We had the pleasure of interviewing Katie Melua in 2005. She has continued to release compelling albums, most recently 2016's "In Winter."

Counting the Queen of England among her listeners didn't faze Katie Melua. After all, the silky songstress had leapt from college courses to the lofty perch of pop/jazz queen. She has earned the title of top-selling female artist in the U.K. for the past two years, drawn favorable comparisons to Norah Jones and sold over six million albums worldwide.

Melua's 2004 debut "Call Off The Search," on a little indie label became a smash across Europe. The follow-up, "Piece By Piece," entered the U.K. album charts at #1, pushing past Mariah Carey, Madonna and Kelly Clarkson.

"It was weird," says Melua of making the second album. "I had no idea the first one was going to be as big as it became. For 'Piece by Piece,' there was this pressure, because of that success. I was conscious of trying to fight against that pressure and trying not to just emulate the first album. I didn't want to go off in a completely different tangent and make like a rock album or anything like that. I just wanted to make a record that expressed the development of me, both as a person and as a musician."

In the studio, Melua (pronounced Mellow-Ah) and her producer Mike Batt tried out all sorts of musical ideas, finding what worked and what didn't. They came up with a winning collection of pop, blues and jazz that showcased her distinctive voice, an alluring, powerful blend of girlish and sultry. Featured are Batt originals, such as the hit single "Nine Million Bicycles" and several Melua compositions, including the riveting title track.

Now 21, Melua says she continues to grow as a songwriter. "Every time you write a song, you learn something new, not only about yourself, but also about your writing. I was able to be more confident with it. The first album, I really approached as a vocalist, as an experiment. I did enjoy the two I wrote for the first one, so it was something I wanted to do a bit more."

The album also includes some outstanding, diverse covers -- Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's classic "Blues in the Night," Canned Heat's "On The Road Again" and the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" (her rendition was featured in the Reese Witherspoon movie of that name).

Melua deftly walks the line between honoring the earlier versions and carving out her own musical territory. "That's the hardest balance to get, when you interpret someone else's song. I enjoy that challenge. To me, that's almost harder than writing and singing your own songs, because you can't get your own song wrong. But you can get it so wrong when you cover someone else's song. So it's not an easy thing. But once I find the right song, once it moves me, then it takes its own natural shape. That's one of those magical, accidental things that happens when you're recording or jamming with the band. Something leads to something else and you come up with a good version of the song.

"I enjoy singing someone else's song, because it teaches me a lot about songwriting itself. Also, it takes my performance, my singing, somewhere where my own song might not have."

She enjoys walking the line between classic pop and contemporary material. "I've grown up with pop music, the music of my generation. Then the more classical side of things, the artists from the 60s, 50s and 40s, I discovered later on and fell in love with. I do feel comfortable in both genres. I just like songs. If a song is good, it doesn't matter whether it's pop, blues or R&B. If it makes me feel something deeply, then I'm able to do it justice."

Traditional-sounding pop/jazz has developed a strong following among young audiences. "It's probably a cycle. Plus you've got things like 'Pop Idol' -- 'American Idol,' you call it over here -- which has really led the mainstream to check out other genres of music."

Now based in London, Melua was born in Georgia, part of the USSR, before her heart surgeon father moved the family to Belfast, Ireland, and then England. This background gave her a bit of the outsider's perspective.

"Experiencing different cultures opens up your eyes. You see the world from different points of view. I learned a lot about being open to all sorts of music. I never strapped myself to one genre. I grew up with Georgian and Irish folk music and then English pop."

Growing up, she dreamed of becoming not a music star, but a politician, bringing peace to the world. "I was very naive at the time. I realized it was very unrealistic for me to want a career in that arena.

"I don't think I would make a good politician, because I don't really have the need for power and also, I'm not very consistent. I believe in changing your point of view as facts change. In music, you can have an impact on people in more subtle ways. You can use lyrics to say what you want and not be scared to say it."

Stardom enhances Melua's ability to be a positive force. She's involved with Save The Children. "It kind of makes the celebrity and fame aspect of it a bit more bearable."

Fame caught her off guard. "Even though I was surprised, I was also very pleased by it. Such an amazing achievement. But it was hard, especially because I was left wondering, 'What did I do? How did it happen?' People ask me and I have to go, 'I have no clue.' It was a bit hard to deal with, to start off with, but then you get used to it. You have to."

Meeting the Queen was a great honor, but it was interacting with rock royalty that really dazzled Melua. "One of the most surreal moments was meeting Paul McCartney and him complimenting me on a song I'd written."

Another such moment came when Melua performed with the band Queen, at a benefit concert for Nelson Mandela's AIDS foundation. That band had been one of her primary inspirations growing up, listening to her uncle's record collection. "That was definitely the highlight of my career."

So far, Melua, a household name in the U.K., hasn't reached equal recognition in North America. Her current tour could help remedy that situation.

"People do discover things slowly. Even in the U.K., it seemed to me like it took time. It was a word-of-mouth thing. At the start it was very hard to get any radio play or media attention. We struggled a lot. I haven't forgotten that. And this country is five times bigger, so it's going to be even harder. You just have to come over, meet people and introduce them to your music. Hopefully, if they like it, they'll tell their friends and it'll become successful.

"I know that success in Europe doesn't guarantee success over here. But I'm willing to give it a go and see what happens."