A whole Lott of talent; Pixie Lott is taking fame in her teenage stride, finds Gavin Allen.

Byline: Gavin Allen 

PIXIE LOTT, left, is the very latest muse for the London paparazzi and the 18-year-old singer doesn't mind the flashbulbs - as long as she's expecting them.

A fortnight ago Lott sailed into the No.1 slot with her debut single, Mama Do, and in doing so became the first female artist to land the top spot at the first attempt without going down The X Factor route.

It made her an instant celebrity and she has since been "papped" all over the place, some of which is welcome and some of which isn't.

A newspaper website recently published some fairly cruel photographs drawing attention to the acne on her teenage chin but she was most shocked to find a pack of paparazzi outside her hairdresser's recently.

"The trouble is they know where I live now and sometimes they are waiting outside the house," she says, not so much complaining as acknowledging she has to acclimatise to the way of things in celeb-land.

"The other morning I was going for a facial so I left the house with real bed head, virtually in my pyjamas, and when I got to the salon they were there waiting for me.

"I don't mind it when I'm ready and I've showered - but not in the morning when I've just woken up."

It's a mark of Lott's youth that she still lives at home with her parents in Essex although that arrangement might not last much longer.

"My mum wants to keep me at home as long as she possibly can and I want to get a flat in London as soon as I possibly can," she giggles.

But Mrs Lott need not worry because her daughter, whose real name is Victoria, says she isn't in danger of succumbing to the Amy Winehouse school of wild abandon.

"I'm not going to get involved in all of that, I'm not like that," sighs Pixie, whose album Turn It Up is due out in September.

Lott has been groomed for stardom for the last four years. She comes from a stage musical background but always had her heart set on pop and was signed to a major management company at the age of 14, after they were impressed by her powerful natural soul voice and songwriting talent.

Up until recently they had been holding her back, waiting for the right moment to launch her career, which she admits was something of a frustration to her.

"At the time I was like, 'I want to release something now' but that's just because I'm a teenager," she says.

"I'm glad we waited now because I am a little bit more experienced and the material is much stronger, but I still can't believe that Mama Do made it to No.1. "On the Sunday morning it did I was on the computer at my mum and dad's house when the guy from the record company rang me.

"He was really solemn and talked about everything else but the single so I said 'just spit it out' and he said 'sorry Pix', and my heart sank, 'but you've got a No.1'.

"I was jumping up and down and screaming and running around the house.

"What's weirdest now is that I watch music channels all the time and it always says 'Up next... Mariah Carey' or someone else famous, and the first time I saw 'Up next ... Pixie Lott' - that was weird."

Perhaps she'd better get used to it. Pixie Lott supports The Saturdays at Cardiff International Arena on Friday. Tickets cost pounds 20 from 029 2022 4488