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    Gabriella Cilmi

    Lessons to Be Learned

    Gabriella Cilmi - Lessons to Be Learned

    03/17/2009 | Republic 

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    All Music Guide Review

    U.K.-based Australian teenager Gabriella Cilmi released her debut album at the end of March 2008 to critical acclaim but not much public notice. However, as is often the case, word of mouth spread slowly and the album built into a Top Ten hit as more people discovered it. Having co-written all of the tracks with the production team of Xenomania (the team behind Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, with whom she had just finished touring) Gabriella Cilmi delivered a confident album with styles varying from Eurovision pop-disco ("Messy," "Don't Wanna Go to Bed Now," and "Save the Lies") to cool 1950s swing jazz ("Awkward Lies" and the first single to be taken from the album, "Sweet About Me"), 1960s girl group pop ("Got No Place to Go"), and a few ballads ("Einstein," "Safer," and "Sit in the Blues"). The album closed with the only cover version, a faithful reproduction of Martha & the Muffins' "Echo Beach," which appeared on the U.K. version only. A good debut album, but it had all been heard before, many times in a crowded market, with her voice sounding like a cross between Anastacia and Joss Stone (particularly on opening track "Save the Lies," which also had a Kylie Minogue-style backing track). In particular, the recent albums by Duffy and Adele were brought to mind, with Cilmi sounding quite like Duffy on the song "Sanctuary" and therefore also evoking memories of Dusty Springfield -- not a bad thing, once again, but Duffy did it a couple of months before. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide

    Lessons to Be Learned Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • time
  • lyrics
  • 1
  • Got No Place to Go
  • 3:21

  • 2
  • Sweet About Me
  • 3:22

  • 3
  • Sanctuary
  • 3:27

  • 4
  • Einstein
  • 3:38

  • 5
  • Save the Lies (Good to Me)
  • 3:39

  • 6
  • Round and Round
  • 3:39

  • 7
  • Awkward Game
  • 3:28

  • 8
  • Cigarettes and Lies
  • 2:51

  • 9
  • Terrifying
  • 2:37

  • 10
  • Safer
  • 3:24

  • 11
  • Sit in the Blues
  • 3:22

    • Lessons to Be Learned Notes

    Universal Republic Records is unveiling one of the most anticipated U.S. debuts of the year as Aussie vocal star Gabriella Cilmi (pronounced chill-me) serves up her worldwide smash hit "Sweet About Me" to the U.S. in 2009.

    The 17-year-old phenomenon just swept the prestigious Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (ARIA Awards), taking home an unprecedented six trophies on the strength of her breakthrough debut album, LESSONS TO BE LEARNED. The Melbourne-born Cilmi won, among other awards, Best Female Artist and Breakthrough Artist Of The Year for both single – "Sweet About Me" – and album, as well as snagging the award for Highest Selling Single Of The Year.

    Prepped for the kind of welcome by U.S. music fans that has seen her take the rest of the pop music world by storm, VH1 has already reserved their notch for the singer/songwriter, preparing to feature her as one of the first VH1 'You Oughta Know' selections of 2009. Another touchstone accolade for the newcomer who has become the youngest Australian solo artist ever to crack her native country's #1 slot on the Australian Pop charts.

    LESSONS TO BE LEARNED has already soared to the Top 10 in more than ten countries, with the single netting a string of #1’s in her native Australia, Holland, the UK, and dominating the Top 5 real estate of the international charts in Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and numerous other territories.

    The singer was a central part of the creative process throughout the making of her debut CD, with Cilmi contributing to more than four dozen songs before she and her support team chose the selections that would make the final release. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED thrives on the singer's keen instincts and underlying emotional depth, with London’s Sunday Times affirming 'a composure that belies her age.'

    Credits of Lessons to Be Learned

    • Brian Higgins
    • Programming, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Mixing, Keyboards, Producer
    • Nick Coler
    • Bass, Guitar, Xylophone, Keyboards, Vibraphone, Programming

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