Dido Reflects on Eminem

December 1 -- Dido wants to make one thing perfectly clear: She didn't just let Eminem sample her song "Thank You" for his single "Stan" in order to boost exposure for what was a slow-selling debut album.

"I just thought it was brilliant," the British singer, whose surname is Armstrong, says of Eminem's purloining of "Thank You." "I was so excited, because I thought it sounded really good. And I really do genuinely like him. If he didn't do this intelligently, if he was just an idiot, I might think differently about his record. I just think he's clever, and he's funny. He does it so well. He's a really great storyteller and entertainer."

And not a bad guy to have on your side, given Eminem's multiplatinum sales status and his recent coronation as Spin magazine's Artist of the Year. "Stan" has opened a path to the airwaves for the full version of "Thank You" and raised the profile of Dido's album, No Angel. And after a few guest appearances during Eminem's sets on the "Anger Management" tour, Dido — whose previous musical patron was Sting — is making the most of her new opportunity with her own spate of touring, including a series of radio station holiday concerts.

"I'm enjoying it," she says. "It's been such a slow build that it's not really affecting me very deeply. I've been plodding towards this, and right now it's lovely. Thing seem to get done a lot quicker in my life now — that's the only real difference."

In addition to all this, Dido recorded a new track, "Christmas Day," for Nettwerk Records' Christmas Songs collection. She's also performing a new song, "Don't Leave Home," in concert and plans to appear on the next album by Faithless, the trip-hop band led by her brother, which also gave Dido her start.