US Edition Adelle Neary – the so-called "singing diplomat" – has become a hit on the show Asing Star – or Foreign Star – after drawing high praise for her rendition of the classic Indonesian romantic ballad, Bengawan Solo.
Interviewed by the Jakarta Globe newspaper, she said: "The number of viewers ... is quite possibly bigger than the population of my country."
Ms Neary, 29, who works by day in the usually circumspect arena of Australian diplomacy, said she was not prepared for the amount of attention she has received. The programme, which features expatriates singing in Indonesian, is watched by about 9 million people.
"I didn't expect this to happen," she said. "If I'd realised it would get this much attention, I would probably have been too embarrassed."
Asked whether she would leave the diplomatic corps if offered a record deal, she said: "It would have to be a pretty good recording deal."
The trained diplomat then added: "No, I'm just joking. Working as a diplomat is something that I wanted to do for a long time, and I was lucky to get the opportunity to come to Indonesia, a country that I already had a close relationship with."
Ms Neary, who started learning Indonesian when she was 13, has been feted by Australia's foreign minister, Kevin Rudd. He this week posted a YouTube video of himself in Jakarta alongside Ms Neary and another official who entered as a contestant, Jeremy Stringer, who works for the government's aid organisation.
Mr Rudd has had strained relations with Jakarta, particularly over the passage of asylum seekers heading by boat to Australia. As the website news.com.au noted: "Kevin Rudd can't do it – no matter how hard he tries – but Australian diplomat Adelle Neary, from Adelaide, has won over the hearts and minds of Indonesia."
However, Mr Rudd, a former diplomat who is fluent in Mandarin but speaks no Indonesian, appeared to do few favours to the exercise in soft power, saying on his video that the singing sounded "like something you would sing before the haka".
"These guys seriously know how to sing," he said. "When they win I know they will attribute their success to the fact that they have been trained by the Australian foreign service and if they lose we'll just disown them."
Ms Neary has received the Government's approval to compete on the show and is due to appear in the grand final and a Valentine's Day special. However, if she wins, she will not be allowed to take any cash prizes and says she would donate her winnings to an Indonesian charity.
She said she was hoping to break down local stereotypes of Australians, who are not widely known for being fluent in Indonesian or for publicly singing on foreign soil while sober.
"I'm happy for them to laugh at me," she said. "It's all part of having a go ... It is surprising to me how musical this country is. It's just a good way to show respect and interest for the culture, but in a light-hearted way."