The name may be foreign to many out there at the moment, but Deeyah is definitely a name to watch out for. There are many girls out there vying to be the first Asian J-Lo. Vying to be the first Asian to finally break the mainstream and hopefully open the doors for many others.

She's the pop punk on the rise not only knows her music but her roots too. A Norwegian by birth she traces her roots to India and Pakistan.

Deeyah started singing at the age of 7. For 12 years she trained with the likes of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Sultan Khan in Indian classical vocal training. She remains one of the very few female students to enjoy the training of these maestros, who were responsible for East meets West collaborations with the likes of George Harrison and Tina Turner.

Deeyah's still close to her connection with the subcontinent. "My name is Deepika, I changed it because the goras here couldn't get it right. My first album ‘In All Kinds of Light' was released when I was just 15 in Norway. My second album has Pakistani folk tunes, Indian ragas. I can sing in Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto and English. My genre is mixed; I love singing R&B, pop, rock and classical. When I wrote ‘Plan Of My Life', I knew it would work for me; it has international appeal," says Deeyah, who plans to sing with rapper Little John, Bonecrusher and Moby next year. "I just missed a chance to sing with Gwen Stefani," she adds.