Came from St. George, Utah, American singer-songwriter Dia Frampton is half Korean and half Dutch. She rose to fame as the runner-up in the first season of The Voice in the United States.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Before achieving fame as the runner-up in the inaugural season of The Voice in the US, Dia Frampton was struggling financially, with her sister Meg, in the folk group Meg & Dia.

They would drive for hours to perform gigs in small clubs and often slept in their car to save money.

But for Dia, who has been on the road singing the songs she wrote since she was 14, it was always exciting to share her songs with people.

"If my lyrics mean something special to someone, that's the most important thing to me," she says.

Now, 26, Dia is still on the road but this time it is the road to international fame.

During the ongoing China tour of British singer-songwriter James Blunt, with concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou, Dia gave a half-hour opening performance, which impressed the Chinese audience with her folksy voice.

The singer-songwriter played her guitar and sang songs from her debut solo album, Red, as well as early songs with her sister Meg.

In November, she also performed at a concert held in Beijing, which gathered the top 10 singers from The Voice of China.

Andrea Begley, who is the winner of the second series of the BBC talent search The Voice UK, also performed in the concert.

"I am still in the habit of taking off my shoes before stepping onto the stage. I don't know why. I just love singing barefoot," she said.

Giving a voice to Cupid's flight

An ear for China