Scottish singer Macdonald unveils "Curious Thing"

LONDON (Billboard) - She has the model looks and the soccer player boyfriend, but Amy Macdonald isn't your typical British pop starlet.

Despite an absence of hype and her failure to be pictured in the tabloid press falling out of nightclubs, the Scottish singer-songwriter's 2007 debut album, "This Is the Life" (Vertigo/Mercury), was a slow-burn success that has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, according to Universal. The album hit No. 1 in Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Switzerland (where it's certified five-times-platinum for shipments of 150,000) and entered the top 10 in 10 other European markets.

The long-awaited follow-up, "A Curious Thing," arrives worldwide outside North America March 8 on Mercury, with a U.S. release scheduled for later in the year. It features a darker, more sophisticated take on Macdonald's radio-friendly, folk-rock sound, alongside a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark."

Billboard: Have you tried to analyze why your first album was so successful?

Amy Macdonald: I broke through purely because of the radio ... It's been more natural, like things seemed to happen before we had the Internet. Now you have all these lists that come out at the end of the year, saying who's going to be big next year, and that's unnecessary. It's hard enough waiting to release your first album, never mind when you've got everyone looking at you before you even release one song. Was I on any of those lists? (Laughs.) No, never!

Billboard: You're the biggest thing in Switzerland since the cuckoo clock -- what do they see in you over there?

Macdonald: (Laughs) I couldn't tell you! All I do is write really simple songs about everyday things that people can relate to no matter where they are in the world. There are no gimmicks. I've never been interested in being famous. I just wanted to be onstage, playing my music, and I've been able to do that without the horrible side to it.

Billboard: A couple of tracks on the new record -- "An Ordinary Life" and "This Pretty Face" -- seem pretty scathing about the celebrity lifestyle and its obsession with image.

Macdonald: The whole celebrity thing is really interesting, and that's why we have a million magazines dedicated to gossiping about celebrities. But as a musician, I would like people to talk about me because of my music. When I hear a song on the radio, I think, "Wow, that's a great song." I don't even think about what they look like.

Billboard: Did you feel any pressure following up such a successful debut?

Macdonald: I was a bit paranoid about it. I'm not the kind of person who can just sit there and write songs -- I have to feel inspired. But it came to the point where I had written a few things, so we went to my manager/producer (Pete Wilkinson's) house and recorded some demos. It took a few days, and then he was like, "Ten songs. Well, that's an album." I don't even think we realized we were recording a second album.

Billboard: Paul Weller plays guitar on "Love, Love" and bass on "This Pretty Face." How did that come about?

Macdonald: We worked on the album in his studio (Black Barn Studios in Surrey, England). I only did a few days, but Pete spent a couple of months there. Weller went down one day, Pete asked him if he wanted to play something, and he said, "Yeah, I'd love to." I wasn't really there for it, so I don't think you could call it a collaboration. But I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future.

Billboard: America was one place where the first album didn't really take off. (It has sold 45,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.) Will you be giving it another try there?

Macdonald: Some people think of America as the be-all and end-all, but you can still have a really successful career in other places. I played a few shows there, but the way I looked at it was, "Europe is really hot for this thing now and we should take advantage of that." But this time around I want to properly give (America) a go.