Some people take extreme measures to get what they want out of life. Others, as the cliché goes, just follow their hearts. In the case of Russian singer/songwriter/pianist Marina V, it's a mix of the two.

Born Marina Gennadievna Verenikina in Moscow, she embraced music at an early age, listening to Tchaikovsky and badly recorded tapes of the Beatles. But she knew as a teenager that pursuing her musical interests would mean leaving her homeland.

"In Russia when I was growing up in the '80s, it was all about getting an education and a job," says Verenikina, 27, from her current home in Los Angeles. "I never thought I'd be able to do anything with my music, it was just so strict."

But she got lucky at the age of 15, beating out thousands of other applicants to win an exchange student scholarship in the United States.

"It was at a high school in Springfield, Illinois, and it was set up by the American government," Verenikina says. "They wanted foreign students to mix with Americans, because a lot of American kids aren't naturally exposed to different languages and cultures."

Mesmerized by her experience in the States, she vowed to return as soon as possible. Nine months later she was back, studying business, international politics and Spanish at Illinois University. Her talents as a musician were also beginning to blossom. After winning first prize in a college singing contest, she was encouraged to put out a self-financed album, Let Me Dream (1999).

Verenikina has been compared to Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Jewel, partly because of the way she unleashes so much emotion in her voice. "I always feel passionate about my music," she says. "When you're singing and you see the front row of people reacting to your songs, it's absolutely amazing. It makes me feel even more emotional."

Following her dreams and discovering herself along the way was the key to the success of her third album, Something Of My Own (2003). "The songs always have to be about things that have happened to me," she explains. "Sharing it with a large number of people is like therapy in a way. And I know that a lot of people can relate personally to my songs."

Cynics insist her move to America was merely a grab for fame and fortune, but Verenikina sees it differently. "That's what some people say, but it's not true. It just felt right for me to come to America. It's by no means perfect, but once I saw what life was like here, I found it for me personally a better place."

Verenikina will be performing in the Czech Republic over the next two weeks in her first proper tour outside America. Unfortunately, there's a strange anomaly about her Prague debut: It's not onstage, but at the city's "Country Radio" station, even though country music just isn't her thaang.

"My music doesn't have any country elements, so it's quite strange doing a show for Country Radio," she says. "I have heard, though, that they play all sorts of music from rock to pop."

Verenikina is often described as having "the face and voice of an angel" — which she says "is really sweet and cool," but hastens to add real-life characteristics such as eccentric, contrary and a little neurotic.

"Well, aren't we all like that?" she asks. "I guess it comes from being Russian, and maybe because my mother is a psychologist and my father a nuclear physicist."

Verenikina will be joined by songwriting partner Nick Baker on acoustic guitar for her shows here. Expect songs from her new album, Simple Magic, produced by Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith), as well as some Beatles covers.