2 parts rock/pop, 1 part soul/R&B, 1 part folk, simmered until golden brown. Yield: Lush melodies to stop you in your tracks, lyrics you can sink your teeth into, and a voice you won't forget.

Have you heard?

She doesn't look like your typical guitar-toting songstress, what with all that hair ("The bigger, the better," she'll say with a grin). The music is folky, yes, but sprinkled with rock and tempered ever so slightly by the soul in her voice. The mixed signals just keep coming as her set list slides from weepy ballads and existential angst to sarcastic snarls to joyful breeziness.

Suffice it to say, it's hard to pigeonhole Nicole Collins. A natural singer since she could speak, NC ran the gamut of musical discovery as a youngster: talent shows (Mariah covers, if you must know), choirs (first soprano), orchestras (viola) and finally, secret low-fi recordings of her first songs that she guarded with her life.

But she was not so shy about her music for long. All grown up, Nicole followed her dream to New York, creating a niche all her own: "pop/rock with soul," she calls it. Touring has taken her from New York stages - The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall and Central Park among them - to the rest of the Northeast, the South and Midwest. Overseas, she's performed in Germany, France, Spain, and Denmark, where she moved the crowd at Tivoli Gardens (capacity 3000+) with rockin' anthem set a world away in the New York City subway ("Brooklyn Bound").

Fast-forward to 2010, with her third album just released in June. Don't miss "As I Am," for the one who really gets you, "Pretty Girl," a bit of tongue-in cheek social commentary -- and of course, "Take Your Time," which all but drags you out for "a nap in the sunshine."

When not behind the mic, NC can be found racking up the miles on the park's running trails or curled up blissfully with pen and guitar. "The chores can wait for some grayer day," after all. A few highlights from her career:

• Collaborating with Alain Nkossi Konda, the Afro-pop artist/producer and John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner, Nicole worked her vocal magic in "I Will Sing," by world-famous soukous artist Kanda Bongo Man.

• She won honorable mentions in the 11th Annual Unisong Awards for her rock/alternative hit "Brooklyn Bound" and her acoustic/folk ballad "The Edge," also signing a licensing deal for "Not This Time" with Noteborn Music.

• NC's recording of Alain's song "Fading Spirit" was featured on the Diaspora for Africa, a U.N- backed project raising funds to end world hunger.

• She has been featured on "15 Minutes of Fame," a New York TV show, and Yleisradio, a Finnish TV station with 5 million viewers.