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The temperature at CJ’s, a popular bar at Hotel Mulia Senayan, Jakarta, went up a few notches when Asia’s “Queen of Pop” walked in for a news conference on Dec. 30. With her sassy new hairstyle and slightly more voluptuous figure, Tata Young, clad in an off-the-shoulder black dress, was the picture of confidence as she interacted with members of the Indonesian press.

“I’m very excited to be here,” she said. “My album ‘Ready for Love’ is doing very well here. And I want to thank all of my fans in Indonesia by performing on New Year’s Eve.”

The singer’s show was considered a success, with hundreds of guests jamming along to songs like “Sexy Naughty Bitchy” and “My Bloody Valentine,” which is from Young’s third English album, released in August. “My Bloody Valentine,” as well as “Ready for Love,” shot up to No. 1 at major radio stations in Young’s native Thailand and Indonesia .

“Since my first [English] album, I’ve been getting a lot of media and publicity here [in Indonesia]. And my song ‘My Bloody Valentine’ hit the charts even before the album had been released,” she said.

Born in Bangkok on Dec. 14, 1980, to an American father, Tim, and a Thai mother, Bunchorn, it was Amita Marie Young’s dream to become a star ever since she saw a TV talent show as a child.

The budding singer’s first big break came at the age of 11 when she outperformed 5,300 other children and won the International Junior Singing Contest in Thailand. Her vocal skills caught the attention of Grammy Entertainment in Thailand.

The company produced Young’s debut album, “Amita Tata Young,” in 1995, which sold more than one million copies in just five months. Many more milestones followed for the young singer. In 1996, Young held the “Tata Live in Hollywood Concert” at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, a rare feat for an Asian entertainer, and won glowing reviews.

The next year, the singer performed at a concert marking Hong Kong’s handover to the mainland, sharing the stage with international artists like Michael Learns to Rock and Lisa Stansfield.

Personally, the singer considers 1998 to be one of her most memorable years, largely because she sang during the opening ceremony of the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok.

“I was singing in front of the royal family and my king for the Asian Games. That’s practically the royal family and the whole world,” she said. “That will be something that I will tell my children.”

On the recording side, Young isn’t doing too bad either. Her first English album, “I Believe,” released in 2004, went platinum nine times in Thailand and has sold more than one million copies in Asia.

In the same year, Young also sang the theme song to Bollywood blockbuster “Dhoom.” The album sold more than 800,000 copies in India, a phenomenal success for an original soundtrack album.

The pop star has sold more than 14 million copies of her six Thai and three English albums and remains one of the most popular singers and performers in the region. “It is very important to bring Asian music or Asian artists international,” Young said. “I think there are a lot of talented artists in Asia that should make it all around the world.”

Young said language was one of the big barriers holding many Asian artists back. “But the new generation speaks English. And I think we should make it very soon,” she said.

She said that local artists also needed the support of their respective communities to make it internationally.

Young said there were a few Indonesian singers with the chops to make it. “Like Anggun. She’s made it internationally,” she said. “She’s very popular in France and has collaborated with a lot of artists.

“I saw a lot of Indonesian music last night on TV,” she said. “A lot of artists here have improved a lot.”

And the artist’s rise has continued to be meteoric. Last year saw the release of a new English album.

“The making of the album ‘Ready for Love’ was the best thing because I’d been waiting for almost two years before making this album,” the singer said. “I’ve never really done something like a big band that sounded very soulful, very Jennifer Hudson, very Aretha Franklin, so I decided to try the song and it sounded great. It was a good blend in the album.”

Ever since her debut, the singer has remained consistent to pop. “My first [English] album was very dance pop. My second, ‘Temperature Rising,’ is pop toward hip-hop and R&B, and with this [third] album, we tended to do a dance Euro-pop kind of thing.”

“But if I could change genre, I’d go with Amy Winehouse,” Young said. “Soul, very blues, yes, I’d like that. That could actually be my future.”

Last year, the United Nations Environment Program appointed Young as the ambassador for the ozone layer.

“The ozone is something you can’t see,” Young said. “When you can’t see it, nobody is really aware of it. But a lot of people listen to me because I’m an artist. So, I’m trying to make people aware that the surface of the earth is just going day by day.”

Young recently bought a new home in Bangkok and installed non-CFC air-conditioners and refrigerators in the house.

With all the accolades, what does the artist look forward to in 2010? “I wish for better health,” she said. “I suffer from a hypothyroid and I hope it gets better soon.”

The singer is set to go to Australia and Japan this month to promote her new album. “A lot of people might think that the album ‘Ready for Love’ has a lot to do with my personal relationships,” she said. “Yes, I’m ready for love, but not for relationship love. I’m more ready for love with what I love doing the most, which is singing.”

With her hectic schedule singing around the world, Young does get homesick. “Bangkok is the land of smiles and traffic jams,” she said.

Just like Jakarta? “Yeah, but one thing here is that people don’t drive disciplined. In Thailand, the traffic is bad, but there is a lane.”

Another thing the singer misses about home is the food.

“But Indonesian food and Thai food are very similar. So I don’t think I’d suffer even though they don’t have Thai food here,” Young, said, adding that her Indonesian favorites include nasi goreng (fried rice) and ayam bakar (grilled chicken).

Despite her three-day whirlwind schedule in Jakarta, the singer managed to squeeze in a little shopping. But the retail therapy wasn’t about acquiring shoes, bags and clothes.

“I bought some red sheets and plates at Senayan City for my new house,” she said.

“I don’t like to buy things that you don’t really carry around during travel, but I’m doing it anyway. That’s just me.”