In England, every city has its own scene. In the late '80s, the northern citadel of Manchester was the cradle of dance-savvy rockers like the Stone Roses and Oasis. In the '90s, Bristol became trip-hop's epicenter, with ambassadors like Tricky and Portishead hitting soundtracks and coffee tables.

Nobody expected the next big British thing to come from the southern port of Southampton. But with three No. 1 singles in the U.K. and the waves made by "Fill Me In" crashing into this side of the Atlantic, former DJ and telesales rep Craig David is, like the R&B star's album title claims, Born to Do It.

Craig Ashley David was born in Southampton General Hospital on May 5, 1981. His parents, George and Tina, instilled their boy with a hard work ethic. After seeing a Terence Trent D'Arby gig, Craig David decided to pursue a career in music. At age 14, he became pirate radio PCRS 106.5 FM's youngest DJ.

David was an unlikely star, staying late after school to finish homework before hauling his record box to the local clubs. He aspired to be a songwriter and wittily adapted teen fantasies to his honeyed voice. When his mother entered him in a contest to find a song for R&B boy band Damage, he submitted "I'm Ready." The victorious 15-year-old appeared on the B-side of their top three single "Wonderful Tonight."

"I was starting to write lyrical raps for when I went out and did rapping over instrumentals," David told VH1. "It just transformed into melodies. It was a natural progression until I started writing verses, choruses, middle eights, bridges and started writing song structures."

One night David met fellow DJ Mark Hill. While the teenager mixed R&B and ragga, the older Hill was one of the hottest spinners of two-step, a genre that combined jungle's spasmodic rhythms with garage's electronics and sophisticated vocals to become the toast of the bling bling 'n' champagne crowd. The two teamed up and, fusing their interests, wrote "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)."

"Re-Rewind" went from coveted white label, credited to the Artful Dodger featuring Craig David, to No. 2 smash. Two-step went over-ground, and the face people attached to it was David's. Not bad for a teen studying electronics and selling windows over the phone.

More success followed. David became the youngest British male solo artist to go to No. 1 with his Jacuzzi-set romp "Fill Me In." In July 2000, "7 Days" repeated the trick, audaciously claiming that Mr. David would meet a girl on Monday, take her for a drink on Tuesday, make love Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, then chill on Sunday.

Craig claims that he gets more teddy bears than women throwing themselves at him, but girls thought he was cute; guys thought it was all about the booty; and even moms could get down to his nonthreatening soul fables. He avoids drink or drugs, too. Soon no SUV was complete without David on the speakers.

Acceptance, though, is a funny thing. David won three Mobo Awards and three Ivor Novello Awards for his songwriting. But although nominated for six Brits - the British equivalent of the Grammys - he was shut out at the February ceremony. Elton John and Robbie Williams declared he was robbed.

David shrugged it off. That month he began a sold-out arena tour, and sales of Born to Do It reached 3 million. Even U2's Bono wants some two-step magic, asking David to remix the Irish group's single "Walk On." In April, David made his first American TV appearance on Soul Train.

But is America ready for this badminton-playing 6-footer's way with wooing parents, wives, and daughters? His record label, Atlantic, certainly thinks so, having coughed up a rumored seven-figure number to secure his catalog.

"I need to maintain the fact that it's music that's got me here and that I should never stray away from that," he told Muse. "I think it's the image I need to portray now. You gotta keep it real."

Game, set, and match to Craig.