SINGAPORE , July 28— English singer-songwriter Birdy (real name Jasmine van den Bogaerde) first came to prominence at the age of 12, when she won the Open Mic UK music competition, singing So Be Free, a song she composed herself.

This led to Birdy signing with 14^th Floor Records and releasing her debut eponymous album three years later.

Now, at the ripe age of, well, 20, Birdy is taking her music all over the world with her well-received third album, Beautiful Lies, with a concert in Singapore on Aug 2 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, her final stop on her Asian tour.

While she acknowledged that she has lived the dream of being a music artist virtually the whole of her teenage life, certain sacrifices had to be made.

"Being away from home, not seeing my family and missing out on parties and university life,” were the difficult parts of the last six years for her.

But her experiences ("my eyes were opened at 14”) changed her irrevocably compared to her peers.

"I grew up faster while they were living in a bubble,” she explained, adding that sometimes she felt somewhat envious of them.

However, there were no regrets whatsoever from Birdy.

"This experience made me who I am and is part of my journey,” she reiterated.

"I am excited to be out in the world and independent.”

In addition, she emphasised: "I got to travel the world, make music and get paid for it!”

Birdy is now able to reflect upon her teenage years as a form of education in the business of being a music artiste.

"I’m grateful to have been given the time to learn about the whole process — it was something that gradually happened,” she recalled.

"I am quite shy and it took time for me to become more confident.”

Having put her past comfortably to bed, what is in store for Birdy?

Apart from more music making, Birdy hopes to do a film score — she has previously written songs for Hunger Games and The Fault In Our Stars — and to do more painting as well.

But right now, her focus is on her continuing Asian tour, which kicked off in Japan on July 20 in Tokyo.

The influence of Japanese culture came to bear on Beautiful Lies — she wears a kimono on the cover and many of the motifs and tunes were written in the Pentatonic scale, which forms the basis of traditional Japanese music.

"I fell in love with Japan after reading Memoirs of a Geisha, which provided a beautiful description of Japan, its history and fragile beauty,” Birdy recounted.

"To me, Japanese culture is all about leading from the soul.”

As for Singapore, she admitted to not knowing much, having only visited Changi Airport once en route to Australia. However, while she was keen to play here, she also expressed concern about a remark made to her by a Chinese journalist.

"The interviewer from China told me that fans there (i.e. Singapore) were hard to please but I am hoping that fans will sing along to some of the songs.” she said.

There’s only one way to find out. — TODAY

* Tickets for The Gathering with Birdy are available here.