SHE'S about to go on tour with Girls Aloud, counts Gary Barlow and Rod Stewart among her growing fanbase and she releases her debut single on Monday – the local girl did good.

Emma Deigman was only five-years-old when she ran down the aisle of the Elgiva Theatre and tried clambering on the stage during a pantomime. She's hardly been out of the spotlight since.

The Great Missenden star appeared on the West End in the musical Annie at the tender age of 10, during which time she was selected to sing live on Top of the Pops with hip-hop mega-star, Jay-Z.

“Seven of us sang on his hit Hard Knock Life and not one of us knew who he was, I was probably more interested in whatever boyband was there – I kick myself now!” she said.

Now 20, the soulful singer-songwriter has been tipped for the top by music industry chiefs and has become a YouTube favourite. Having had the chance to listen to her debut album, I can see why.

Emma said: “My first single, It Was You, basically shows what's going to be on the album.

“It's fun, it's funky and just like the rest of the album, it was recorded with a live band in the studio, which I hope people latch onto because I wanted to take everyone back to the days of live bands and I think you can hear the fun we had in the studio.”

Emma, who can also boast a turn in the Michael Caine film, Last Orders, on her impressive CV, started writing her own songs and recording demos while at boarding school in Berkhampstead.

She said: “I hated boarding school, I used to write songs to keep myself sane and sent off demos to record labels, then one day I got a call from Elliot Kennedy asking me to go up to Sheffield for a meeting.

“He just sat me down and asked me who my favourite artists were and what sort of album I'd like to make, I said a funky soul album with a live band, and he said “me too”and it took off.

“Elliot is incredible, he's produced songs for the Spice Girls, Take That, Celine Dion and I couldn't imagine working with anyone else – but if Rod Stewart or Gary Barlow offered, I'd consider it!

While that statement may sound like pipe-dream for most up and coming stars, Emma's dreams could become reality after Kennedy played her songs to a host of impressed A-listed stars, but her meeting with one famous musician was plain surreal.

“A couple of months ago, my mum won dinner with Rod and Penny at a charity auction and took me along. We sat in this restaurant off Park Lane with them and, for ages, I couldn't say a word.

"My dad is Scottish and he got on really well with Rod - they even swopped phone numbers!

“I gave him a CD of a few of my songs when we left, but I didn't think he'd actually play it. Twenty minutes later he called dad to say he had listened to it three times already, absolutely loved it and would help me crack the States!”

Emma is set to embark on Girls Aloud's nation-wide tour next month, which takes in huge venues in Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Birmingham before three nights at a sold out O2 Arena.

She said: “The girls picked me themselves, which is brilliant and flattering, but quite nerve-wrecking. I'm going to play the O2 – it's a dream come true.

“I meet the girls about a week before the tour, so the nerves are beginning to creep in, but I'm told they're very nice and going on tour with a band as experienced as them can only help me.

But despite her rising status, Emma has kept her feet firmly on the ground.

“I live in London at the moment with my older brother but my family still lives in Great Missenden and I often come home to see them.

“We have a very close-knit family - they've always been very supportive and I love the fact I can get out of the city and have this second life out in the country.”

You can take the star out of Bucks, but you can't take Bucks out of the star.

Emma Deigman's debut single, It Was You, is available from stores and iTunes from Monday.