Katie Melua

With a voice that can melt butter faster than a freshly grilled waffle — and, like a hot waffle doused in sweet stuff, it's the perfect antidote for a rainy afternoon — Katie Melua won over hearts as she conquered the charts. She signed her first recording contract, age 18, after she was heard performing a song she had written about the death of her idol, Eva Cassidy — the two artists would ultimately "meet" on record, in 2007, when Melua added her own vocals to Cassidy's recording of "What a Wonderful World".

From jazz standard to indie classic, Melua's songbook is an eclectic marvel . . . in Next Steps.

Melua's pop has always had a jazzy edge, and every now and again she likes to indulge the side of her that's best suited to smoky basements and tinkling cocktail glasses — dim the lights for "Somewhere In the Same Hotel" and "Mockingbird Song" (recorded live in Berlin, specially for iTunes). Other times, she puts her own spin on a rock classic, whether its Canned Heat's "On The Road Again" or a beautifully languid version of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven."

Born in Soviet-era Georgia, partly raised in Northern Ireland and now based in London, lovely Katie Melua was guided into the spotlight by producer Mike Batt (the brains behind those Wombles novelty songs back in the '70s) who spotted her natural talent for blending jazz, blues and pop styles. She brings an irresistible richness to every track she sings, whether she's performing her own material, covering the likes of Robert Palmer, the Cure, and the Beatles, or duetting with gruff Shane MacGowan on "Fairytale of New York." This fine collection of Melua material brings you up to speed with her career to date.