff. I always have a book with me. I just write things down that I’d like to write about–any kind of things, just things that come to my head. I wrote this song called Sanctuary about a time when I felt really comfortable with a friend of mine, but we’re not friends anymore. I guess I write them from experience, like what’s happening to me at the time and it’s funny looking back at them to see what was so important to me then and how they’re not important to me now. Just little funny things in songs that might have a story attached to them.
NL: You’re really young. I don’t think anyone would guess you’re only 17 from your voice. Where did that voice come from? When did you start singing and realized you had this unique voice?
GC: I’ve always kind of sung. I started out playing piano and my piano teacher told me I had no musicality. Pretty funny.
NL: Wow!
GC: I know. She’s not very nice. [laughs] I was only like 8 at the time. But I would always sing really, really loud around the house. It was always something that was just a part of me that followed me around all the time. I’d be like shopping and singing at the same time.
NL: People will no doubt compare to Amy Winehouse because we’re pretty short-sighted in America. Do you think that’s a fair comparison?
GC: I think it’s cool because she kind of put the spotlight on that kind of female vocalists. I give that to her, but I started recording my album four years ago almost. I started off recording on my school holiday. But I think she’s cool. I don’t like putting myself in that category. I guess people will listen to my album and see there’s a variety of different stuff on there.
NL: There are some Australian artists who’ve made it pretty big here like The Veronicas and Kylie Minogue. Do you feel any pressure to live up to their success?
GC: I try not to think about any pressure. I just do it for myself. I don’t do it for other people, so I don’t compare myself to those people. I guess I’d like to do well, but I’m not feeling too much pressure.
NL: Do you have any goals you’d like to accomplish here like playing Madison Square Garden…
GC: Yeah. I’d like to organize a Johnny Cash tribute concert at Madison Square Garden. That’s like one of my long time goals. [laughs]
NL: Why Johnny Cash?
GC: I love Johnny Cash! I just thought it would be fun….and I’d play Ring of Fire, of course. [laughs]
I want to do that. I want to go on tour in the US. I want to play at Coachella Festival. That would be cool. I just really want to tour here. I can’t wait to see everywhere else because I’ve only been to New York and L.A.
NL: Do you have anyone in mind you’d like to include in your Johnny Cash tribute concert?
GC: Yes. Lupe Fiasco. I love him. [laughs]
NL: I can’t imagine what he would sing. [laughs]
GC: Yeah, me either. But you never know. It would be interesting to see people’s different takes on things. Kings of Leon I’d have there. Beck and the Gorillaz.
NL: Hot!
GC: [laughs] Sounds good!
NL: That does sound like a good show! So, will the US release of Lessons to Be Learned by any different from previous releases?
GC: Yes. There’s a new song on the US release called Round and Round. It’s a new package–a new CD cover. Everything’s just a bit newer which is nice. It’s kind of cool to start off fresh.
NL: As far as collaborations, who would you like to work with if you had the chance?
GC: I’d love to work with Danger Mouse. He did Beck’s last album and he’s also the other half of Gnarls Barkley. He did the Black Keys album and I love the Black Keys. I just like all the different music he’s worked on. He brings something different to the table which I like. I’d love to work with him and Lupe Fiasco. That’d be pretty sweet!
NL: Who were your musical influences growing up? You touched on a few, but any more?
GC: I loved Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin, so anything he was listening to. He used to make like compilation CDs of what he was listening to. Believe it or not but I was a massive Blink 182 fan. [laughs] It’s almost funny.
NL: No way! They are awesome. I don’t care what anyone says!
GC: Yeah! Don’t you reckon? I still have posters of them up in my room. And the Red Hot Chili Peppers and this Aussie band called Dallas Crane that basically only played in pubs. I still love them. I love Nina Simone, Blondie and Kate Bush.
NL: Any new artist you’re linking?
GC: I love Fleet Foxes. I think they’re really great. It’s nice to see them breaking on the US chart. I like Ray Lamontagne. He’s really cool, like an acoustic, folky artist. I love him. On the charts, I have to say I love Justin Timberlake. I think his songs are really great. No matter how you play them, even though they’re pop songs, no matter how you play them, they’re still good classic songs.
NL: You already mentioned how much you’d love to tour here. Are there any plans lined up?
GC: Well, we’ll be playing SXSW and we’re trying to get more dates lined up in the next couple months. I’ll put them up on my Myspace when they’re set in stone.
NL: Well, Gabriella! We wish you much success. I’m going to go ahead and make a bold prediction: Best New Artist at the 2010 Grammys.
GC: Whoa! No pressure! Thank you!
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For more on Gabriella Cilmi visit her official Myspace page: www.myspace.com/gabriellacilmi
To buy Lessons To Be Learned visit iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/GabCilmiiTunesBuyLink
Watch the video for Sweet About Me here.
sweet!
love this singer – she is amazing