A SINGING sensation with a big voice and an even bigger talent is making waves in the world of pop.

Singer-songwriter T'rese Theophile, described by music critics as the next Sade, is determined to top the charts and break America with her unique brand of soul.

T'rese, of Wealdstone, has experienced a meteoric rise to fame since she posted a speculative demo tape to Luton-based record company Pipedream Productions last year.

"When the manager, Mike Curtis heard my tape, he was on the phone straight away," she said. "He said he loved my style, that I was different to everyone else out there, and that I was going to be a star."

T'rese's cool, sultry melodies, hit the right note with Mike who decided to launch an area-wide search for a backing group to support her and Luton played host to Pop Idol-style auditions to find an all-girl outfit to complement her.

T'rese was delighted with the five who made it through to form SenSu-elle.

"The auditions went really well, all the girls have amazing voices," she said. "We were going to be a girl-only band, but we're now on the look-out for one male vocalist to work with the six of us."

T'rese has already enjoyed remarkable success, even though she has not yet released a record. What Comes Up (Must Come Down), a catchy number set to be her first single, has produced a massive response from listeners of Luton FM and Chiltern FM, who jammed the phone-lines with endless requests for the song.

T'rese can hardly believe it has all happened so quickly but is undaunted and more than ready for bigger and better things.

"My target is to do well at the Brits next year," she said. "We're planning a summer album, which I have high hopes for. The feedback I'm getting from the public has been great.

"Mike thinks I've got a good chance of making it in America as well, because my voice has a universal appeal. I also sound a lot like Sade, who sold well in the States."

Sade is T'rese's main influence but she is also a huge admirer of Angie Stone and George Michael.

She said: "I've just bought George Michael's new album and it's sensational. I can't get over what an amazing voice he's got.

"I've always wanted to do a duet with Sade, but if the three of us got together it would really be something."

T'rese, born in Dominica in the West Indies, came to England in the early 90s to pursue her dream. At first, she stayed with an aunt in Milton Keynes but moved to Wealdstone in 1996, where she started performing in pubs and clubs across the capital. She said: "There are just more opportunities in England than back home. I like Harrow, it's a very quiet area but I do miss the Caribbean weather and and the food, especially the lovely natural fruits we have in Dominica."

T'rese and SenSu-elle, complete with a band featuring two guitarists, a drummer, a bassist, a keyboardist and a saxophonist, are busy rehearsing for their second big gig, at the Luton Asia Festival on Sunday, August 1.

Their first gig, a 40-minute slot at the Luton Town Carnival, almost brought the house down. For a band only weeks old, there is a rare chemistry between band-members, focused around T'rese, the group's creative centre.

Multi-talented T'rese is not only a lead singer, but a natural song-writer too.

"With my long-time partner Neil Scribbens, I write the arrangements, melodies and lyrics to the songs," she said. "Neil will sit at the keyboard and we'll work up the songs from there."

Launching a career in the pop world would be enough to keep most people busy, but not T'rese. She is also currently taking a home-based web-design course.

The way things are going, T'rese could soon be logging-on to superstardom.