Footballer's wife? Not me says Amy Macdonald

"It's a totally different thing with me," she protests. "That song is about those girls who go out of their way to get hooked up with a footballer just so they can become famous. It's about obsession with celebrity and people who are famous for being famous, with no talent and getting press simply for who they are with.

"I'd like to think I got where I am because of the amount of hard work I've put in, thank you very much," she adds, mock offended.

It's changed days from just over a year ago when Macdonald gave her first major magazine interview on these pages, the then 19-year-old admitting to being completely starstruck after her record company got her a table at the Brit Awards.

"I was totally gobsmacked," giggled the teenager, who at that point had yet to release a proper single. "At the next table was The Killers and next to them The Scissor Sisters and two tables in front of us was Noel Gallagher," she continued, her big blue eyes wide in amazement. "I was far too busy star-spotting to listen to any of the bands on stage.

"It was really weird just being there, with all those famous people, and I don't think it's something that I could ever get used to."

Or so she thought. Fast forward 13 months and the Bishopbriggs lass has not only become used to being around the stars, she is now one herself.

Now 20, the self-taught chart-topper has not only enjoyed massive critical and commercial success, but has had the chance to meet many of her idols, including Sir Elton John, who called up the singer in person to invite her to open a show for him in Glasgow last year.

"At first I thought, 'Oh my God, this isn't happening'," she says. "Then to be invited into his dressing room was incredible. He made me so welcome and gave me a massive kiss and a hug. It was like I was his grand-daughter."

Another of Macdonald's favourite artists is Babyshambles singer and former Libertine Pete Doherty, who she met in Glasgow last year when the pair appeared together on the Channel 4 music programme Transmission UK.

In fact, Macdonald's debut single, Poison Prince, which was released online last May and will get its proper release later this month, was actually inspired by the troubled rock star.

She admits that she's "always had a thing for Pete", so meeting him backstage was a thrill. "He's actually very charming, you know," gushes the singer, who kicks off her latest tour at the Queen's Hall on Wednesday. "None of the other bands who were doing the programme were mingling, so I was sitting on my own in the backstage area strumming my guitar. Anyway, Pete walked over to me and said 'are you Amy? and said he really liked the guitar and asked if he could have go on it.

"So anyway, we started chatting about music and other stuff and he came across as a really nice, intelligent, charismatic person.

"A lot is written about him, and he's obviously got his problems, but he seemed really together that night, really on it. As far as I'm concerned he's a great musician and I think people should just let him get on with it."

Macdonald is just back from a visit to America where she says audiences took "extremely well" to the 11 songs on her debut album, This Is The Life – songs which combine a traditional, acoustic folk-rock sound with a teen spirit and self-assured lyrics that veer between the observational and the confessional.

"It was a really good experience going to America, because they don't know me yet and that's always a challenge," she smiles. "I played two gigs in New York and one in Boston, and it was just a case of introducing myself, saying 'this is who I am and this is what I do'.

"The reaction was really good and the people who came to the gigs seemed to like the songs, so hopefully I'll have the chance to go back again soon."

With hectic touring and promotional schedules that mean she hardly ever gets a minute to herself, Macdonald admits she hasn't even started work on the follow-up to This Is The Life, and says fans could have a lengthy wait if, as expected, her career does take off Stateside.

"No, I've not even started writing any songs for it," she says. "The reason for that is really simple – I just never seem to get a minute to myself when I can just sit down and write. With the tours and the promo for the album and singles, it's just been so hectic, and I've not had the chance to write anything.

"It could be a lot longer before I have anything new out because, if the album is going to do well over there (America], then there's going to be lots of hard work promoting it.

"The last year or so has been a fairytale. The best thing about it has been getting to see the world, though sometimes you miss out on certain things because you are always on the road.

"Recently, for example, I had to miss one of my best friends' 21st birthday parties because I had to do telly. I guess that's how it goes."

Amy Macdonald, Queen's Hall, Clerk Street, Wednesday, 7.30pm, 15, 0131-668 2019