From street festival to a world tour with Lady Gaga, a lot has changed in Gabriella Cilmi’s life over the past two years.
Gabriella Cilmi is a strong young woman who knows exactly what she wants: to conquer the world, or, at least, the hearts of those who are into real music, be that soul, rock or disco. And with her megahit Sweet About Me and a new album out, she’s going the right way about it, as she told The Red Bulletin when she visited Salzburg’s Hangar-7 to try the cuisine at their famous restaurant and to play a special gig at the glittering venue.
'My family were supporting Ferrari, but Sebastian Vettel was my favourite' – Gabriella Cilmi
You’ve just arrived in Austria from Melbourne, where you sang the Australian national anthem at the Formula One grand prix…
“I was so nervous! Firstly because the grand prix was in my home town. Secondly, there were over 200 million TV viewers and of course something had to go wrong: the sound-mixer for the TV broadcast forgot to turn the volume up for my voice. I sang as loud as I could, but no one could hear me. But the kiss on the cheek that John Travolta [the Hollywood star, who waved the chequered flag in the race] gave me after the performance made up for my disappointment a bit.”
Who were you rooting for?
“My family were supporting Ferrari, but Sebastian Vettel was my favourite. And Mark Webber, of course. He’s Australian too, after all, and I really wanted him to win his home grand prix.”
Helge Kirchberger
Sweet About Me is the smash soul standard that dramatically changed your life. Everyone knows it, but does anyone know how you got a recording contact in the first place?
“I was discovered at an Italian street festival in Melbourne where my family and I were collecting money for the church. It was incredibly boring, so I went up onto a talent-spotting stage and sang an impromptu acappella version of [Rolling Stones classic] Jumping Jack Flash. By chance there was a guy from a record label in the audience and he signed me up.”
'I looked around very furtively to see if anyone had noticed it was my song' – Gabriella Cilmi
Can you remember the moment you realised you’d made your breakthrough with Sweet About Me?
“I heard the song on the radio in a perfume department. I looked around very furtively to see if anyone had noticed it was my song.”
Do you have a plan B if things don’t work out with the music?
“Not really, but I’d like to be a museum guide.”
You can read Gabriella’s full interview with Florian Obkircher in the new online edition of The Red Bulletin.
For more on Salzburg's Hangar-7, get your boarding pass and make your way to the gate at hangar-7.com.
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