Donovan is in town this weekend as one of the headline acts at the inaugural Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival, where she will perform alongside the likes of Troy Cassar-Daley, Dan Sultan and Archie Roach at Federation Square.

Check out our festival must-sees here.

Her passion for singing and performing live – which led to her auditioning for the televised talent quest in the first place – has never dulled. ‘‘It’s just a magical feeling when you’re up there [on stage] singing and the crowd is behind you,’’ she enthuses. ‘‘I’ve always connected with the music I’ve sung, and it’s just an amazing thing when you’re singing a song and you feel like the audience is right there with you.’’

These days, Donovan is confident, friendly and funny – a world away from the ‘‘shy teenager’’ remembered by millions.

She’s the first to admit that her career took a few twists and turns post-Idol. After being dropped by Sony, she began life as an independent artist and toured heavily. ‘‘I’m a different artist to the one people saw on TV, I think that I have come such a long way,’’ she says. ‘‘I’ve also really enjoyed building up my stage craft. I like to think I’ve become a bit of a comedian but sometimes I’ll crack a joke and everyone will be like [silence], so I still have a way to go!’’

After releasing the well-received EP Eye2Eye in 2007, Donovan struggled to receive radio play, something she attributes to the Idol tag (since then, just two Idol alumni – Lisa Mitchell and Matt Corby – have found an audience on Triple J). ‘‘It is frustrating but I have learnt to deal with it,’’ she says. ‘‘I’m not about radio, as long as people are enjoying my music I’ll be satisfied.’’

Donovan found herself pursuing a different career path in 2009 thanks to the influence of her then-new manager, who suggested she audition for musical theatre production The Sapphires.

‘‘Auditions frighten me, it’s like going for your learner’s permit,’’ she laughs. ‘‘In my audition I had to do an Australian monologue, so I ended up pulling apart one of my original songs and putting it in as a monologue. I went home, got the call back and it was like ‘OK, I’m going to be an actor’.’’

The leap of faith paid off. The following year, Donovan got to perform on London’s West End with the production (‘‘one of the highlights of my life’’) and even picked up a Best Supporting Actress award in South Korea.

Last year, she was approached by the director and writer of the musical Flowerchildren – about 1960s folk band The Mamas & The Papas – to play the group’s singer Mama Cass in a Melbourne season. ‘‘I was already singing Mama Cass songs at my own shows and so it was an honour just to be asked,’’ she says. ‘‘They definitely took a chance on me, as I’m not a full-time actor, and the whole experience just blew my mind.’’

But if Donovan thought she was jittery auditioning for Australian Idol or The Sapphires, it couldn’t compare to the feeling of opening night. ‘‘I put so much pressure on myself because Mama Cass is such an influence, I was just thinking ‘I can’t f**k this up’,’’ she says. ‘‘At one stage I was sitting in my hotel room thinking ‘I can’t do this, what if I stuff it up completely?’. But after we opened it was great; the nerves calmed down a bit.’’

The confidence boost Donovan has derived from acting has extended to her music. In 2010, she penned a song titled Big, Beautiful and Sexy and toured nationally under the same banner, performing songs by some of her favourite ‘‘big beautiful and sexy’’ female singers such as Aretha Franklin, Adele and The Gossip’s Beth Ditto.

For the singer, who has spoken about her battles with her weight and body image in the past, it said a lot about her current mindset. ‘‘I thought it was really important to showcase and celebrate some of the larger sexy women in the music industry because they don’t always get the recognition of others,’’ she explains.

Donovan hopes to record a new album this year, and says that in an ideal world she would love to keep combining music and acting. ‘‘Music will always be my first and foremost love but acting is a different experience altogether and it’s something I’ve really come to enjoy,’’ she says. ‘‘Being an independent artist, I can guide myself in whatever direction I want but it also means I have to work extra hard to keep earning money.’’

The singer has some big ambitions for the next couple of years; starting a plus-size clothing line and hosting a TV show are among them (‘‘maybe I’ll be in the West End full-time in five years!’’).

For now, she is keen to test out some new material this weekend – and have a chat with anybody who’s up for it. ‘‘A lot of people come up to me and want to hear the story of the last eight years of my life, they just come up to me and ask flat out, ‘what the hell have you been doing since then?’,’’ she laughs.

‘‘And I just really enjoy telling them about the hard times, the good times and the times at the moment. I’ve done a lot in the last eight years, and I love to share it with people.’’

Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival features music, theatre, film, cabaret and more. The festival runs from Friday until Sunday at various venues around Federation Square; all events are free. Casey Donovan performs at 7.45pm on Saturday. For more information, visit Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival here.