The last thing Darius is looking for is a celebrity relationship. "I don't go chasing pop stars or actresses, " he says. "It would be harder to sustain a relationship if I was dating a celebrity and that's why I don't want to fall in love with somebody in the same line of work. I'd much rather go out with someone down-to-earth and normal, who doesn't get glammed up 24/7. I like women who are either quietly confident or shy - I find those two extremes very attractive," he adds. "I've gone through phases where I've liked tall skinny brunettes, then curvaceous blondes or fiery redheads, but for me it's about chemistry."

Although he has had six serious girlfriends to date, Darius claims only to have been properly in love once
- with a girl he'd known for years, at a time coinciding with his rise to fame. "I was in love for a year and it was difficult to break up, but it was the situation," he says of the intense pressures created by Popstars and Pop Idol. 

Darius is level-headed enough to discount the idea of marriage and children until he's at least 30. He'd never even wanted children of his own until the birth of his younger brother Cyrus, now 8. "He spent the first night home from hospital asleep on my chest and I was besotted." he smiles.

It's hard to believe Darius is single at present, but his hectic schedule leaves little time for romance. Ever since he came third to Will Young and Gareth Gates on last year's Pop Idol, he has been busy achieving his lifelong dream of becoming an international singer/songwriter. Darius's first single, Colourblind, saw off George Michael and Britney Spears, to reach No 1 last July after he signed a lucrative 5 album deal with record label Mercury. His second single, Rushes, made the top 5 in the charts, while his debut album, Dive In, went platinum within a month of its release.

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Over the next  nine months, Darius will find himself waking up in some of the world's most beautiful cities as he tours the globe doing showcase promotional concerts for the various heads of Universal Records, the parent company of his label Mercury. Far from finding the constant travelling a chore, he is full of youthful energy and vigour - not to mention wonder at how well his career has taken off.

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"I honestly don't believe what has happened sometimes," he says. "Looking back, Popstars and Pop Idol were my work experience before getting the job. Pop Idol was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt enormous privilege and gratitude towards the public for giving me a second chance."

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Darius was brought up in Glasgow by his Iranian-born father Booth, a Consultant Gastroenterologist, and his
Scottish mother Avril, a GP. He auditioned for Popstars, which spawned the now defunct band Hear' Say, while reading English literature and philosophy at Edinburgh University. "My friend told me there was this audition where you got a record deal if you won," recalls Darius, who taught himself to play the guitar at 13 and chose to study literature because he wanted to become a better lyricist.

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 "It wasn't until afterwards that they said it was for a pop group. I looked around, saw a bunch of pretty girls and thought, 'Why not? I might learn something." He was not prepared, however, for the viciousness with which some sections of the media turned on him after his humiliating defeat on Popstars, when he found himself on the front page of four national newspapers under headlines such as "Arrogant Loser" and "Drop Out Darius".

With the benefit of hindsight and growing maturity, Darius can now understand how he may have been misunderstood. "I was very naive and insecure and so hid behind a cocky front," he says thoughtfully. "That combination of naivety and cockiness was potent, and I didn't come across the way I am with friends and family. Looking back, it was a great learning curve and a blessing in disguise."

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His insecurity, he now realises, stemmed from being badly bullied at his private school, Glasgow Academy, where he was called "Saddam" in misguided reference to his Iranian heritage. "It was emotional and physical bullying," Darius reveals. "I used to come home beaten up and when Mum asked what had happened I would say it was rugby."

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The gamble paid off - to the point where he was even offered a deal with Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell's record company that Darius turned down. "I wanted to release my own material and, instead of working with the best businessmen like Simon, I wanted to work with the best producers like Steve Lillywhite (Travis producer and Mercury managing director), who produced Colourblind. The focus for me was the music as opposed to production line pop. What happened to my friends Hear' Say is an example of just how tough and brutal the industry can be."

 

Darius is quietly riding high, with a new single, Incredible (What I meant To Say), just out. He is also planning a UK theatre tour in May and is writing a book about his "real-life" experiences. He is convinced that the adversity he faced - both as a schoolboy and aspiring pop star - has stood him in good stead.

"Not having had an easy time as a kid gave me that sense of survival that has allowed me to do what I've done over the past couple of years," says Darius

"I'm also really glad I went through the gauntlet that was Popstars because I now feel ready to take on the
challenge of being promoted as an International Artist. I'm in it for the long term."

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