Sandi Thom

It was during the cold, short days at the start of 2006 that Sandi Thom had her Eureka! moment. Instead of driving to gigs up and down the country with her band in her clapped-out car, as she had done for years, the singer from Scotland resolved to try a different approach. She bought a webcam, and announced a run of 21 shows to be performed on consecutive nights during February and March in the basement of her flat in Tooting, South London. The audience capacity in the flat itself was limited to just six people. But the half-hour shows were to be broadcast, free of charge, via her website at www.sandithom.com.

The first night, 70 people tuned in to watch. The next night it went up to 670. And by the middle of the second week she was performing to an audience of 70,000. By then, the suits from every major record label had visited the flat to see the show for themselves. What they heard was a singer with a sensational voice - strong and expressive enough to fill the largest theatres, but also warm and soulful enough to win over hearts and minds in the most intimate of settings. All the record companies put in offers, and a fortnight after finishing her virtual tour Thom signed a recording contract with RCA Records in the UK, live in front of her webcam audience.

Now you, too can experience Sandi Thom. Her record will be released in the United States on Columbia Records this September. And she'll be touring throughout the fall, charming captivating music lovers around the country with the live performances for which she has now become so well known.