When the song "Dream" appeared on the finale of Season 4 of hit show Grey's Anatomy, TV audiences around the world were introduced to the airy vocals and dreamy melodies of American singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn.

Born in Georgia in 1984 to a Korean mother and a white American father, Ahn took her mother's maiden name as her stage name.

Her debut album A Good Day was released in 2008 after she signed with major jazz label Blue Note Records. Songs from the album - including "Dream," "I Don't Think So" and "Find My Way Back Home" - were featured in a number of films and TV series, making Ahn a rising star in the folk pop scene.

Promoting her latest album This is Where We Are, Ahn kicked off her first concert tour in the Chinese mainland in Beijing last week. She will play Shanghai on Wednesday at Mao Livehouse and Guangzhou on December 7.

"I'm so excited to be here to play for you!" Ahn said in an e-mail interview with the Global Times.

Although this is her first time performing on the mainland, Ahn has previously played in South Korea, Singapore and Japan. Her album Natural Colors (2012) featured covers of classic Japanese melodies, including "Sayonara Color" originally recorded by Super Butter Dog and "Bara No Hana" by Quruli.

On This is Where We Are, Ahn recorded a song with Taiwanese indie band Sodagreen. "It Began With a Fallen Leaf" features lyrics by Ahn and music by Wu Tsing-fong, the main vocalist and songwriter of the band.

"I am a big fan of Sodagreen and also Deserts Chang and Jeffrey Kung," Ahn said.

Taking inspiration from the collaboration with Sodagreen, Ahn's China tour is named "The Fallen Leaf Quartet" and each concert will feature songs categorized under four stages of a fallen leaf, when it's red, yellow, black and green.

"So the feeling of the songs in each stage will reflect this. I'll be playing some old songs, and many new songs, and even a few in Chinese both new songs and old songs," said Ahn, who will perform together with Sasha Smith on keyboard and Wendy Wang on bass, guitar, keyboard and vocals.

Ahn said the new album will showcase a different side of her both "musically" and "lyrically," as the songs are more up tempo with an electro pop sound and the lyrics are a little edgier.

"One of the reasons I started writing in the first place was to express my feelings of feeling different or alone. A lot of my earlier songs were about finding my place, or my 'home.'  Whereas with This Is Where We Are, the songs are more about finally finding that 'home.'"

Ahn started to write songs at 14 when her father taught her to play the guitar. Two years later she started performing at open-mic nights, and after high school, Ahn moved to Los Angeles with some musician friends, where her music career gradually took off.

Ahn said her sound was particularly influenced by her father's favorite artists, like Neil Young, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Bob Dylan.

Over the years, Ahn has collaborated and toured with a number of musicians, including Joshua Radin, Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne and Willie Nelson.

Date: December 4, 8 pm

Venue: Shanghai Mao Livehouse

Address: 3/F, 308 Chongqing Road South

重庆南路308号3楼

Tickets: 150 yuan presale and 180 yuan at the door

Visit nova-ent.taobao.com for tickets

Call 6445-0086 for details