We just had to meet her. To find out who she is and exactly how she became recognised as the best woman making music in Ireland today. To find out how, upon being nominated by her record company and the Meteor organisers, the public voted for a virtual unknown, over, say, the multi-million selling Moya Brennan.

A couple of weeks before the awards her MySpace site, a barometer these days of how much interest there is in an artist, registered over 1,000 plays of her song 'Free', 600 for 'Ghost' and about 100 for each of the other two songs. Last week, 'Free' had over 3,000 hits, 'Ghost' 2,500 and the other two were pushing 1,000 each. The Meteor effect is clearly working. Radio play and some print features, such as this, have also followed.

To be sure, Parle's musical journey is long and features many industry heavyweights. When she was 12 years old she appeared on the Late Late toy show. Pat Kenny saw it and invited her on to the Kenny Live show. She made an album, First Impressions, and began the usual gigging in pubs, clubs and 21st birthday parties.

Around five years ago, she was signed to Sony.

They took her to London to meet some songwriters and potential managers. She hooked up with Derek McKillop, the former manager of Elton John and the man who discovered James Blunt, who took her off to America. A few singles followed. "At the time I had been working with a lot of different songwriters and producers so the album needed one direction."

In came Bill Bottrell, the producer/songwriter who has won numerous awards with Sheryl Crow and Shelby Lynne among others. Parle, who says she would like her music to be "as country as Sheryl Crow, " went to Bottrell's place in north California, whereupon she spent the best part of a year going back and forth. At the same time she toured extensively with Elton John and James Blunt.

She then relocated to London to work with Steve Lironi (formerly of 1980s sensations Altered Images) where she recorded Free, her debut album for Sony BMG, which was released last October.

What happens next is anyone's guess. One thing is clear: Parle follows an inauspicious cast of past winners of the Best Female Meteor.

Gemma Hayes won last year and, although her 2005 album, The Roads Don't Love You, saw her record contract terminated, she probably has the fan base (and the talent) to remain a fixture.

The 2005 winner Juliet Turner and 2004's Cara Dillon are at least household(ish) names but have hardly set the world alight. The 2002 award went to Samantha Mumba, who then had her second album, Woman, cancelled and was subsequently dropped by her record company. Mumba's longpromised comeback album is expected next month.

Then there's the 2003 winner, Dubliner Carly Hennessy. Hennessy was signed by MCA Records in 1999 but, after many attempts to 'break' her debut album, they eventually gave up, having spent more than $2m on her - a sum of money so big that the Wall Street Journal ran it as a news story.

Hennessy hasn't been heard of since, except in the odd university case study on how the music industry works. Or, in her case, didn't work.

Now, who in their right mind would want to win the Meteor Award for best female?