To understand the phenomenon that is Jennifer Ellison, you would need to take it right back to her childhood, when 17 years ago the pretty young toddler perched upon the counter of a Liverpool chip shop and declared her future plans for world domination. "Hello!" she bellowed, "My name's Jennifer Ellison and one day I'm going to be famous!" She was 2 years old at the time. Funnily enough, she was right.

As fate would have it, her future agent was stood in the queue. She has been with her ever since. Jennifer throughout her childhood was a dedicated student to the arts and performed in various productions and sang in various concerts. She became a classically trained ballet dancer, which later in her teens secured her a place in the English National Ballet -which she had to put on hold - because by then, her career had catapulted her into a different direction - television.

Jennifer first wrote to the producers of Brookside when she was 9, asking if her home team's soap treasure would like to see her, maybe to audition her for any parts they had coming up. Her mum still keeps the polite rejection letter framed on the living room wall. She knew too that it was only a matter of time before Jennifer would be clasped to the nation's bosom. Since, at age fourteen, she took the starring role of Emily Shadwick in the same said soap and subsequently dominated the Brookside skyline with her own inimitable charm. Emily's loves, losses, heartbreaks and mischiefs with her erstwhile paramour, Tinhead captivated the nation from the moment she entered. Her first contract lasted precisely six episodes. But she stayed in the show for five years, just enough time to secure her a full time post as Merseyside's official sweetheart. However, she had decided that she wanted to go back to her first loves - singing and dancing.

Which is where we meet her now in her new record company, surrounded by a heap of fan mail. The Mersey TV press office used to have two piles in their in-tray: Brookside fan mail and Jennifer Ellison fan mail.

"I came out of the womb born to sing and dance. I know people are always going to talk about someone who goes from a soap into music, but I have to follow my heart. [Brookside's] Phil Redmond told me not to do it. He said you never know how long you'll get with a pop career but It's just something I have to try."

Jennifer's single is a minxy cover of Transvision Vamp's 1989 pop rock classic 'Baby I Don't Care'. "I know that people will probably criticise me for doing a cover but it's one of my favourite songs and I've just found the whole process an amazing experience. It's like I have settled into a whole new vibe and because all the people around me are very supportive, it hasn't been like a heavy pressure to me. I think I have been relaxed with what I am doing."

She is already halfway through her debut album, scheduled for release later this year. "I started singing when I was 3 and I've been dancing for just as long. When I quit Brookside last September I didn't have a record contract. I just had a dream. This isn't a game for me. It's something that I know I can do and make a success out of."

Jennifer's career to date has showed but a tiny glimpse of her capabilities. No one can deny her talent. She can act. She can dance. She looks great and oozes a unique star quality, which is probably why she is so sought after by the paparazzi. However, most importantly, as she enters the pop arena - she can sing. Her vocal is as dazzling and as dynamic as the album she is making. Brain Rawling has been enlisted to work with her and his credits include Enrique Englesis, Cher and Celine Dion amongst others. Showcasing the diversity of her vocal range, she takes centre stage. Audiences will be wowed by the energy Jennifer gives off with each live performance. And with the young Ms Ellison genuinely excited about her forthcoming release, this really will be one not to miss. Six years into the game and only at the tender age of only 19 she is still only at the start of her true fame. Watch this space.