How successful has “Angel” been? How does receiving over 1 million views in just 60 hours grab you? As the phenomenon took off, Lavie tried to respond on YouTube to the more than 10,000 encouraging comments left by viewers — with so much activity resulting in the web-page thinking she was actually a spam computer program and suspending her account.

Within two days, however, after loud protests from Lavie’s burgeoning fan base, she was back on YouTube, along with clips for tunes "Falling For You" and "Save Your Breath.”

“This has been, and is, such an amazing journey,” she says. “From suspended to featured, 20,000 views to over a million in just days — this emotional rollercoaster has been nothing short of amazing.”

The Montreal native has been working on her debut album with producer Ben Margulies, the man behind the now-famous five-song demo that a fledgling artist named Mariah Carey was hawking in the 1980s. “I had her sing to me on a cell phone from a mall in Canada,” Margulies says, “and I heard something really special in her voice. I’ve worked with a lot of great singers, and Lisa’s got everything it takes to be a superstar.”

Her exponentially growing fan base would agree, though Lavie wasn’t always so sure. “I didn’t always want to be a singer. There was a time when I used to want to be a pediatrician or a marine biologist, but then I realized I’d have to go through a lot of schooling, so I changed my mind,” she laughs.

Now living in California, Lavie is eager to take her next career step, releasing the long-gestating album. “Everyone that’s heard it thinks it’s something pretty special,” she says, adding with a chuckle, “I’m starting to believe it, too.”

Fast-forward to 2006, and she’s in the midst of putting the finishing touches on her debut album produced by Ben Margulies — the man behind the now-famous five-song demo that a fledgling artist named Mariah Carey was hawking in the 1980s.

In a neat twist of serendipity, Lavie says Carey is her all-time favorite act. “From when I was 10 to, like, 17, I refused to listen to anybody but her,” she enthuses.

The connection between Lavie and Margulies also came from a demo, which eventually made it into Margulies’s hands. As a result, “I had her sing to me on a cell phone from a mall in Canada,” he says, “and I heard something really special in her voice. I’ve worked with a lot of great singers, and Lisa’s got everything it takes to be a superstar.”

Lavie soon relocated to Margulies’s Santa Barbara studio and began working on the album, which has now been gestating for four years. “It does feel like forever,” she laughs, “but I’m really happy it didn’t come out before now. I’ve evolved so much as a songwriter, as well as a singer.”

The first completed song, “If I Only Knew,” appears on the soundtrack for the movie Stick It, and can be heard on her website, www.lisalavie.com. Lavie says they’re now down to final mixes and then deciding on whether to release it via an independent or a major label; ultimately she expects the disc to be out by spring 2007 at the latest.

“Everyone that’s heard it thinks it’s something pretty special,” she says, adding with a laugh, “I’m starting to believe it, too.”

Shown (l to r) are: BMI's Del Bryant and Barbara Cane (in back), Lisa Lavie, and Ben Margulies. Photo by Ellen S. Ratner

Lavie is the latest discovery of Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer Ben Margulies, who played a major part in breaking Mariah Carey by co-writing her first three record-breaking No. 1 singles -- "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" -- which launched her worldwide success.

Margulies and Lavie are currently finishing tracks for her forthcoming debut. The first completed song, "If I Only Knew," appears on the soundtrack to the Jeff Bridges movie, Stick It.