None of this matters now. Javine slipped quietly away from the spotlight, took stock of her life, and now, almost a year on, is ready to launch a solo career. Signed up by Innocent Records, a single, ’Real Things’ is due out soon with an album planned for the autumn.

We caught up with Javine for a chat to see how she was feeling about the first steps of her solo career...

MV: We’ve only heard a clip of your single, ’Real Things’ - and it sounds like it’s got a nice American RnB feel to it. Can you tell us a bit about it in your own words?
JH: Maybe you think that because part of the song is sampled from the MOP track ’Ante Up’. That’s probably why it feels like it has an American vibe, but I actually wrote the song in Norway funnily enough - with Stargate.

MV: They’re good people to get in with! So how did that come about?
JH: Innocent, my record label works with a lot of their artists and they had the whole idea worked out before I even got there. Then we just wrote the song together.

MV: What are they like?
JH: They’re family orientated guys and they don’t come over here much. They just live in Norway and get on with their work. I don’t think they even know about all the commercial side of things - they just make their music. They’ve worked with Mis-teeq, Ms Dynamite, Blue and Atomic Kitten on the pop side of things but they’ve also done harder stuff with people like Brandy.

MV: Obviously, there was a bit of a bidding war for your services among quite a few record companies. Why did you end up plumping for Innocent? Is it because they’re based off Ladbroke Grove - and seeing as you’re from the Ladbroke Grove area yourself, it wasn’t so far to go?! Or did they just give you the most money?
JH: I was actually offered more money elsewhere but they were willing to forget about the whole Popstars thing and to just start from scratch and make me into an artist with some longevity. And also to get the whole sound right and not just plug a single and make the most money from that. I’ve waited a while as well. People thought I would release something a lot quicker than I have done, but I just wanted to get the music right.

MV: The big gap is a good thing, surely?
JH: Yeh, I just think if you throw people in people’s faces too much, they are just going to get sick of you. I went home and chilled out for Xmas. It was my 21st birthday and I relaxed and lived a normal life. Then in January, I went into the studio and stayed there six months straight, just getting the sound right.

MV: Is the video ready?
JH: I’ve filmed the video but I haven’t seen it completely yet. It was so hard to watch! I did it in LA as we just thought it would give it an international feel and a fresh look. I am walking the streets of my neighbourhood, doing a couple of dance moves in a sexy catsuit (!) with breakdancers doing their thing. And then at the end, I just go to my ordinary nice looking boyfriend who works in record store and then we walk into the sunset together.