Craig David delivers

From garage dweller to mainstream platinum-selling recording star, Craig David has amassed millions of fans, and his latest album will surprise almost all of them: a collection of Motown classics called "Signed Sealed Delivered".

 Born in Southampton, England, the sweet-voiced crooner has achieved quite a bit since the days his dad, a bassist in a reggae band, took him to clubs where the DJs let David share the microphone.

As an 18-year-old he took the UK by storm with a cover of Artful Dodger's "Re-Rewind", and followed that up with the global hit album "Born to Do It". It was No 2 in MTV's "Greatest Albums of All Time" poll, right behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

David has since charted numerous No 1 singles, including "Fill Me In", "7 Days", "Walking Away", "What's Your Flava", "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)" and the critically acclaimed duet with Sting, "Rise and Fall".

"Signed Sealed Delivered", due out this month, is his fifth studio album, and we got to call him about his Motown masterpieces.

Why the cover songs this time?

I wanted an album and none of the pressure to write new songs, just the pressure to perform. A lot of these are really challenging, so I have to step up my performance to sing them. I respect the original versions and the melodies, but I don't want to sound like I'm just replicating them exactly, so the production is very contemporary.

Have you had any feedback from the originators?

Stevie Wonder's manager played him the version I did [of the title track] and Stevie said he loved it, and the little twist in my version. I was very proud.

Was Motown in your ears when you were growing up?

I listened to soul, R&B and reggae, and when I was growing up pop music, house and garage were being played. I think that's allowed me to be diverse when I'm recording.

Do you think the fans from your garage years will like the album?

I think they will. The younger generation won't even know half these songs, and I give them a new production. People who grew up listening to my music will get the chance to hear me sing in a way I've never sung before.

And the people who know the originals will hopefully be glad I stepped up and created this album.

What's the main difference when you're just covering songs?

When you write your own songs, you think about the lyrics and the melodies and how you're going to perform them. The vocal range is in your comfort zone. But in performing someone else's music that's so well known, the key is different - higher that where I usually sing.

At that point the pressure switches to, "Can you really perform this song?" It's a totally different kind of pressure, and a different kind of energy.

"Signed Sealed Delivered" is one of the great Motown classics. Why did you choose that for the album title?

It sums it all up. I'd just signed into Universal Music. I've sealed the 10 years of being in the music industry, and now I'm delivering this new album. There's this great meaning behind that song.

How does it feel, 10 years?

When I started I didn't know what I was chasing, but now I'm more reserved and happy about where I am right now. I'm a lot more confident, and my vocal range is much more flexible.

In 10 years I've seen the rise and fall, I've performed in front of thousands of people, I have No 1's and travelled the world.

I'm thankful to be able to stay stable, my friends and family are proud of me, and I have the opportunity to create music that touches people.

Any regrets?

I used to think about what if I'd gone to university, and lived in a different part of the country - that would have been interesting. But for an 18-year-old kid, having a No 1 record and travelling the world, I can't really trade that for anything else in the world.

IT'S YOURS

-"Signed, Sealed, Delivered" will be released on March 29.

- Aside from the Stevie Wonder track, other songs on the album are "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)", "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Just My Imagination", "For Once in My Life", "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", "Mercy Mercy Me", "I Wonder Why", "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", "Let's Stay Together" and "This Could Be Love".