When the popular Brisbane duo Savage Garden returns to the U.S. this month, they have an important date to keep. Influential talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell has demanded they appear on her show. She declared on air that the duo's debut single, I Want You, is her favorite song. "She gets the audience at her show to sing the chorus," Daniel Jones says. "We really like her, so we're looking forward to going on the show." Savage Garden - Daniel, 23, and Darren Hayes, 24 - have taken the Australian and U.S. charts by storm.

I Want You went Top Five in Australia and it's now in the U.S. Top 15.The duo's second single, To The Moon & Back, went to number one in Australia, while their third single, Truly Madly Deeply, is now in the Top Five. Savage Garden has just released their self-titled album in Australia. It comes out in the U.S. on April 15. "It has happened really quickly," Daniel says. "I guess we've been really fortunate that we landed in the right place at the right time. I hope nobody holds it against us."

Darren says: "There's been a hell of a lot of good luck involved. We've always been doing this, and suddenly it's the right time for it." Darren says Savage Garden "is unashamedly pop". "When I was growing up, my world was Star Wars, Michael Jackson, Duran Duran," he says. "These were the super-gods of my youth. When you get to a stage of writing music, you react to your influences."

Darren and Daniel say they're surprised to suddenly be pin-up pop stars. "If people think we're pleasing to the eye, that's good," Darren says. "But we haven't pushed that side at all. Savage Garden is first and foremost about the songs."

Darren says he loves to surf the Internet. "You can pretend to be other people, and I'm not 'Darren from Savage Garden'. "But I have to add that I've honestly wanted to be a star since I was five years old. I'm embracing this with both hands. I feel more comfortable with it (celebrity) than Daniel does." Daniel says: "I think anyone can look good, it's just a case of getting the right camera angle." He says he's happy that the songs have connected with people of all ages. "That's something to be quite proud of. I think the music's a little bit spiritual and people of all ages and backgrounds can relate to it." Darren and Daniel have put together a five-piece band and will start a national tour soon.

Their worldwide assault continues with the release of I Want You in Europe on April 17. And they say they are already halfway through their second album. "We've written 15 songs," Darren says, "and we'll set aside a month at the end of the year to finish them."