The tunes are all present and correct, of course, but it's the voice that hits you round the head  like a Tom & Jerry frying pan: this potent, rich and addictive voice with the depth and maturity of a soul diva combined with the vim and dexterity of a teenage pop princess, all somehow, almost impossibly, coming from the mouth of a singer so perfectly packaged that people call her Pixie.

When you hear this talented new singer's tunes that doesn't seem like such a tall order and this stylish singer's enthusiasm - buoyed by this catalogue of future hits - is certainly contagious. With a style that turns heads, a voice that raises eyebrows, a dancing ability that wows and a songwriting flair that sets toes tapping, Pixie has certainly spent the last year since signing to Mercury Records bringing out the best in everyone she's worked with. Her personality, her rich vocals and her strangely magnetic persona are all over first single 'Mama Do', an archetypal teenage tale of sneaking out on dates under the cover of night, written with renowned songwriter Phil Thornalley and Mads Hague.
Pixie's tracks fizz with excitement and represent a good 18 months spent working around the world with the cream of pop's top tunesmiths.

Pixie is an 18-year-old singer who, refreshingly, sings as an 18-year-old. Hers is a fresh, expressive, fun and free attitude with a vocal style to match.  If you've been keeping up with Pixie's lively and occasionally rather deranged YouTube video diaries you might have a fair idea of how the last couple of years have panned out, packed with songwriting sessions, nights out and gatecrashed parties. When she was 14, Pixie found herself flicking through The Stage and spotted a classified ad that would set everything in motion before long this particular ad had taken Pixie to New York, to begin writing and recording demos. From that point in, things began to snowball. "I remember I was at school," Pixie recalls, "and I got a message through telling me that LA Reid was flying over to meet me the next day in a hotel room. I didn't even know who he was and I'd never done any meetings."

Like many modern music fans, Pixie takes a fond, post-Woolies pick 'n' mix approach to her listening. She admires the style of Gwen Stefani and Rihanna, for example, and she's fascinated by the songwriting craft of Alicia Keys. Then she'll be rocking out to The Strokes and The Kooks. On stage she loves Mariah for the vocals and Britney for the moves and showmanship; off stage she admires Lauryn Hill's independent spirit and Christina Aguilera's commitment to quality. Then to the older school the big voice and dance pop of Whitney Houston to Evelyn Champagne King as a favourite. Representing the boys is Stevie Wonder, with his catalogue of songs still performed and loved around the world decades after they were written.

We're at an odd point in pop where the success of an artist seems somehow to be measured in their product endorsements, their ranges of perfume or their appearances on reality TV shows. Pixie Lott's ambitions are reassuringly traditional. She'll know she's succeeded, she says, "when I've sold CDs, when I look out and there's a massive crowd." Simple aims, then, and it's no coincidence that her music, too, takes us back to a slightly more carefree time in pop, where all that mattered were big tunes, big ideas, and brilliant singers. "There's a little place for me," Pixie says, hands crossed politely on the table. "I can't wait to really get out there..."