Gabriella Cilmi Announces Her First New Album In 13 Years

Mary Varvaris

“Pure Love is the record I’ve always wanted to make,” Cilmi shared.

Gabriella Cilmi
Gabriella Cilmi(Credit: Daniel Broadley)
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It’s been a long time since we’ve heard a new album from Australian singer-songwriter Gabriella Cilmi, but that’s all about to change.

Today, she’s announced that her first album in 13 years, Pure Love, will arrive on Friday, 9 October. The record is backed by two singles thus far – the title track, which marked Cilmi’s first taste of new music in nearly seven years, and YRU Hanging Around, released today.

The Sweet About Me hitmaker has explained that Pure Love is the record she’s always wanted to make, having gained the confidence and freedom required to tackle the soulful, organic project.

Cilmi shines with her expressive contralto and blend of deep soul, jazz and classic rock styles, pulling inspiration from Van Morrison, Joe Cocker, and more. She recorded the album at Middle Farm in Devon with producer Peter Miles and collaborated with Anna Krantz, who’s worked with Ed Sheeran.

“Pure Love is the record I’ve always wanted to make,” Cilmi shared. “The songs and lyrics are more unfiltered, and the recordings have a rawness to them, so I feel like it’s the purest record I’ve made. It was recorded live to tape during a harvest moon, and I like to think of the songs like ripe fruit finally ready to be consumed after lots of watering, tending and patience.”

Discussing the new single, YRU Hanging Around, she added, “YRU Hanging Around is about the realisation that you’ve been waiting on the approval of others for way too long. It’s about that aha moment when all of a sudden, you have an epiphany that you don’t need anyone’s permission to live the life you want except your own.”

Check out YRU Hanging Around and pre-order/pre-save the album here.

At just 13, Cilmi signed a record deal with Australia’s Mushroom Records. A few years later, she found breakthrough success following the release of her single, Sweet About Me, and took home six ARIA Awards for her 2008 debut album, Lessons to be Learned.

Her second album, Ten, arrived in 2018, followed by The Sting in 2013. In 2019, she unveiled the EP, The Water, and now, she begins a new era with Pure Love.

While it’s been years between new tunes, fans have seen Gabriella Cilmi perform in recent years, sharing the stage with Delta Goodrem, The Corrs, Jack Savoretti and Katherine Jenkins, and others.