IT'S MY MISSION to conquer the Rubik's Cube. At the moment mine is all red on one side, with some unbroken lines of colour on four other sides. I know you can just pull the stickers off and stick them elsewhere but then it wouldn't look neat enough. The other thing would be to break it up into separate pieces and then put it all back together again.

I'M FROM DANDENONG in Melbourne, a south-eastern suburb with a bit of a reputation for violence. It's not that bad - I lived in a street with lots of old people and nice, big trees. When I was at school, a girl once warned me about going to Dandenong, even though that's where I lived.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST people of Italian descent is becoming a thing of the past in Australia. Back in the day, when my parents and grandparents came, it was more of an issue, but it's all cool now.

I'D LOVE TO PLAY Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Gardens, and to have my own show at the Royal Albert Hall. So many greats have played those venues.

I'M 16, BUT I don't really notice the age difference between myself and other performers. When I'm back in Australia I feel younger than I do here in the UK - I don't know why. My age only really hits home when everyone goes out for a drink and I can't go with them.

THERE ARE SOME MUSIC industry monster stories so I had to convince my family to let me follow this career. But they're really supportive. I always have one member of my family travelling with me wherever I go. My mum and cousin are with me at the moment and the place is a little crowded. It's better that way because I don't like to be alone, especially when everyone else is on the other side of the world.

I'M READING a Paulo Coehlo book called Brida. I've read lots of his books - I'm a bit obsessed. But if you're going away on holiday I would recommend The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which I read just recently. There's a bit of an adventure going on, it's set in Barcelona, and it's a really great story.

I WOULD LIKE TO be a museum tour guide as an alternative career but I might not be very good at it. I gave a journalist a tour of the house in Kent where my album was recorded - it was the house where Alice Liddell once lived, the girl who inspired Alice In Wonderland. Obviously, there was a lot of real history there but I started just making things up - I didn't really know what I was talking about.

I'V LOOKED AT my Wikipedia page just once. It says I have a dog named Toni, and I don't. I used to have a dog named Ziggy but he passed away a little while ago. There's a few other mistakes too. It only bugs me because I've used Wikipedia for schoolwork in the past thinking that it was factual - I don't think it's a reliable source.

SINGING FEELS LIKE a release. When you've had a bad week it usually means you'll have a really good show. And I love to observe people. You can tell by people's expressions if they're enjoying themselves. Some performers say they get lost in the music but I forget that I'm singing because I'm looking at the faces in the crowd.

Interview by Paul Dalgarno

Gabriella Cilmi's debut album Lessons To Be Learned is available now.