Young, Free And Hit Single

IT WAS one of the catchiest, infectiously jolly but downright annoying summer singles of all time, and to this day, Donna Lewis remains agog that it scaled such lofty heights in the American Billboard Charts. The song in question? No, not her own summer smash, 'I Love You Always Forever', but 'La Macarena', the grim but compelling smirkathon which ensured that her own synthesiser-driven pop confection remained at no.2 on the Billboard grid for over two months before sliding inexorably back from whence it came: nowhere.

"I know . . . of all the songs. It was a bit disturbing," she laughs stoically. "The funny thing is that last year - and this is the truth - I heard somebody somewhere in England covering my song with the 'Macarena' music running underneath. That was ironic. It sent a chill down my spine (laughs)."

Are we to understand, then, that Donna is able to do La Macarena?

"(Laughs) Sadly, no, I never quite got the hang of it."

Of course, the international success of 'I Love You . . .' ensured that the Cardiff-born songstress' debut opus Now In A Minute attained a decidedly platinum hue, and now she's back with her second offering, Blue Planet, which is marked by a heavenly pop sound comprised of rich keyboard textures, atmospheric guitarscapes, insidiously catchy rhythms and breathy soft 'n' gentle vocalising. It was self-produced and recorded in her adopted home of Howth, and Donna claims that as difficult second albums go, it was in fact, rather a doddle.

"You see, I couldn't wait to do the next record because I had so many ideas," she explains in a prim and proper accent that makes her compatriots Gruff Super Furry Animal and Cerys Catatonia sound like seasoned veterans of the pit. "I was writing really well and the recording of the album was going great and I was very excited. However, I wanted it to be that bit better so I could just prove to myself that I'm not a one hit wonder, because that's a horrible tag to have. I don't want to be known as the girl who sang 'that song' and nothing else. As a writer I feel like I've got a whole lot to offer and I want people to be able to see that this time around. I never sat down and thought to myself that I was obliged to write another smash hit like 'I Love You'."

Was Donna surprised by the universal fervour with which Now In A Minute was snapped up?

"Yeah, I mean you always hope that your first album will do well, but I never thought that it would go crazy like it did… in the charts for weeks and weeks, especially in America, which is such a big market. Then seeing it translate all over the world it was like, 'Why is that? What is it about that song?'."

Did she arrive at any concrete conclusions?

"Quite a few, actually," she avers. "I think it was a mixture: timing, because earlier the charts were all full of angry alternative music and then out comes this sweet little song; it was in May, it was summery, it had that very summertime of sound; the rhythmic element of the track ensured that it sounded great on radio; it was being sung by this unknown person; the hook was very catchy… I could go on and on and on but I think it was so descriptive and had all these elements of summer in it that it became a breath of fresh air at the time."

The same fresh air, no doubt, that enticed Donna to Dublin?

"Well, the reason I came to Dublin is because I wanted to be near my Celtic roots and I really like to be with positive, upbeat people. Compared to certain parts of England, people here seem to be quite happy. One of the main things as well is that I really wanted to make the record in a home environment. I wanted to be somewhere that's beautiful and I found this place in Howth that had this incredible landscape. It was very inspiring and seemed like a nice place to settle. I felt much better in myself and I became more creative."

So it wasn't for tax reasons, then?

"Oh well, that too!" n

• Blue Planet is out now on Warner Music.