Chillin' Like a Villain

After spending most of 2009 charming the mainstream with her soulful brand of boho pop, Aussie songstress Gabriella Cilmi (pronounced Chill Me) returns this month with her second record Ten and anyone expecting anything like ‘Sweet About Me’ is in for a shock.

“This is my superhero record,” grins Gabriella, probably unaware that those five words will no doubt give a multitude of Forbidden Planet regulars funny feelings in the nether regions for months.
“‘On A Mission’ is all about going out and not letting anyone get in your way. In the video I become a superhero mixed with a little bit of Barbarella, which is pretty cool. Then you’ve got songs like ‘Superman’ and ‘Invisible Girl’, who are both comic book characters, and ‘Defender’ which is all about going into battle and defending people that you love. I’m a bit of a guard-dog, so if anyone comes near me or my family I get really mad and protective. But yeah, I wanted an album that was larger than life, over the top and energetic – plus I’ve always wanted to be a superhero!”
While Gabriella’s first album Lessons To Be Learned saw the 18-year-old let her inner Amy Winehouse loose, Ten is all about the good times and is as camp as an Are You Being Served? convention.
“I knew that I didn’t want to do Lessons To Be Learned part two and that I wanted something really different, but it took me a while to figure out what exactly that was,” confesses Gabriella. “For a while, I wanted to do a New Orleans piano record. Then I realised I couldn’t play as well as Professor Longhair and Dr. John, so I’ll leave that for another time. Ten really came together when one of my bandmates gave me a Donna Summer record called ‘I Remember Yesterday’ and I fell in love with it. Giorgio Moroder (who produced the track) is a genius as far as I’m concerned. He also worked for Blondie when they went disco and did the soundtrack for Flashdance and that really inspired me. I loved the fact that you could dance to it and it was funky, but it still had soul and that combination really worked for me. I wanted to make sure the album was both modern and classic and it’s definitely more up to date than my last record. I’m experimenting with more synthy sounds and I’ve created a whole world around me. It’s a bit more of an adventure that way. I’m definitely heading into new territory.”
While the singer is admittedly a bit nervous about how the public will take to the record, she isn’t stressing too much and tested the waters a little when she attended last month’s Brit Awards.
“The Brit Awards were really cool because I wasn’t as nervous as last year,” she grins. “Last year I was nominated and this year I wasn’t because I didn’t have a record out, so I got to go to just enjoy the night. Florence and Dizzee’s performance was really cool. I got really excited when he won his award. I squealed because I was so happy. I’d love to work with Dizzee, it’d be amazing. If you ever speak to him, hook me up!”
Of course, before Hot Press personally arranges a collabo with Mr. Rascal, Gabriella has her hands full for the next few months promoting the hell out of Ten.
“I’m going back home this month to do the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne and I’m singing the national anthem, which I haven’t done since I was six in primary school at assembly,” she concludes. “I’m a bit nervous about it. Well, I’m actually terrified. There’ll be 50 million people tuning in to watch it. It’s not like the American national anthem. You can’t really go [adopts American Idol-esque warble] “Australiaaaaaaaa.’ You have to keep it traditional. I’m not as nervous as when I played the main stage at Glastonbury last year though. I was so terrified I thought I was going to wee myself [laughs]. It was a mad day. Before I went onstage I was in the portaloos next to Pharrell Williams, which is kinda crazy and I dressed up as a pirate for the occasion, so that was really fun. Fingers crossed I get back over to Ireland this summer for festivals too. I’ve a lot of surprises planned.”