It seems like barely last week when Katherine Jenkins first burst into the public eye, but already she has established herself as one of the biggest names in classical music with her albums Premiere and Second Nature. Now she's ready to deliver the third one, and since Second Nature monopolised the number one spot for almost nine months and won her a Classical Brit award for Album of the Year, expectations are running high.
"I always say 'touch wood' whenever anybody makes predictions like that," says Katherine, "but I do feel as if I'm living a blessed life at the moment. I've been thinking about the phrase 'living a dream', because that's exactly what is happening. I'm just trying to go with the flow and take each day as it comes, otherwise I might freak out at all the things that have happened recently."
Then she was booked to fly to Edinburgh to sing at the G8 concert at Murrayfield, but somebody had overlooked the fact that she was due to perform at Newmarket race course earlier the same day. No problem – with the aid of a private jet, a Rolls-Royce and a helicopter, she was able to squeeze in both events, finally strolling calmly onstage at Murrayfield for her 9pm slot after being whizzed through the Edinburgh streets by a police escort. "There I was, perfectly calm! It was brilliant. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have a day like that."
No major event is complete without an appearance by Katherine Jenkins. She sang at the VE Day Celebration in Trafalgar Square last May, and appeared at the Live8 concerts in both Berlin and London. "When I walked onstage in Berlin, there were 250,000 people going right up to the Brandenburg Gate," she recalls. "They stretched so far I couldn't see where the crowd ended. Then I sang an acapella version of Amazing Grace, and the crowd went absolutely quiet."
Other highlights of an extraordinary year have included an invitation to Chequers from Cherie Blair to sing on behalf of a breast cancer charity ("it was so funny to see Cherie and Michael Parkinson all singing along to We'll Meet Again"), and a private lunch with the Queen.
It has been an astounding journey for the Welsh Choirgirl of the Year who grew up in a council house in Neath. Barely a couple of years ago she was still working as a freelance singing teacher in Hertfordshire to fund her postgraduate studies in opera, having gained an Honours degree at London’s Royal Academy of Music. She boosted her earnings as a hair and make-up model, and the combination of her wildly photogenic appearance and naturally sociable personality has been priceless in helping her win over an ever-expanding audience.