As well as Sugababes at the New Theatre on Monday, comes support act Gabriella Cilmi.

Like the headliners, the Aussie songbird shatters the image of the vacuous pop star. Her voice is equal parts animal snarl, vocal might and jazz slyness, and she has looks to melt.

So where is she coming from musically? "My dad liked Blondie. My mum absolutely loved Sweet. And my uncles used to play in a garage band - so there was always music going on around me," she says.

"I grew up in the same kind of area of Melbourne as AC/DC - they used to practise around the corner from where I went to school."

But it was on our fair shores that she found her vocation - writing the songs for her album Lessons To Be Learned.

If you're seeing the 'Babes, get there early. Mark my words. With a voice like hers, she will soon be headlining.