Move over, Shania

She's not famous here yet, but give her six months and Faith Hill could be the new Shania Twain - and not only in the sense that she looks more like a supermodel than a country singer. Twain's Come On Over - the UK's biggest selling album of 1999 - has redefined the perception of country music in Britain, and Hill, already a superstar in her native US, is poised to follow in Shania's rhinestone bootsteps.

Only in country would a crossover artist be considered radical. In this respect and no other, Faith Hill is one rad chick. Her fourth album, the lush and super-slick Breathe, entered the US Billboard Top 100 chart in the number one slot, breaking Shania's record for the biggest-selling debut-week album by a country star.

Faith and I are enjoying tea together in a top-floor suite at Park Lane's Four Seasons hotel. Tall, svelte and decked out in a country chic ensemble of tight, white, tasselled leathers and what looks like Dorothy's ruby shoes, she is undeniably drop-dead gorgeous and I tell her so. 'Thank you,' she smiles sweetly.

Hill readily agrees that her fortunate looks mixed with a seemingly good-natured disposition and down-home charm haven't exactly hurt her career. In the country glam sweepstakes she's at the front of the cattle call. Already she has graced the covers of American Vogue, Glamour and Redbook, and is the face of a recent Cover Girl make-up ad campaign. 'They wanted a career woman who has a family and they chose me,' she says glowingly.

In contrast to the Dixie Chicks or Mindy McCready, gleefully singing songs about killing their man, Faith Hill does not court controversy. She seems very sweet, faultlessly polite. But sometimes the gracious Southern belle persona can be a bit overwhelming, and in interviews she tends towards yawn-inducing blandness.

Is she really like this or is she acting? If so, she sure is good at it. Perhaps a movie career beckons? 'Oh, I've been offered a few scripts but nothing that's stood out.' What kind of movie could see yourself in, Faith? 'Oh, gosh, something like Steel Magnolias or Erin Brockovich. Something with a strong woman character.'

Born in the small town of Star, Mississippi, 32 years ago, Hill moved to Nashville at 19 after years of singing locally in churches, fairs - wherever. She grew up listening to gospel, rhythm and blues and country crooners like Tammy Wynette. 'You can probably hear a bit of Tammy in my voice.'

In her soft Southern burr she explains: 'It was four or five years before I was discovered by Warner Brothers. During that time I was, I guess, networking. Just figuring out how the town worked.' To make ends meet, she took a job in the merchandising division of country legend Reba McEntire's empire. 'I was responsible for filling orders for her fan club.'

In 1989 she auditioned for a place in Reba's touring band. She didn't get the gig. This turned out to be a lucky break in disguise: a few years later Reba lost most of that group in a plane crash over San Diego.

Hill's 1994 debut Take Me As I Am was followed by two more multi-platinum-selling albums. The country-pop single 'This Kiss' reached number 13 in the UK at the end of 1998. She's married to fellow country star Tim McGraw, who lends his vocal sensitivities to their duet 'Let's Make Love', and they have two young daughters, Gracie and Maggie. The couple, who fell for each other in 1996 on the auspiciously named Spontaneous Combustion tour, have made a vow not to spend more than three days apart. When touring, the whole family travel on an elegant monstrosity of a bus 'designed' by Faith with the children in mind. 'I wanted something child-safe, lots of clean lines - not much clutter,' she laughs.

We talk about her recent performance at this year's Academy Awards and the VH1 Divas Live 2000 event with Diana Ross, Mariah Carey and Donna Summer. How does she think the British will take to the country-tinged single 'Breathe'? 'They'll hear it's not Patsy Cline, it's not Loretta Lynn, but hopefully it's something that they'll dig. That it's beautiful, simple... sensual.'

A languid lullaby to intimacy, it starts softly then builds to the mother of all power-ballad choruses, climaxing in an alluring falsetto warble: 'Caught up in the touch/ The slow and steady rush/ Baby isn't that the way that love's supposed to be/ I can feel you breathe_' It's already a Nashpop crossover classic. Faith confesses she is often moved to tears when per forming it. I ask who she has in mind when she sings it? 'My husband, of course,' she giggles. Of course.

Unlike Loretta, Tammy and even Shania, she hasn't struggled from that dirt-poor, traditionally tragic background we've come to expect from our country queens. She's a glamour girl whose favoured designers are, in no particular order: 'Gucci, Prada, Richard Tyler, Versace, Ralph Lauren...' She fingers the tassels on her white leather jeans and laughs. 'But I'm still a country girl at heart.'

Breathe is released on 15 May on WEA

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