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It was 2008 and Gabriella Cilmi was blowing up the Australian music charts with her debut album Lessons To Be Learned and hit single Sweet About Me.
At the ARIA Awards that year, the then 17-year-old bagged six awards: Best Female Artist, Breakthrough Artist – Single, Breakthrough Artist – Album, Best Pop Release, Highest Selling Single and Single of the Year.
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After being called up on stage to accept awards again and again and again, Cilmi seemed to deteriorate. The singer rambled and slurred her words, leading many to question if she was drunk – especially scandalous as she was underage.
But as it turns out, it was just a toxic combination of jetlag and being lost for words.
“I was actually jetlagged, I wasn’t tipsy,” she told News Corp.
“I was hoping I would win one or two (awards), but when I kept on winning it was really weird, I didn’t expect it, so I didn’t know what to say.”
The footage of Gabriella’s woozy public speaking seems to have been scrubbed from the internet. It’s probably for the best.
If you’re wondering where Cilmi is a decade later, the Australian artist is living in London and recently revealed on Instagram that she’s working on new music.
