ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

Mei Semones calls her music pop. And the elements of pop - a catchy melody, a hook - they're all there in her music.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I CAN DO WHAT I WANT")

MEI SEMONES: (Singing) Couldn't care if I tried.

SCHMITZ: But they come at you in fits and starts, and they're sprinkled with short, improvised, instrumental interludes that are steeped in jazz. The end product - light-hearted songs that are hard to categorize because there aren't many artists out there making this kind of music. Example - the lyric, can't get my mind off you, might sound like a cliche love song lyric, but it's the way she delivers it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I CAN DO WHAT I WANT")

SEMONES: (Singing) Can't get my mind off you. There's nothing I'm scared of.…