Imagine that

WHILE Sky’s talent show Must Be The Music, which began last summer, didn’t arrive with the same fanfare as its ITV1 rival, The X Factor, the idea looked good about taking unsigned artists and pitching them against each other in a “battle of the bands” style contest.

Sharleen Spiteri of Texas, Jamie Cullum and Dizzee Rascal made up a strong judging panel.

Emma Gillespie, a 27-year-old Scottish busker who performs as Emma’s Imagination, stood out as a potential series winner from her first appearance, captivating the studio audience and judging panel with her winsome, folkie songs.

The Edinburgh-born singer eventually went on to win, and picked up a £100,000 prize as well as signing to Polydor and Gary Barlow’s label Future Music.

‘‘I’m very comfortable at the moment,’’ she says having gone for a tentative three-date tour of Scotland and London last month. ‘‘These live shows have been fantastic, and it’s what I’ve wanted to do for ages.

‘‘Now I’m actually doing what I’ve dreamed of, though, it does feel really different. Really, really different.’’ In truth, Gillespie’s dream is a relatively new one; it was only in the last three years or so she thought she could make it as a singer. Before that, she worked in a variety of odd jobs, including teaching at a circus school, and even spending two years as a plasterer.

‘‘My dad was in the army, so we moved around a lot when I was growing up, then when I left school, I travelled all over. I’d always written songs, but just for me, in my bedroom and never thought I’d do anything with them. It was just a way of expressing myself.

Then some friends heard me and thought I should play some open mic nights and little gigs.’’ When she was 25, while on holiday in New York, Gillespie had something of an epiphany and decided nothing other than writing and performing was going to make her happy.

‘‘I came back and really got stuck in. I wanted to move to Glasgow, play gigs, write songs, busk during the day, build up a fanbase locally, and see what happened after that.’’ Soon after, the opportunity of the show came up, and while initially reticent (‘‘I was worried it was going to be tacky or that I’d come over in the wrong light’’) Gillespie decided to enter: ‘‘The judges gave me so much advice, mainly not to be messed around by anyone and that they’re all there if I need them.

‘‘I was very lucky with the show because they put me in touch with great managers and lawyers.

There was a lot of aftercare, it wasn’t like I was on the show, then they dropped me.’’ The steepest learning curve for Gillespie so far has been the attention of the media, and while she’s not hounded, she says she has to bite her tongue in interviews.

In fact, it’s not until we discuss the topic of being stitched up by journalists that she begins to open up and talk more freely. ‘‘People are always digging for dirt. I think I’ve done enough stuff in my life, interesting things, that I can talk about without having to go into my bra size and past. We could also talk about music, too.’’ Her debut album Stand Still is released this week.

Recorded in Kensal Town Studios in North London over ‘‘four weeks or so’’ she’s naturally rather proud of the results.

‘‘It was done so we had enough time for it not to be a rush, but brisk enough so we couldn’t overthink anything. I had a lot of the arrangements in my head, and of course all the songs were written, so it was mainly about fleshing out the skeletons.

‘‘It’s not a pop album as such, but it’s not folk, I think it fits perfectly in the middle. There’s a thread that runs through the album that I think people will really like, and the songs are diverse too, without sounding like they don’t belong together.

‘‘I aspire to be someone like Feist. Her music is fantastic and she’s so classy – never in the magazines for the wrong reasons. Everything with her is so subtle.

‘‘I don’t want to be out-and-out pop, but then I don’t want to be so obscure that no one knows who I am. I’m trying to find the balance.’’ ■ Emma’s Imagination releases her new single This Day and debut album Stand Still this week