Each day, we examine the search logs to take your pop culture temperature. Comparing searches over the past three weeks, there is an edgy singer who is positioned to be the next big thing. Searches for the UK folk-rock siren, KT Tunstall are exploding. An impressive increase of 300% over the past few weeks means that Tunstall is on the cusp of crossing the pond into U.S. music stardom.

KT Tunstall is a funky new Scottish singer/songwriter who experienced a break-out year in the UK and now hopes to replicate that success here. Of course, her overnight success was over 10 years in the making. As a teen, KT took up the piano, then the flute and then she says she learned how to sing because someone gave her an Ella Fitzgerald tape. Later on she taught herself to play the guitar from a "busker's booklet" a small pamphlet of basic cords. After college she says she spent her 20s as "a little nose-ringed dungareed hippie," which included a stay with the avant-folk troupe Fence Collective. There she developed her writing and performing talents in smoky pubs and clubs. These first performances were for coins on the street, which she says taught her to appreciate simplicity. Arriving in London a few years later she began her search for a record label.

After an initial recording deal fell through, she faced another stumbling block - her age. "I was on the wrong side of twenty-five, and even though Norah Jones opened the golden gate for female singer-songwriters, most labels had signed their one girl already," she said.

Using an effects pedal she fondly calls "wee bastard" to loop her guitar and vocals into a virtual back up band, her sound takes on a bluesy funk you won't forget. She ended up signing with a tiny label, Relentless Records and released her debut disc, Eye to the Telescope in early 2005. But it was a simple twist of fate that launched her success.

The NY rapper Nas was scheduled to appear on a hot BBC show but cancelled at the last minute and a call came through to Tunstall to ask if she could fill in. She decided to perform the song, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. " Not owning a TV set herself, she later watched the show at a local pub. The stars were aligned because she got incredible reviews and the song became a hit. Later she said, "I knew it was a big deal as I'd never been on TV before. [But] it became this mad defining moment where the trajectory of my future changed with a three-minute performance." She says, "I got 800 e-mails the next day."

Tunstall's new disc filled with unique sound, funky blend of acoustic guitar, raw grooves and brilliant melodies have star all over it. And we totally dig it...

And once again, search activity proves to discover a rare talent in these pop-princess-machine-produced times. While not generating enough search activity to making The Lycos 50, searches for TK Tunstall have been consistently growing over the past few weeks. This week, TK Tunstall received as many searches as Jennifer Garner, NBC News and The Killers.

In addition to iTunes and Lycos Rhapsody, you can listen to KT Tunstall at her official site. Also you can read her online diary and get an insider's view of life going from musical obscurity to becoming a star...

Web users have spoken, KT Tunstall has arrived thanks to a Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.

FRIDAY: Get your suntan lotion, put on your 'flip-flops'...

Dean Tsouvalas can be reached at dean.tsouvalas@lycos-inc.com