Stefan Kucharczyk meets a Midlands singer who is making waves in Germany

If I were to tell you of a musical artist taking in the bright lights of Paris, Italy and Berlin on a European tour, which A-list celebrities would spring to mind?

Britney Spears? Maybe George Michael? Madonna, perhaps? A name certainly not on the tip of your tongue is that of Amanda Greenwood, a Birmingham singer, who has spent the past 12 months jetting around the Continent on a whirlwind tour of Europe's cultural hotspots.

With her debut album, Running On Steam, just out and a month-long tour of China pencilled in for the new year, pop songstress Amanda Greenwood might just be the biggest international music star you have never heard of.

Prior to meeting Amanda for the first time, I confess, I am a touch nervous. With her website describing her as an "international music singer" accompanied by a selection of rather sultry looking photos, I could be forgiven for expecting a bit of a global playgirl.

However, Amanda is anything but impetuous. Bubbly, modest and with a star-struck expression worn by someone living a million people's dream, she is the first to admit that the last year has been "unbelievable".

Twenty-six, from Rednal in Birmingham, she has performed her breezy pop at festivals and events all over Europe, had releases in Spain, Russia, Italy and Germany, and hobnobbed with the stars (well, she met Madonna in Paris).

Amanda has just returned from last week's MEI Music Awards 2006 in Italy. While she was not there to pick-up a gong herself, Amanda received a special invitation to perform at the ceremony in Faenza by the event's organisers.

"I was over in Italy to promote my album – a lot of music executives attend the awards," she explains. "But I love performing and it was a great opportunity for me."

As well as having the chance to play live, the MEI event was filmed for Italian television and Amanda was also interviewed for several radio stations. The video for her latest single, Out, is currently showing on Italian music television.

Amanda agrees that receiving such high-profile exposure abroad whilst remaining almost unknown in Britain is quite a surreal experience.

"It is quite strange for me," she confesses. "I don't play here as often as I would like but over the last 12 months I have been very busy touring abroad."

"My biggest fan base is probably in Germany," Amanda explains. "There is a big music scene over there and the German audiences love British artists. I have played over there a lot."

Clearly the high point of her career was her appearance at the Leipzig Open Air Festival in Germany in the summer of 2005, when she performed at the outdoor event, in the heart of the city to a crowd of 25,000.

Despite the overwhelming occasion, her appearance at the event was quite by chance.

"I was in Germany to play at a showcase event at the British Embassy in Berlin," says Amanda. "It went really well and I was invited to come to the gig in Leipzig a few days later. When I got there, I still wasn't expecting to play."

The organisers had different ideas and she was added to the bill to appear alongside fellow Birmingham musician, Norma Lewis. "When I stepped out onto the stage it was awesome. The atmosphere was electric and I just stopped for a moment and thought 'wow'. I was really so excited – I had never seen a crowd so big."

Growing up in the decidedly less-glamorous milieu of Walsall, Amanda – also an accomplished actress – has not enjoyed the benefit of years of coaching and training.

Instead, her journey to the big stage has relied on her own determination.

"From a very young age, I knew that I wanted a long career in music," she says. "I have been singing from such a young age, right from when I was at school. I have never lost sight of what I wanted to achieve – it has been my focus. But I didn't just want to be someone who appeared for 15 minutes and then disappeared forever."

Amanda is certain that a successful life in music relies as much upon the willingness to explore new markets and audiences, as it does raw talent.

"There is a big market abroad for British music," she said. "Most people in England don't realise it is out there, but the music scene is no longer a local one – playing to audiences abroad is a vital way of making a name for yourself."

Although her European tour is finished for this year, Amanda is not expecting to have a quiet Christmas.

She is currently rehearsing for her lead role in the musical pantomime Snegurochka – the Snow Girl – which starts on 19 December at Birmingham's Library Theatre.

In the new year, Amanda will be jetting off to the south of France to the prestigious Miden music conference, attended by music promoters and record executives from around the world, before her tour of China.

"I never get a break," she laughs. "It is always this busy. When I am not rehearsing, there is always something else that I am involved in. But I love it all. I am very lucky – music is my life."