Zoe Birkett hopes for Idol success

Birkett auditioned for S Club 7

By Michael Hubbard BBC News Online

Pop Idol made stars of Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius - and now the highest placed girl from the talent show is unleashed upon planet pop.

Fourth-placed Zoe Birkett, 17, has released her debut single Treat Me Like A Lady and her hopes for success are high.

If you go straight in at number one, where have you got to go? Down

Zoe Birkett

Her manager is the successful music svengali Simon Fuller, the man responsible for Will, Gareth, S Club 7 and The Spice Girls.

She is not fazed by accusations of packaged pop.

"People will buy what they want to listen to," she said.

"But people don't get to see the hard work that goes on.

"I've been dancing and singing for years. I've been at stage school since I was three years old."

Before Pop Idol swept her off her feet, Zoe was at the Stagecoach school and the National Youth Theatre.

'Musician'

"People just see you on a TV show trying to get a record deal, and they just think you're an overnight star. But I've been trying for years," she said.

Will Young has become a huge star

"I auditioned to get into S Club 7 and got to the last 12. I used (Pop Idol) to get my record deal, and I got it. Now it's my chance to prove I'm a musician."

People who saw Zoe on the Pop Idol tour made her feel special, she said.

The tour's first gig, in front of 18,000 people, was a highlight for her.

Monster hit

"I just felt the biggest buzz of my life - people screaming at you, wanting to touch you, singing along."

Despite the success of the two tours Zoe's been on, she doesn't expect her first single to be a monster hit.

"I'm a builder. I'd love the single to go top 10, then I'd get back into the studio, and the next one'd go higher."

Unfortunately, her first single managed only number 12 in the charts.

And she's not convinced of the importance of being at the top of the chart in any case.

"If you go straight in at number one, where have you got to go? Down."