Sweet About Me

Recording of Lessons to Be Learned, the parent album of "Sweet About Me," began in Melbourne, Australia, when Gabriella Cilmi was thirteen years-old. Cilmi then re-located to London, England in 2007 to launch her musical career and complete the recording of "Sweet About Me". Cilmi was listening to early psychedelic music around the time when she wrote the song. Lyrically, Cilmi said that the song is saying, "We're all going to make mistakes, so we might as well have fun while we're making them." Cilmi, who is influenced by rock bands Led Zeppelin and Kings of Leon, said she had to make a pop-sounding record to appeal to as many people as possible. Speaking to music website, The Digital Fix, Cilmi explained how she worked together with Brian Higgins on "Sweet About Me": Even though we came from two totally different backgrounds, when we worked together it just gelled. When it came to our differences I guess we both kind of compromised and came to a decision in the middle. ==Composition==

"Sweet About Me" is a pop and swing jazz song. It utilizes a subtle electro beat, "Sweet About Me" is written in the time signature of common time, with a beat rate of 132 beats per minute. Cilmi uses a sweet and coarse vocal delivery Her vocal performance on the song is similar to that of a group act rather than that of a solo artist. Musically, the song has been compared to Amy Winehouse's 2007 single, "Rehab", for their similar composition, soul and swing musical influences. There are two versions of the song: the album version and the radio edit. The first verse is cut in half in the radio edit and the song opens up with the lyrics: "Oh, watching me hanging by a string this time" followed by "Oh, easily climax of a perfect lie". In the album version, there is a repetition of the first line followed by the line: "Don't, easily a smile worth a hundred lies"; the radio edit omits these two lines before going into the pre-chorus. ==Critical reception==

(pictured). Nick Levine from Digital Spy positively reviewed "Sweet About Me," giving it four out of five stars. Levine commended Xenomania's production on the track, calling it "authentic" and "fresh". He also praised Gabriella Cilmi's vocals on the song, "Most impressive of all is Cilmi's voice, which manages to be sweet and coarse all at the same time, much like a drizzling of honey on a slice of toast." Jake Taylor of Sputnikmusic deemed "Sweet About Me" as one of the best songs released by an Australian artist on debut. He wrote, "A lot of songs focus on the chorus as the returning point for the listener's attention, but 'Sweet About Me' dumps that for a well rounded mix of brilliant singing and layered pop production on all levels." Contactmusic.com complimented "Sweet About Me" saying it brings a little fun back to pop. The song received a four-out-of-five star rating from Fraser McAlpine of the BBC, who compared Cilmi to British singers Amy Winehouse and Duffy, "Perky song, this. Well suited to grabbing your attention even in the middle of the sudden run of post-[Amy Winehouse] soul sirens, largely because it swings a bit, and seems to have some spark of its own, rather than stiffly wearing its '60s influences like a pair of slightly-too-small cuban heeled boots [similar to that of Duffy]." Mark Reid of The New Zealand Herald described the track as "incredibly catchy". The song was classed as an obvious highlight on Lessons to Be Learned by Colin Polonowski of The Digital Fix. Andrew Cock of The Dwarf said that "Sweet About Me" is as catchy as ever and will continue to receive wide public acclaim. Cock noted, "At times this song seems so sweet it oozes honey, feeling deliberately boppy." Cilmi's vocal performance on the song was praised by Paul Cashmere of Undercover FM, "From the sultry opening notes of the debut single 'Sweet About Me', the world will quickly come to know it's uncovered a major new vocal talent in Gabriella Cilmi." Elisabeth Vincentelli from Time Out ranked "Sweet About Me" as the best song of 2008. Vincentelli wrote, "Production team Xenomania crafted a typically ace tune for this 17-year-old Aussie, and her unassumingly sexy delivery brought it all home." "Sweet About Me" was nominated in the category 'Most Performed Work' at the Ivor Novello Awards. The song won 'Single of the Year' at the 2008 ARIA Awards. ==Chart performance==

On 14 April, the song topped the ARIA Singles Chart and is certified platinum for sales of 70,000 copies. It reached number one again on 19 May, where it sat for four weeks, while her debut album reached number two on the albums chart. This makes her the youngest Australian artist to reach the top of the charts, beating out Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan by just nineteen days. On 27 October 2008, "Sweet About Me" re-entered the Australian chart at number seventeen. The song would ultimately become the third highest-selling single of 2008 in Australia. On 9 March 2008, "Sweet About Me" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 68, rising to its peak position of number six on 21 June 2008 in its fifteenth week on the run. On 20 July, months after its release, the song reached number two on the UK Airplay Chart. On 2 August, the song managed to return to the Top Ten by climbing five spots from number twelve to number seven. However, the following week, the song fell back to number twelve, then eventually dropped out of the top 40 six weeks later. It re-entered the top forty on 5 October rising from number 65 to number thirty-eight. The song spent thirty-seven consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart before finally dropping out on 23 November. Cilmi recorded a performance of the song for a Christmas revival of the axed music show Top of the Pops, which aired on Christmas Day 2008 on BBC One. "Sweet About Me" became the UK's 26th best-selling single of 2008. ==Track listings and formats==

German CD single • "Sweet About Me" (radio edit) • "Sweet About Me" (Sunship Vocal Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Matthew Herbert's Savoury Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Ashley Beedle Vocal Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Truth & Soul Mix) UK and Australian CD single • "Sweet About Me" (radio edit) • "Echo Beach" • "This Game" UK re-release CD single • "Sweet About Me" (radio edit) • "Sweet About Me" (Robbie Rivera Remix) iTunes remix and live EP • "Sweet About Me" (Sunship Vocal Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Matthew Herbert's Savoury Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Ashley Beedle Vocal Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Truth & Soul Mix) • "Sweet About Me" (Later with Jools Holland) ==Personnel==

• Produced by Brian Higgins and Xenomania • Mixed by Jeremy Wheatley, assisted by Richard Edgeler • Vocals: Gabriella Cilmi • Keyboards: Brian Higgins, Tim Larcombe, Tim Powell • Drums: Marc Parnell • Guitars: Nick Coler, Jason Resch • Bass: Kieran Jones • Cello: Nick Squires • Vibes and xylophone: Brian Higgins, Nick Coler • Harmonica: Mark Feltham • Programmed by Tim Powell and Brian Higgins ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications==