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Gabriella Cilmi

A Melbourne-born, U.K.-based singer/songwriter, Gabriella Cilmi possesses a smoky, whiskey-soaked voice that belies her age and a feisty rock attitude that placed her on the inside fast track to pop stardom. Born October 10, 1991, in Dandenong, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, Cilmi attended Sacred Heart Girls' College in nearby Oakleigh, where, when rebuffed at an audition for a high-school musical and told she lacked the discipline to be a good singer, she was driven to form a garage band and record a demo tape. Her break came when she hopped on-stage to perform an impromptu version of the Rolling Stones' “Jumping Jack Flash” at a Melbourne street party and was spotted by a prominent local record producer. Only 13 years old at the time, she was soon flown to London and ended up signing a recording contract with Island Records and began working with the Xenomania production team headed by eccentric pop producer Brian Higgins and his long-time collaborator Miranda Cooper. An impressive debut single, “Sweet About Me”, was released early in 2008, followed a few weeks later by her debut album, Lessons to Be Learned.