LOOK out, world, Australian singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko is not content to promote music in her home country.
Instead, Sydney-born Blasko, who plays her first Singapore show here next Monday, has plans for world domination.
Blasko, 34, who has won two Australian Recording Industry Association (Aria) awards - one for Best Female Artist last year - is so intent on her game plan that she uprooted herself last year, moving to Britain.
Speaking to my paper over the phone from Cairns, Australia, last month, where she was touring, Blasko said of Australia:
"Population-wise, we are very small and when you've been playing music here for awhile you can get comfortable."
She added: "I didn't want to feel that any more, I wanted to have a challenge, do something new and different."
She is sure taking herself out of her comfort zone.
Blasko, signed to Australian indie label Dew Process, is now based in Brighton, and will use that as a base from which she will promote her album throughout Europe. She has been gigging in London, most recently appearing at Rough Trade's West London record store in early September. She has also travelled to New York to record.
Perhaps Blasko is no stranger to reinvention. After all, she first started singing in church with her mother. She then fronted Sydney band Acquiesce in 1998 but it disbanded three years later.
The gutsy singer then launched her solo career in 2002, releasing and promoting her debut six-track EP, Prelusive, independently.
On records like What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have (2006), she made her name on her ethereal, haunting vocals and reflective songwriting. That record nabbed her the Best Pop Release award in 2007's Aria awards.
She went on to nab the Best Female Artist award at the Aria awards two years later.
Still, while she feels awards are "a really nice thing to have", she does not believe they signal the pinnacle of her career.
"I don't really think I've gotten to any point yet, I'm still trying to develop what I do," said Blasko humbly.
A self-professed homebody who enjoys reading, watching films and travelling in her free time, she has just started writing music for her fourth album.
Asked about her trip to Singapore, she said: "I heard that it's a pretty amazing city... I'm really looking forward to the food, it's my main interest besides music."
As she will be playing at the intimate Esplanade Recital Studio, Blasko said audiences can expect an acoustic set, with her on piano and guitar.
"It will be stripped back, simple and beautiful, I think," she said.
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