She started out playing to tiny crowds in pubs and cafes in Glasgow as a teenager.
But now Amy Macdonald has topped the charts in Saudi Arabia thanks to the recent influx of footballer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who now play there.
The Scottish singer’s hit song This Is The Life has been used on a string of TikTok clips featuring the Portuguese icon in action.
The track has also been used in videos of former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, who plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq.
It has led to the song, which was first released in 2007, reaching number one on the Spotify charts in the Middle Eastern country.
Amy Macdonald is in fashion over in Saudi Arabia with a No 1 single
Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo has a string of TikTok clips featuring the Amy Macdonald song This Is The Life
Ms Macdonald 36, told how she first realised she had become popular in the desert kingdom after she began receiving fan messages in Arabic on social media.
Speaking on the Restless Natives podcast, she said: ‘What is nuts is that song is currently number one in Saudi Arabia.
I had started noticing I was getting a lot of comments in Arabic on social media.
‘I was like “It looks lovely but I’ve no idea what it says” and there was just more and more of it.
‘Somebody looked into it and there seems to be a lot of videos on social media using This Is The Life that are Ronaldo playing football in Saudi Arabia.
I said to one of my mates and they sent me a Photoshop of Jordan Henderson wearing an Amy Macdonald t-shirt.’
The Saudi Pro League has lured some of football’s biggest names since five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in January from Manchester United.
They include former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and PSG winger Naymar, while two ex-Celtic stars, Jota and Moussa Dembele, are also part of the foreign legion.
Ms Macdonald, from Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, burst onto the music scene in 2007. The singer, who is married to ex-Aberdeen and Rangers player Richard Foster, 38, has released five studio albums and sold more than 12million records.