Gabriella Cilmi had an instant hit at the age of 17 with Sweet About Me after moving from Melbourne to London.

This was playing in the local greengrocer’s a day or two ago, the first time I’d heard it in years – and reminded me what a breezily infectious song it is.

It was Gabriella Cilmi’s debut single in 2008 and its jaunty electro/jazz/swing instantly caught the zeitgeist of the new Amy Winehouse musiverse.

Its instant catchiness is brought out by hit machine Xenomania, who worked their chart magic on everyone from Kylie and Girls Aloud to The Saturdays and Sugababes.

Cilmi was 17 when she recorded the song but had started work on her debut album in her native Melbourne when she was only 13, before moving to London two years later with her Italian-Albanian parents to pursue a music career.

She once said the “fun” element of the song came from her mum’s love of ’70s glam bands like Suzi Quatro, T.Rex and The Sweet – and that’s all right by me.

Cilmi’s last album – her third – came out back in 2013 but she toured Australia in 2025 with The Corrs so new music may be on the way now she’s at the ripe old age of 35.