Not every Junior Infants class has Beatles songs played as part of its curriculum. In Naimee Coleman's case, it was a forward-thinking teacher at her Primary School in Dublin who gave her a grounding in the merits of pop music as a possible career option. Or at least Naimee thinks it was. She was only five years old at the time, so she can't fully remember the exact details. Curiously, memories play a large part in the development of the 23-year old  singer/songwriter. A lover of astrology and chocolate (the former through "hippy parents and their wacky friends"; the latter through an incurable sweet tooth). Naimee Coleman's parents separated when she was 15. "It made me look at love in a less idealistic way," she says, implying that the break-up shattered any illusions of parental perfection and infallibility. In her last year at school, Naimee was a backing singer in a band called The Wilde Oscars, and it was at this stage that she was offered a solo record deal with EMI. Incredibly, she turned them down. It was, reflects Naimee, "the most barmy thing I have ever done in my life." The day she finished her Leaving Certificate, she left home for a short-lived life of busking and touring. She quickly realised, however, that she wanted to be a solo artist, so she contacted EMI and begged for her record deal back. "Thank God they hadn't found anyone to fill the slot." At the age of 18, Naimee was signed to one of the biggest record labels in the world. But fate has a way of spiking celebrations such as this, for sometime prior to signing the record deal Naimee's father was mugged, resulting in complete amnesia for four years. "He could read and write and speak, but not much else," Naimee says. "He had to learn how to drive again, and I had to re-introduce myself to him as his daughter. He had no idea who I was. He's absolutely fine now, but the experience makes me appreciate memories, good and bad, because you're effectively nothing without them. Through this, I'm very conscious of enjoying the moment." (And, it seems, so is her father, who is now - believe it or believe it not - a model for Assets.) Her debut album Silver Wrists was released in 1997, and started an international workload that took in all of the major cities of Japan (where her music went Top 5 in most radio airplay charts), and visits to Continental Europe. The success of the album elicited invitations for Naimee to perform with the likes of Donal Lunny and Sinead O'Connor, and to co-write with established songwriters in Nashville and in Miles Copeland's castle retreat in the South of France. Other writers involved included Go-Go girl Jane Wiedlin, Paul Brady and former Police drummer and movie soundtrack favourite Stewart Copeland. Some of the results of these songwriter brainstorming sessions can be found on Naimee's follow-up album, Bring Down The Moon, which will be released by EMI in June. A big believer in karma (those hippy parents again!), of being true to yourself and to other people, Naimee's pet hates include cynicism and fretless bass (on her own records, at least). "Cynicism drives me insane," she remarks. "If people were more honest and relaxed within themselves it would be great. I try incredibly hard to treat people the way I would like to be treated." It's been over three years now since the release of Silver Wrists, a period of time when female singer/songwriters have well and truly come to the fore and when the visual image of pop has become even more important. Naimee feels more comfortable with her honest, heartfelt  and true songwriting talents than with any perceived image of her as yet another attractive female pop star. (Which she undoubtedly is, by the way.) "I've grown up a lot since the release of the first album. I hope I'm a little bit wiser. I still have the exact same goals, and I still love and enjoy music as much as I've always done." So can we thank the Junior Infants teacher who played Beatles songs to impressionable five year olds? Yes, we can. But we can also thank the music teachers of her teenage years who doubted her abilities and with whom Naimee had a few run-ins. "One teacher said I'd never get anywhere with all this pop stuff," she smiles. Like her infamous tooth, however, it's a sweet one. Following the UK and Irish Top 5 success of her collaboration with Aurora on their version of "Ordinary World", fans eagerly await the release of her own new album in June and her first single from the album My Star.