I ONCE knew girl who brazenly stated she could have been anything she wanted to if she'd made the effort - including being a famous singer.

To give the girl her due, she did sing in a Euro-beat type band, briefly, but left after a month or so, and the band went on to have a top ten hit in Germany - apparently.

I thought about her the other day, and all the things I could have said to her sweeping statement - but didn't - while listening to the lyrics of Beverley Knight's Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda, on Radio 1.

The soul diva's lyrics summed it up nicely. Only fools come out with such a statement.

They're for people who can no longer change their destiny.

That completely discounts the Wolverhampton-born singer, who's riding on the crest of a wave.

She has recently confirmed a December show at her hometown's Civic Hall after playing out to a sold-out Wulfrun Hall - including her family and even her old school music teacher - only a month ago.

The same electric atmosphere will be on the cards when she plays the Civic Hall on Thursday, December 12.

The gig's just one of the tour dates which will take the 27-year-old to Bristol, London and Glasgow, among other venues.

The tour, which will be preceded by a new single in the autumn, comes hot on the heels of her sell-out Who I Am tour, earlier this year, and numerous summer festival dates - including her Glastonbury set, which was hailed as one of the highlights of the weekend.

The tour promises more of the turbo-charged, soul-drenched performances that have already led to widespread acclaim.

Who I Am, the soul star's second Parlophone album, shot straight into the album chart at seven and was certified gold in under a month.

Beverley says she has been through a lot of changes in the past two-and-half years and the living-and-learning process she has undergone during that time can be heard on the album.

"I've found out lots about the industry I work in but also, and more importantly, about me, myself-and-I," she says.

"Perhaps most significant in all of this was the fact that, during it all, I came out of a long-term relationship. That was a big old thing for me, believe me."

As the title suggests, Who I Am is a collection which deals primarily with the question of identity.

Beverley talks of the album as a journey with a projected, happy ending.

"I'm pleased to say that I've come out on the other side with my soul intact, with a clear sense of exactly who Beverley is, and with the smile still on my face," she says.

The university graduate-turned-home-grown R&B heroine turns more readily to artists like Annie Lennox, as well as greats such as Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan, when looking for female role models.

She has always insisted on playing live whenever, and wherever possible, and she says that's how the women who inspired her did it.

"They didn't just sing and dance to backing tracks in a club," she says. "They were out there fronting a real band, holding a show together and working on captivating their audience. And that's how I intend to do it too."

Tickets for the Wolverhampton gig are £16, available from Midland box office on 01902 552121.

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