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SAMANTHA Cole, 22, is touted as Universal Music's own budding pop diva, to rise to the level of acclaim that stars like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton have.
It's quite a bit of pressure to bear on her slim shoulders, but the lanky and lissom 22-year-old takes it in stride.
Indeed she doesn't mind being thrust into the pop diva category.
"These singers have long lived careers, sold a great deal of albums. I would be privileged to be part of that group," she said in a press conference on Thursday at the Hard Rock Cafe.
"I wouldn't be too happy to be classed with the Spice Girls for example, where style is emphasised over substance."
For a debutante, her album sure packs heavyweight (and expensive!) backing in the form of Grammy Award winner David Foster, songwriters Nile Rodgers (famed as one of the key figures in the disco group Chic), and Dianne Warren, the songwriter to the stars.
Foster even roped in multi-platinum...