Ten review

Australia’s young star about to conquer the whole world

Sixteen was the age of Australian singer Gabriella Cilmi when she released her debut CD called Lessons To Be Learned (2008). The album sounded so professionally and maturely made that it was not a big deal to doubt the singer’s age. The girl turned into a megastar in a blink of an eye on her native Australian soil, gathering piles of awards and performing on the national biggest venues. But when it comes to the world scales, you have to do something extraordinary to capture the audience. After all, Cilmi is just one out of the while group of those who succeeded to grab a good name so early. Although her first work pleased the ears of listeners and judgment of critics, the battle for the leading spots on the world stage required the soonest and strongest actions. Already in 2010, the eighteen-year old Cilmi pleased her followers with the second long player laconically titled Ten.

New and diverse music from Cilmi

Lessons To Be Learned was created on the basis of the pop-music so nicely familiar to the singer, only slightly supplemented by tricks from other trends. The format of pop-soul where Cilmi seemed to feel very comfortable, was, in fact, abandoned. Ten is an obvious experiment, a very complex musical effort involving a great deal of courage and decisiveness. Gabriella’s new work is opened by a colorful song called On A Mission managing to combine dance rhythms of the eighties and guitar drive of hard-rock. Then follows Hearts Don’t Lie, one of the most difficult songs for Cilmi to perform. Love Me Cos You Want To is another tribute to the music of the eighties and one more song about unrequited love. This topic is repeatedly touched upon by Cilmi throughout her career. Superhot, and Invisible Girl proved much more modern and energetic tracks destined to delight club lovers. Defender is arguably the only composition that would look fit on the singer’s debut CD. This touching ballad gives a splendid idea of the Australian star’s singing potential.

In search for musical self

Young Gabriella Cilmi’s album Ten brings about the thought that she complicates her life herself. Following her debut studio work, Lessons To Be Learned, many would believe that the music world had spawned another pop-diva with a standing fame and multi-million army of supporters. Cilmi has all the necessities for that: excellent vocal skills, striking appearance, and elaborate work of producers who know what is best for her to sing and do on the stage. Yet the second album displayed that Cilmi is set to goher own way. Musically, her sophomore effort is hardly a mirror of the first one. The only common thing both clearly have is the vocals. Meanwhile, the emerging star’s singing remains the most valuable feature of her new CD. Speaking about the music accompaniment, Gabriella seems to be looking for the dimension most suitable for her to work in. That is why Ten’s only vivid flaw is the lack of uniformity among the tracks. This can hardly spoil you a pleasant process of listening to this wonderful album.