POP princess Zoe Birkett is no longer sweet 16.

The teenager, who has risen from a relative nobody in the past year to achieve international celebrity status, celebrated her 17th birthday yesterday.

Zoe returned to the North-East last night to discover her close friends and family had organised a surprise party.

She walked through the doors of her Darlington home to find the house decorated with balloons and her nearest and dearest hiding in the living room.

Her home was full of birthday presents and cards that had been sent to her from fans and well-wishers.

Stunned Zoe had been expecting to spend a quiet night at home with her mother, Tracey, after performing at a concert in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, earlier in the day.

The party had been kept a closely-guarded secret between family and friends and Zoe had no idea what they were planning.

Her mother said: "We decided to organise a surprise party for her, but just with close family and friends.

"We would like to thank everybody who sent something. It is so nice of them."

Since her last birthday, Zoe's life has been transformed.

Thanks to the success of television hit programme, Pop Idol, she has achieved her long-held dream of becoming a professional singer.

It was revealed last night, that the Darlington darling's first solo single is to be released in September, just weeks before she hits the road for a 14-date national tour with Will Young and Gareth Gates.

She has also been kept busy over the past 12 months performing at some of the country's biggest concerts, including the Reading Festival and the WOW festival in North Tyneside