TOTP: Alesha, what've you been up to since we saw you last?
Alesha: So, the last time you saw me - oh god, a couple of years ago - I've been to America since then, and 'Scandalous' was Top 10 out there for Mis-Teeq, and then we came back to the UK and obviously we decided to go our separate ways - our record company went into liquidation and basically we were contractually free and came to that conclusion together, that we should go our separate ways and try new things. So I did, and I signed to Polydor Records, and I've been basically in the studio for a year, recording my debut album, which is called 'Fired Up', and I'm just in the middle of a single from that, which is called 'Lipstick'.

TOTP: You've been gone for quite a while; is there any particular reason why you chose now for your comeback?
Alesha: Um, I just think it felt right. I very much like to go by my instincts, and listen to what my instincts tell me. I didn't want to rush the album, I wanted to make a record that I was happy with and proud of and pleased with, and I've got to that point. And I've had enough weekends to myself again, and I'm ready to lose them again, and travel the world! I just feel like I've developed more as an artist now, and I feel like I've got a lot more range to show the public as to what they might have seen from me before in the band.

TOTP: In true hairdresser fashion, did you go anywhere nice on your holidays?
Alesha: Well, I got married, so yeah, I went on my honeymoon to Hawaii and Las Vegas, and that was great, because I've never been to Hawaii and it always sounds so romantic, and it really is, and it's beautiful. Las Vegas I'd never been to, and that was just a complete mad place, I mean it's crazy and four days was enough there! So yeah, I have been away, and then obviously it's been a year since I got married, and we went to Madeira recently which was really nice, and went to Spain for Christmas. First time I've been away for Christmas, and...I don't know if I'm going to do it again! Hahahaha! I actually think I prefer to be in England for Christmas! It's better. [Giggles.]

TOTP: So what's different between new solo Alesha and the Alesha we knew from Mis-Teeq?
Alesha: I think what's different is that I'm singing now a lot more than what people might have heard previously. That's the first, immediate thing. Secondly, the musical direction has changed: it's progressed, it's slightly left-field from what people might expect me to do - there's not really any R'n'B on the record. In fact, I don't think there's ANY R'n'B on the record. Obviously I take influences from that, but it's more funk, like paying homage to Terence Trent D'Arby and James Brown, and obviously a few reggae sort of vibes, paying homage to my heritage, because my father's Jamaican. And then the more energetic type of track, like 'Lipstick', which just gives me the opportunity to be myself and that is express a lot of energy and put on a show. I think that's what I'm here to do, is just to make sure that once I've come off that stage, that the audience has felt like they've been entertained and that they've been able to let go and express themselves and just come on the journey with me, really.

TOTP: You did a video for Pharrell a while back - what was that like?
Alesha: That was brilliant, that was absolutely amazing. I'm still really really chuffed that I was asked to do it - it was a complete honour, and it's been really good for me. I just think the whole association with Pharrell has been wonderful, and people to this day comment on the video and it shows how impactful it was. It was a great experience, and I got to work with Missy Elliott's choreographer, who's called Hi-Hat, who's amazing, and obviously Dave Myers, the video director, he's done everyone from Britney Spears to Janet Jackson, and he's TOP. So to work with him was just an honour, and to see how hard they work in America and how much dedication they've got to their craft, so that was fantastic, and...yeah. It was hard work, though! It wasn't as easy as it looked. I don't know if it looked easy, I'm not sure, but I was battered and bruised by the end of it! It was all worth it.
TOTP: Is he going to be in one of yours?
Alesha: I wouldn't say no if he asked! If I do bump into him, I will ask him if he wants to do a tune for me, definitely.

TOTP: Speaking of which, have you got any plans for any collaborations lined up?
Alesha: Well I haven't got any plans, but again if I did see somebody like Pharrell, I'd ask him very nicely if he'd be interested in producing a record for me, and if I come across Jake from the Scissor Sisters, I'd ask him if he'd like to perform together, maybe, for a show. And I'd like to write with Lauryn Hill one day, and I'd also like to perform probably with James Morrison, I think he's fantastic. I really like Kanye West as well, from the hip-hop world, I think he's amazing. There's so many people, the list goes on! It's a case of, I think for me, just when I come across these people and I see them, see if they're feeling what I'm doing, and put a word in.

TOTP: Apologies in advance for the bad pun, but at any point after you split from the band, did you feel like you'd made a terrible mis-teeq?
Alesha: Ahahahah! I like that. Of course, you have those moments where you reflect, and you think, "Did I do the right thing?", but I wrote a song about it. Rather than me sitting on a rocking chair going nowhere worrying about it, I wrote a song about it called 'Free', and it is just about a crossroads in your life, and which path you should take and if they're the right one. But like I said, I think the most important thing is if it feels right and if you're happy, and if you're happy then it probably was the right thing to do. And I am happy, and I think I've made the right decision. I think everything happens for a reason, but of course you have those moments where you reflect and you miss the girls and you wish they were there and stuff. It's really natural, and I've spent eight years - you're almost institutionalised, being in a band, it's all you know. I still refer to everything as "we". Do you know what I mean? It's really strange but I think that will change over time. Slowly.

TOTP: A lot of people have labelled you as the British Beyonce. Is that a scary label or an exciting one?
Alesha: It's both - it's nice because in my opinion she's the best in the world at what she does, but it's scary because it's a lot to live up to. It's also a compliment, but I think for me an achievement would be to be compared to somebody like Madonna or Gwen, somebody who's - I mean, I just believe in my heart that a lot of the time it's because we've both come out of a group and obviously we're mixed-race girls that people would compare, but from a musicality point of view I think we're very very different. Beyonce's very much R'n'B, that's her style, she owns it, and I'm trying to do something slightly left-field and break out of some of these possible stereotypes that have been put onto me, I suppose.