Melanie Fiona on her new grip on fame

R&B singer-songwriter Melanie Fiona has always been a proud Canadian, even while she was flying under Canada's radar and building her profile in the U.S. with an impressive array of established American singer-songwriters.

"I think the positive thing is that it is better late than never," she told CBC reporter Zulekha Nathoo.

Fiona shotinto the spotlight in Canada when she won two Grammys in February for Fool for You, her collaboration with the flamboyant singer-songwriter-producer Cee Lo Green.

Yet, before this,her solid voice and skills as a songwriter saw her working with the likes of John Legend and touring with Kanye West and Alicia Keys. She won a 2010 Soul Train Award, and garnered nominations in 2010 for the BET Awards, the Junos and NAACP Image Award. Besides this years Grammy win, she had been nominated twice before, in 2011 and 2010.

She released her first album, The Bridge, in 2009, followed up by The Bridge Acoustic EP in 2010, and The MF Life in 2012.

She believes that Canada is slowly moving towards supporting its own talent on home turf, especially for genres like R&B, reggae, soul andhip hop.

"Hopefully it's going to become a more comfortable platform for upcoming artists in Canada, [so]that they don't feel like they have to leave to get respect," she told CBC news.