What do you wish you'd known when you were starting out?
To treat all praise in the same way you treat insults. To ignore both and get on with what your heart and soul wants you to do.

Did you ever consider packing it all in?
I often have considered packing in the promotional side of creating a record and sit infront of my piano for 16 years in a tower and wait for true love to come climb up my hair, Rapunzel style... but I will never ever give up making music and releasing records, and will never disrespect the process of giving interviews in order for people to get to know your work better. I am the only spokesperson for my music.

If you weren't a proper pop star, what would you be doing now?
My mother has a joke that I should stop all this showbusiness and go be a marine biologist. Although seeing as I have no A-levels or any real qualifications, I think I will stick to writing pop songs.

Can you explain how you celebrated on the day you got signed?
I went into my garden and planted some seeds. Then took all my friends out to the Christmas funfair in Leicester Square. The rest is sworn forever to secrecy.

Who would be your dream support act?
The Spice Girls.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?
That nail varnish can be worn on your teeth... you can have gold teeth or black teeth or red teeth. It's all down to you.

Now read interviews with the other stars of the New Music Month ads:

The Noisettes
Unklejam
Lady Sovereign
Bat For Lashes
Corinne Bailey Rae
Tracey Thorn