Aussie songstress Gabriella Cilmi is nursing a broken heart after her beloved granddad, who had been ill for some time, passed away recently.

The sassy 18-year-old put all her UK recording commitments on hold and flew Down Under to be with him in his final days. She also recorded a song in Italian that was played at his funeral.

A source close to the star told the Daily Telegraph: "She was very upset but Gab was happy she got back just in time to spend some time with him and say goodbye before he died.”

The raven-haired rock poppet has now returned to the UK where she is working on the follow up to her ARIA Award-winning debut album, ’Lessons To Be Learned’.

The first as-yet-untitled single from her new album will be released in December.

Copyright : MTV Australia