2003, Interviewed by Bess Manson

Brooke Fraser is pretty laid-back for a rising pop star.

With a No 1 song on the New Zealand radio charts and a battle between record companies to sign her up, you'd expect some hysteria. But the former Naenae College student is as chilled as her bottle of mineral water with manners that would make her mother proud.

Life for Fraser, 19, daughter of All Black legend Bernie Fraser, is pretty good right now, she admits. But the success of Better, the single from her soon-to-be-released album which also spent four weeks at No 1 in the singles charts, has surprised her.

"I didn't feel like it was a commercial hit. That's why this is so cool - to achieve a radio No 1 where I didn't have to compromise myself or my music.

"I could never have imagined, sitting on my bed and writing this when I was in the seventh form, that this could ever happen."

The song, one of 11 she wrote for her debut album What To Do With Daylight, was written when she was just 17 and tells of her anguish over an abusive relationship. On each of the songs she plays the piano, which she began studying at seven, and guitar.

Fraser has been writing and performing her own music since she was 12, first at school and youth groups graduating later to the Parachute Christian Music Festivals. She is a committed Christian.

However, it's taken a long time to get a collection she was happy with.

"After years and years of writing really crap songs, hopefully eventually you can write some half decent ones."

They must be more than half decent because record companies came knocking on her door. "It was a great position to be in. It was really cool flying up to Auckland to be taken out to dinner."

After much thought she went with Sony Music and moved to Auckland last year.

Though she misses her home town and still can't get to grips with Auckland drivers, the move has made her focus on finishing her album which, she says excitedly, is being mastered in New York. The New Zealand release date is November 3.

The album will be released internationally but Fraser is not getting too excited about that right now.

"We'll see what happens. It's just . . . whatever whatever. I'm just enjoying the ride."

So in a world full of would-be pop stars what does it take to make it in the business?

Fraser looks up thoughtfully. "I think it needs to be something that you were born to do."