Success has come swiftly for Craig David, who says he still can't believe the praise he receives. CHARLES HUTCHINSON profiles the multi-million selling R&B singer.

In three rapid years, Craig David has progressed from Britain's premier new solo act to global ambassador for urban music.

Both his albums, Born To Do It and Slicker Than Your Average, are multi-million sellers and the 21-year-old R&B star has toured the world several times over, with his latest tour visiting York Barbican Centre on Sunday.

Whether headlining a Los Angeles radio concert with Christina Aguilera and Nelly or Capital FM's Party In The Park in Hyde Park this summer, or winning awards and being praised by his idols, no one has been more astounded at each new achievement than Craig himself.

"To get any praise is great, but getting praise from the likes of Bono, Elton John, Puffy and others is almost surreal," he has said. "I always read them like I'm reading about someone else".

Even Channel 4 satirist Bo' Selecta! - alias Avid Merrion - has seen fit to do an affectionate parody, huge head, kestrel on his arm and all. "I think Avid is a very funny man and he does my character very well," says Craig. "I really didn't think my head was that big, but at least I can still pull a bird, even if it is a kestrel."

Raised on Southampton's Holyrood Estate, listening to Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson records, Craig found salvation in his first pair of decks at 13. Soon he was rushing his homework so he could play local clubs and pirate radios at the weekend, and by 16 he had won a national song-writing competition.

"I was exposed to music from a very early age," Craig recalls. "My father played the bass in a reggae band and was always taking me to rehearsals and gigs as my mum was out at work. I never really considered doing anything else."

A year later, Craig became the new face of the UK garage scene when he provided the vocals for Artful Dodger's hit, Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta). In March 2000, his own debut single, Fill Me In, was to bring him his place in British pop history, when he became the youngest British male to have a number one hit.

Debut album Born To Do It went on to sell seven million copies and was nominated for BRIT Awards, American Grammies and a record six MOBO Awards. The album achieved gold, platinum or multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.

Turning his attention to America, he toured there for 18 months while writing second album Slicker Than Your Average and soon counted Missy Elliott, J-Lo, Beyonc and Usher among his celebrity fans.

"Someone told me that Quincy Jones bought 50 albums when he heard Born To Do It to give out to his friends; now that really blew me away! He has produced some of my favourite and some of the most influential albums of all time," says Craig.

Where other Brits - notably Oasis and Robbie Williams - have struggled to match their British success in America, Craig has enjoyed healthy record sales and rotation play on the radio.

"I think there are a lot of factors in breaking the States and there's no real fool-proof way of doing it," he says. "I just went there with the intention of enjoying the experience of touring there and making sure that I was dedicated to promoting like crazy. Then if I failed, at least I'd be failing on my own terms."

American travels over, the focus switched to Slicker Than Your Average, released in November 2002.

"It was important for me to draw a line under Born To Do It and come back with a new album that had different 'flavas'. I didn't want it to be compared to the first record and as a songwriter I'm always trying to write about real things that have effected me in my life in one way or other," he says.

"Songs are very important to me. They're like book markers of life; you always remember what you were doing and with whom when you hear certain songs. I hope mine do that for other people over the years to come."

Produced by Ignorants (Trevor Henry and Anthony Marshall), Soulshock & Karlin and long-term collaborator Mark Hill, the album has given rise to such hits as What's Your Flava, Hidden Agenda, Spanish and the May chart-topper with Sting, Rise And Fall.

After selling out two nights at the Royal Albert Hall in May, Craig is returning to British concert halls for 13 dates at the outset of a world tour that will take him to 21 countries between now and Christmas. The tour opened last night in Wolverhampton, and a fifth single from Slicker Than Your Average, World Filled With Love, will be out on Wildstar Records on October 13.

"It is simply a song about living in a world filled with love and the importance of that above all else," says Craig, who has cut a hip-hop version with Miss Cherokee, a new English talent he discovered while listening to bootlegs earlier this year.

Look out for the video, shot on a deserted Sydney beach and in a hi-tech Japanese studio, with Craig singing amid animated images of "breathing tower blocks morphing from lush tropical painted forests".

Craig is finding time to write material for his third album, but will any new songs be premiered on Sunday in York?

"You never know, it's always better to surprise people than let the cat

out the bag," he says. "As for when a new record will be ready, I haven't really put my energy in to recording any new stuff just yet as I'm still very much focused on the Slicker Than Your Average album."

Craig David, supported by Michelle Lawson, York Barbican Centre, Sunday, September 21 7.30pm. Tickets update: few seats, plenty of standing, still available, at £22.50 on 01904 656688.

Updated: 09:09 Friday, September 19, 2003