Ledisi is the 'definition' of new artist

When neo-soul singer Ledisi landed her best new artist nomination, she actually needed someone from the Recording Academy to explain it to her.

"I was like, 'What? New artist?'" she said, laughing, as she's once again reminded that her debut album, "Soulsinger," came out in 1998. "But [Recording Academy chairman] Jimmy Jam put it great. He said it's about prominence and it's about sustaining a level through many things and that definition certainly works for me."

Like most of the other artists in the category - indie-popster Feist (whose indie debut "Monarch" arrived in 1999), R&B revivalist Amy Winehouse (whose debut "Frank" came in 2003) and pop-rockers Paramore (whose "All We Know Is Falling" debut came in 2005) - Ledisi knows she isn't "new" exactly, but she did make a lot of new fans in 2007. (The only truly new best new artist nominee is 18-year-old country phenom Taylor Swift.)

"It's funny because people were like, 'You've finally made it,' and I was like, 'Where y'all been?'" Ledisi said. "But really, all this next level stuff is new to me. I'm looking around and I've never been near anything like this. I never thought I'd put out an album on a major label. It's all very different. So, say what you want, but for me, this is beautiful. This feeling, I'm gonna keep."

As she should. Her album "Lost and Found" (Verve) not only thrilled fans of the laid-back groove of her earlier work, but introduced her brand of soul to a whole new audience at a time when she was very close to packing it all in.

"I was tired of asking, 'Is it ever gonna happen for me?'" she said. "I was ready to stop. I was gonna teach and be cool."

In fact, it was a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, opening for Aretha Franklin, that nearly convinced the Bay Area singer that she had enough. "The show was fine, but leading up to it was a hot mess," said Ledisi, who sees how her career has grown after being selected to perform at this year's MusiCares benefit honoring Franklin. (She's also a headliner these days, with two shows set for the HighLine Ballroom Friday and Saturday, after a recent run singing in front of the Count Basie Orchestra.)

"I'm so glad I kept on," she said, laughing. "Everything's coming into alignment and I"m grown enough to be happy and enjoy it."