Chance meets tenacity to propel Tunstall
Grammy nominee can tie success to song on ‘Idol’ and Nas not showing up

Jim Cooper / AP
KT Tunstall's hit ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,’ performed twice by Katharine McPhee on ‘American Idol,’ has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
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Updated: 2:06 p.m. ET Jan 23, 2007
NEW YORK - If KT Tunstall wins a Grammy next month, she might consider thanking two of the most unlikely people in her acceptance speech.

One would be “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee. The other: jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, father of the rapper Nas. Without them, Tunstall might still be strumming a guitar in London coffee shops.

“Me, McPhee and Nas’ father need to go to a wicked bar in Times Square and suck one down and talk about how great my career is,” the Scottish singer-songwriter says with a laugh.