Her rise has been swift, but Melbourne soul singer ParisWells is determined it won't be short.

Eighteen months ago Paris Wells was a Fairfax employeeworking in the advertising sales department; now she's back in thebuilding for a photo shoot. For someone who was unknown outside acliquey subset of the local music scene until recently, theMelbourne singer is remarkably self-assured. After posing for ourphotographer she's immediately on the phone (presumably to hermanager) to suggest she's the ideal support act for a high-profileinternational pop singer's coming Australian tour.

For someone so new to the game, it's quite startling. Thenagain, Wells' journey has been a rapid one and she's doubtless keento keep the momentum going.

Her song Grace Baby was recently picked up for Myer'stelevision advertising campaign, and last week she was awarded the$10,000 Jessica Michalik Contemporary Music Endowment, an annualgrant given to promising acts by the producers of the Big Day Out(at which Wells performed this year).

Yet Wells, 25, has been working on her singing career since only2004, combining her day job with performing on Friday nights at hipMelbourne bars.

Then, in a turn of events that could have come straight out of aHollywood script, she was offered the support slot on JustinTimberlake's Australian and New Zealand tour. She promptly handedin her resignation to hit the road with one of the biggest names inpop. And no, she didn't (yes, I asked). But she did get along wellwith JT, and "learnt a lot".

With her media marketing degree and comfortable job, Wells,unlike many of her peers, hadn't actively sought a singing careeruntil a minor epiphany five years ago.

"I went to Live Aid in London with a friend of mine who wasfriends with (the band) the Killers," she explains. "I was watchingthem on the big screen singing in front of 400,000, with Sting, U2,Madonna, and I was freaking out. I looked at the Killers, who I'dbeen hanging out with the night before and they were normal people.Yet here they were singing some inspirational stuff. I looked at mybest friend and said, 'I can do this.' "

A couple of months later, a newly motivated Wells met RyanRitchie from local jazz-rap outfit True Live, and he pointed her inthe right direction. "I must have sent the energy out there," Wellssays. "I think you need to say things and really believe it and becommitted."

Wells insists she didn't sing a note until she was 16. Aftermoving form a private girls' school to a local tech, she tried herhand at acting.

"I initially wanted to be a journalist, and do acting, but Iwent into the acting class and in the first two weeks I realised itwasn't for me … so I did music and performance."

But, Wells insists, she wasn't a "strong singer".

"People always told me I had a great tone, but I couldn't singin tune," she says. "But I had a whole lot of attitude. Ryan sentme to a singing teacher, who I'm still with today. Then he and Istarted developing tunes."

Her early gigs at local bars consisted mostly of Paris"toasting" over funk breaks, but before long she had released an EPof her own material, Mum Hasn't Slept Yet, with labelIllusive, and was offered slots on the festival circuit, playingMeredith, Falls and the Sydney festivals.

With her impressive voice and raunchy lyrics ("I'm reallyagainst women singing man-hating songs," she says), Wells quicklybuilt up a fan base (which includes influential fans). Her debutalbum, Keep It, drew favourable comparisons to thewhite-girl soul of Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Alice Russell etal.

But although Wells' powerful voice certainly shows soulinfluences, hers is a hard sound to pigeonhole, taking in funk,cabaret and electro. "I think the labelling is hard," she agrees."Pop can be such a dirty word, especially in Australia, which isunfortunate, because it's some of the best music in the world.

"Then again, the thing about soul music is that lyrically it'sabout love and heartbreak and reality, more so than any othergenre. It would be good to get to a point where it's not even aboutthe genre any more."

One imagines that's entirely possible for Wells, who clearly hasher sights set on big things.

She's now working on a new album ("I'm hoping to write most ofthe songs myself") and fast becoming a fixture at festivals andclub nights here and interstate.

And she freely admits she's had a dream run so far. "I have hada lot of positive encouragement from Michael Gudinski — he'sbacked the horse for a long time, and he's been watching Ryan for along time, so when he knew Ryan was working with me he took aninterest.

"You never know who's watching," she adds. "That's why it'simportant to put on an amazing show even if there's only two peoplein the room."

Paris Wells plays Moomba Waterfest at 5.30pm today March 9. Her debutalbum Keep It is out now.

-Kylie Northover