Gabriella Cilmi releases Pure Love on 9 October, her first album in 13 years following the massive international success of 'Sweet About Me' and her 2010 debut. The Adelaide-born singer, now based in London, recorded the soul and blues-inflected album live to tape at Middle Farm Studios in Devon with collaborators including Julia Church and producer Peter Miles, and will tour Australia in October 2026 with shows across New South Wales and Victoria.
Gabriella Cilmi was just 16 years old when ‘Sweet About Me’ became a worldwide smash: hitting #1 in multiple countries, going Top 10 across Europe and Australia, and becoming the UK’s most played song of the year. That success continued into her debut album‘Lessons To Be Learned’, leading to six ARIA Awards and Gold certification in the UK.
But after two internationally successful albums, Gabriella stepped away from the spotlight, remaining in London to continue to write, collaborate and perform. That gave her the space to develop away from the weight of expectation and ultimately shaped ‘Pure Love’ - her first album in 13 years, and one that sees her reclaiming her artistry and distilling confidence into sound.
Gabriella says, “‘Pure Love’ was about unlearning everything I'd known, throwing away perfectionism and trying to please people. This record is just me — unfiltered and raw.”
Now Gabriella further previews the October 9th release of ‘Pure Love’ by sharing the new single ‘Pieces’. Listen HERE.
In celebration Gabriella has announced details of her return to Australia next month for live show dates in New South Wales and Victoria where tickets are available now HERE.
Gabriella Cilmi – Australia 2026 Tour Dates:
Melbourne – Birds Basement – Thursday 15th October
Sydney – Django's – Saturday 17th October
Avoca (NSW) – Avoca Theatre – Sunday 18th October
Moorabbin (VIC) – Arco Bar – Thursday 22nd October
Lara (VIC) – Founders & Co – Friday 23rd October
Werribee (VIC) – Studio 185 – Saturday 24th October
Recorded with a full band live to tape at Middle Farm Studios inDevon, the album ‘Pure Love’ puts musicianship and songwriting at the centre. Rooted in soul, blues and classic pop, the album takes cues from Roberta Flack, Janis Joplin and Carole King while sounding distinctly Gabriella Cilmi.
The new single ‘Pieces’ with its warm live instrumentation recalls the classic ‘60s soul and R&B sound, while Gabriella’s luscious lead and swooning vocal harmonies bring something contemporary to its timelessness. Her lyrics tap into a universal emotion - thinking that you’ve moved on from a relationship until you’re confronted with the reality of it, and then the raw feelings that you thought were left in the past come flooding back with a vengeance.
She adds, “‘Pieces’ is about seeing the person you once loved with somebody else and the flood of emotions and questions that comes with that. For this record I really wanted to have the female gaze at the forefront so I purposefully seeked out female collaborators. I wrote this one with Julia Church who is one of the most brilliant artists and songwriters I’ve ever worked with. I was listening to Roberta Flack’s record ‘First Take’ at the time and that really inspired the mood of the song.”
Co-written with Julia Church (John Summit, SLANDER, San Holo) and produced by Peter Miles (Dodie, Orla Gartland), ‘Pieces’ follows the recent singles ‘YRU Hanging Around’ and ‘Pure Love’, which have seen Gabriella return with support from BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4, an appearance on ‘Sunday Brunch’ and a performance at The Great Escape.
Direct, organic and deliberately free from over-production, ‘Pure Love’ marks a confident new chapter for an artist with nothing left to prove. The album is available to pre-order HERE.
'Pure Love' Album tracklisting:
‘Pure Love’
‘No To A King’
‘YRU Hanging Around’
‘Pieces’
‘Too Far Gone’
‘No Apologies’
‘You Killed Our Song’
‘Not Enough To Keep Me Down’
‘What We Do’
‘Love Me Like It’s The End Of The World’
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