SUBLIME SONGS: "Thankyou" -- not because it was featured in the Gwyneth Paltrow film "Sliding Doors," but because of the way Dido weaves lines like "Missed the bus/There'll be hell to pay/Late to work again" around a dreamy, intricate arrangement. Also, "Don't Think of Me," a painfully poignant but more mellow cousin of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know."

WHERE SHE'S BEEN: At home in London, where at the wee age of six she enrolled in the Guild Hall School of Music and Drama, only to emerge at 16 in desperate need of a pop education. Singing on the side, she then toiled as a literary agent until Rollo took her on the road with Faithless.

WHERE SHE'S GOING: Straight to the top. Discussing plans to bring her show to the U.S. later this year, Dido admits to having a "warped vision" of America: "New York was a bit daunting, but I loved it. L.A. was just plain weird. It's like another planet."

MAJOR INFLUENCES: "Having Rollo in the house meant I listened to dance music since the year dot," she says, laughing. "My classical training is an unconscious influence, it's ingrained into me." Also, Madonna ("I've watched all her mistakes, and I love her new music") and Ella Fitzgerald ("She's the reason I started singing").

THE INEVITABLE COMPARISONS: "To me, my music just sounds like me," Dido shrugs, but names like Sinéad O'Connor and Sarah McLachlan keep cropping up. "I actually saw both of them perform on the same night recently. Sarah was amazing, and Sinéad's voice is completely out of this world."

ADDICTIVE HABITS: "I buy so many CDs, it's frightening. I just bought Eminem's album [THE SLIM SHADY LP], which I quite like. He makes me laugh. I also got some old Joni Mitchell stuff, because I hadn't really heard her before, and she has a lovely voice. What else? Oh, and I bought Neil Young's AFTER THE GOLD RUSH."

ON HER NAME: "My whole reason for being is so my name would rhyme with Rollo's," concludes the 28-year-old. We beg to differ. --Rebecca Wallwork