VERY. Darren Hayes uses that word at least four times to explain how happy he is at the moment. Released from the confines of a partnership, the singer has found his own voice. He projects the image of a bird whose cage door has been opened and on closer examination, it seems he can fly. Alone. Hayes is transforming himself for a solo career.

As Savage Garden, Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones were one of pop music's most successful duos. The Australian pair's self-titled debut album in 1997 and second, Affirmation, in 2000 have sold more than 20 million copies globally. They've topped the charts all over the world including twice in the United States for Truly Madly Deeply and I knew That I Loved You. Their 10 Australian music ARIA awards in one year (1997) is the best effort by any act.

In their mid-20s, they became the most famous and richest musical export of their generation after Kylie Minogue. Hayes and Jones met in Brisbane in the early 90s when Hayes answered an ad to join Jones' cover band. They later pulled the plug on belting out covers around Queensland to spend time songwriting. A demo tape hawked to the big record companies showed off the chemistry of Jones' writing and Hayes' voice.

But the companies ignored them until Roadshow Entertainment threw lots of money their way in its first big foray into music to make Savage Garden its showcase act. The rockets were fired up and the ascent was rapid. Tours started in thousand-seat clubs and ended up in vast arenas with sets designed by the crew who did U2's PopMart extravaganza. While Jones was content to play guitar and wander the stage leading the band, it was always Hayes who sought the spotlight with his dramatic, high-camp mix of George Michael, Tom Jones and Elvis.

But the strains were showing by the time of the second album. Hayes found himself a new home in the US after splitting from his wife Colby Taylor, his high school sweetheart. He co-wrote the songs for Affirmation by swapping tapes with Jones in Brisbane but it started to become clear to Hayes that this partnership also was headed for the rocks. he was becoming more public and Jones was saying less.

Hayes says the dozens of rumors about the Savage Garden break-up - including how he broke it off over the phone and told the world before telling Jones - were simply lies. Without wanting to sling anything further himself, he's diplomatic to the core.
We were this dynamic duo and the seven years we had were amazing", says Hayes, who turns 30 in May. We worked out one
of us wanted to produce records and not be a pop star and the other wanted to be singing until the cows come home." No points for figuring out who chose which.

Jones is now producing and writing for pop act Aneiki, which had a minor hit with Pleased To Meet You. He's living happily in Brisbane with his girlfriend.

Hayes has been driven to be a star. Since he can remember, he wanted to be big enough to compensate for being the arty kid who got beaten up at school and kept it all inside. A star in the oldfashioned sense. A singer, songwriter and entertainer who, like Peter Allen, has the power to banish your everyday worries and captivate you during a show,

He wants to be as big as Madonna. Like the Material Girl, Hayes has gone about cultivating degrees of myth about his life. Some things are out there for the public. Obviously his music, the fact that he's a romantic and is a "heart on my sleeve guy" and he's happy to admit "if I had children I'd raise them in Australia". While Hayes is a millionaire a few times over, being personally ostentatious doesn't seem his thing at all. But while he's away from Australia and his family, he will spend his money on flying them around the world to spend time with him.

There are pitfalls too. The video for his first single, Insatiable, was first made in Australia and then re-shot in the US. An Australian writer started the rumor that the video was remade because Hayes' US record company insisted he dye his blond hair dark for the domestic market. Hayes says the truth was that he and those around him were simply not happy with the video.

Other things Hayes won't speak about. While he feels at home living in San Francisco, which he says makes him anonymous enough not to take celebrity too seriously, he won't talk about his love life or mention his partner's name. His life, away from stage and records is kept to himself. He has always said there needs to be some mystique to a pop star. He makes no bones about wanting to do this for a few more decades and therefore is only going to reveal a little bit of himself at a time.

He has spent the past year working on his debut solo album, Spin. which was released this week. He always knew he would make a solo record, but just didn't think it would be so soon after Savage Garden's demise. "The idea scared the hell out of me." After Savage Garden's break-up, the questions started to arrive. Was he only half complete? Could he do it alone?
"I took a year to write and record and face my fears of how much was me and how much was Daniel. The reality is that it was both of us.

"It's very liberating to know this is all me. It's everything I had inside me and not realized in the context of the band. We needed to be able to grow and we were not able to grow in the same direction. Rather than burn out and fade out we made two albums that I'm very proud of. Now here comes the rest.'

In the lead up to the release of the album, Hayes embarked on a punishing promotional tour across the US, South America, Europe and will be in Australia early next month. He handled most of the Savage Garden interviews himself but has never worked harder than now. Hayes wouldn't have it any other way. He is a workaholic in the quest for making his own name as well known, if not more famous, than Savage Garden.

Spin is the biggest gamble of Hayes' career. The question is whether Savage Garden's vast audience will embrace the sound which retains some of the hallmarks of the duo.

"It's all about authenticity. I didn't want to be a pale imitation of Savage Garden. In the context of a band, there's always compromise. I had places I wanted to go that Daniel didn't understand and vice versa. That was the beauty of our collaboration.

"I chose a hard path which is more challenging because I've treated myself like a new artist, just another voice on the radio who has to convince you. I'm working hard because I understand what it takes. I think it's going to take the next two years of my Iife.

"Ultimately I want to be 50 and playing a greatest hits tour and still feeling relevant," he says with enough conviction that you know he's going to give it a good shot. But like every good showman, Darren Hayes' mission is what it's always been: entertainment. He wants to give you permission to lose yourself for three and a half minutes in the froth and bubble, of a pop song.

With Spin, Hayes hasn't made Madonna's Ray Of Light, but he says he's made George Michael's Faith, and for the moment that's enough for this king of pop