17-year-old Alsou is being hailed as the first queen of Russian r'n'b. Her first single, Before You Love Me, is currently jumping about in the charts and it's followed by an album this summer. Virgin.net shared a bowl of borscht with her.

From Siberia to superstardom

You've already been dubbed the Russian Britney Spears, that must be a real pain.
"In some ways it is. It's only flattering if it's in relation to her popularity and success but I wouldn't want to be compared to her vocally, physically or even stylistically. Obviously it's important to me to be seen as an individual and have my own image and I'm working very hard to make sure that happens."

You spent your early years in Siberia, what was that like?
"It was an experience I can say. It obviously gets very cold in winter and it can be very hard then, but in saying that it was quite a civilised little town. There was a cinema, there were no bears walking around, you know. But it only lasted until I was nine and at that age you don't need much. I used to skate with my friends on an ice rink just outside our house."

How did you become involved in music?
"My family has always loved music but no one ever did it professionally before me. I began playing piano at five and decided I want to be a singer when I was about ten. It started to become a reality at my brother's wedding a few years back when I was 15 years old. I got up and sung Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You and a friend of my mother's came up and put me in touch with a manager who said he loved my voice."

How quickly did things happen for you after that?
"It was pretty amazing. We started work pretty much straight away in 1999 and my first single, a ballad called Winter's Dream, went to Number One and stayed there for a month. The follow up did the same and then I made an album which went to the top of the charts, too."

East-Western promise

Your father is a rich oil baron, has that opened doors for you?
"It's obviously helped with the contacts he has. He knows people in showbusiness so that obviously helped me but that didn't make it a certainty. I'd wanted to be a singer since I was ten and even if I'd come from a less privileged background I'd have made it anyway. It might have taken longer but I know I would have made it happen."

Are you risking your traditional fanbase by trying to make it in the West?
"I don't think so, I'm not going to stop releasing albums in Russian at home and I think they're supportive of me trying to have success outside. Anna Kournikova is a source of great pride in Russia because she's world famous and if I can emulate that they'll love me for it."

Russian pop music has never translated to the West has it?
"No, not at all really so I know I have a lot to do but Russia has changed greatly in the past five to ten years and one aspect of that is the entertainment business. There's so many pop bands around there now and people are far more influenced by Western sounds than they used to be. There's a lot of covers bands and tribute acts about."

Which artists have influenced you most?
"Well I grew up listening to Mariah Carey. When I heard her music I started buying songbooks and sort of imitated her style a bit. She got me excited about pop music and made me want to do R&B influenced music. I moved to London when I was 12 because of my father's job so that helped widen my tastes massively. Now I love Destiny's Child, Christina Aguilera and Craig David."

Pop life after Eurovision

You've already represented Russia in the Eurovision song contest...
"That's right I was the Russian representative in Sweden last year. It was one of the most nerve-wracking things for me because of the competition. I came second with a song called Solo, which appears on my debut album."

The first gig you played brought on a major case of stage fright didn't it?
"When I was 15 singing live was the scariest thing for me. I'd rather have gone bungee jumping, I was so nervous. I had to sing in a club full of fans and when I got out there I was just shaking. I forgot the words but the crowd started to sing them for me so I relaxed. Now I love it, it feels the most natural thing."

Your new album has a stellar cast of writers and producers behind it...
"I've been incredibly lucky in that respect because I've got some top names involved like Mark Hill who has written with Craig David and is with the Artful Dodger and Sturken and Rodgers who have worked with Britney and Christina. I'm very proud of the results, each song has been carefully chosen."

How much input did you have?
"Oh, quite a bit, I wrote a couple of the songs on it, too - Now I Know a song of hope which I wrote in Russian when I felt lonely and Teardrop, a big ballad which I wrote when a relationship I was in broke down. I can't just sit and write songs though, I have to wait for inspiration to strike. Something clicks and I have to rush off and write it down."

You're managed by Simon Napier Bell, who used to look after Wham! How did you get involved with him?
"I knew I needed a manager in the UK and a friend of my dad's knew him. He'd actually retired but I went to see him, sang a few songs for him and that was it!"

You've duetted with Enrique Iglesias, how did that come about?
"Basically I wanted to do a duet and he's quite well known in Russia and in the West. We chose this song, I sang my part and sent it to him. He liked it then we met up in Moscow and hit it off and he agreed to do the duet."

So now you've overcome your stage fright can we expect to see you live?
"Yeah, I hope so. Nothing's pencilled in so far but the aim is to do some dates in the summer."