Two of Tina Dico's first gigs were talent contests: she won both, and by age 23 had founded her own record label. She has had the No. 1 album in her native Denmark, beating out artists such as Coldplay and U2, and she has done it without the help of a major label.

Dico fronted the band Europe by Transit and also sang for Zero 7 before releasing her first full-length solo disc, In the Red, this past January. She will also sing on Zero 7's next release, Garden.

Her work with Zero 7 might lead some to slot Dico in the electronica category, but she says that's not quite what she's doing.

"I grew up with Bob Dylan and those kinds of things, so I suppose I am more of a slightly more traditional singer-songwriter kind of girl," Dico says.