Event

Sam Sparro

Being hailed as one of the hottest new talents on the international music scene, Sparro is headed for a commercial explosion after eclipsing megastar Madonna on the UK Billboard chart this week.

His debut single, Black and Gold, was tipped by UK music critics to be the biggest song of 2008, and clearly they were on the right track, with the electro-pop tune becoming the hottest singles climber when it leap-frogged Madonna to No. 4 on the chart off the back of download sales alone.

Born in Sydney and based in LA since he was a teen, Sparro's flying start to world success is steeped in his musical pedigree - his grandfather is Ron Falson, a professional Australian trumpet player who once performed with jazz greats Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr, while his father Chris Falson is an accomplished gospel singer.

The 25-year-old groover's singing talent was first discovered after his family left Sydney for the US, when his voice struck a chord with R&B legend Chaka Khan in the church they both attended.

Fast-forward to last year, when after a fierce bidding war the hot young talent signed to Island records and produced the hit set to propel him to chart stardom.

Black and Gold is about searching for God . . . and imagining what else is going on out there, Sparro said last month. If his recent success is anything to go by, it sounds like the big guy must have been listening quite closely.