Life is sweet for Jamelia Davis. She is hot property on the summer festival circuit and all set to take Swindon by storm this weekend.

Her single See it in a Boy's Eyes, released last month, has been a huge success, so she's rushed off her feet with celebrity interviews and photo shoots.

The only drawback to being so busy is it makes the 23-year-old indulge her sweet tooth. She said: "I only eat sweets when I'm tired, and I left home in Birmingham at seven this morning."

But the odd Mars bar in between her hectic schedule isn't doing her figure any harm. Billed as Britain's answer to Beyonc, Jamelia was brought up Handsworth, London.

Her cousins sent a tape of her voice to a talent spotter at a major record company. At the age of 15 she was signed up by Parlophone and her debut single Money reached number five. The video also won a Mobo Award.

Last year she was hand-picked to support Justin Timberlake on his UK tour. And Coldplay's front man Chris Martin wrote her latest single See It In A Boy's Eyes, her fourth top 40 hit, so she's certainly making the right friends in the music industry.

But Jamelia's journey to stardom hasn't all been plain sailing. Listen to the lyrics of her song Thank You and you'll see her success is hard won. Three years ago she found herself pregnant in the worst possible circumstances.

Jamelia claims she was being physically and mentally abused by her then boyfriend Terry (an allegation which he says has been greatly exaggerated). To recover from what Jamelia describes as "the scariest period of my life," she took a break from the music and devoted her time to bringing up her baby daughter Teja.

Although she continued writing songs at home, she feared her career was over. Such worries proved unfounded when her comeback album Superstar, released last autumn, reached number three in the charts and earned her two Brit nominations.

Jamelia was herself raised by a single mother, Paulette, who brought her up with a huge extended family with numerous step and half siblings.

She said: "They're simply my brothers and sisters and I love them all.

"I had the most fantastic childhood and my mother has been my biggest influence. She has shown me that anything is possible, no matter what."

At 21, Jamelia bought a house near Wolverhampton, where she lives with Teja and Paulette, a 40-year-old former community education officer who gave up her job to look after her granddaughter.

Besides performing, Jamelia has also become a campaigner for the children's charity NCH, giving talks about personal safety, standing up to bullies and achieving self-respect.

She said: "I would rather be a role model than a celebrity, falling out of bars."

Jamelia is also trying to make sure Teja doesn't miss out on a relationship with her father.

Putting the past behind her, she added: "Teja adores her father and as far as I'm concerned my daughter's happiness is paramount.

"Now he has got a daughter, he will be a lot more sensitive towards females."

Since Terry, there has been no new boyfriend on the scene. But she's not ruling romance or another baby out in the future.

She said: "I would definitely like another child, but I would have to be in a stable relationship."