Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana has said that her debut studio album, 2008’s Mediocre, was meant to take on old-fashioned images of women as demure, repressed, one-dimensional beings. The only thing that drives home that point better than Sariñana’s album is the artist herself.

At 23, she is a film and television star, in addition to being an outspoken Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, and she’s currently headlining her first U.S. tour. Her beautiful voice and laid-back, jazzy style have drawn comparisons to Norah Jones, but Sariñana is more complex than that. Songs such as “Normal” and “No Vuelvo Mas” are mellow, for sure, but always with a bit of edge bubbling just under the surface.

As is often the case with newly crowned industry darlings, Sariñana is pretty busy these days: On Thursday she’s headed down to Miami for the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where Medicore is nominated in the Latin Rock/Alternative Album Of The Year category. But, you can see her tonight at the 9:30 club, with Matthew Santos. Take advantage of the opportunity-from the look of things, Sariñana may soon be hard to catch.

Sariñana performs at 7 p.m. at the 9:30 club, 815 V St. NW. $18. (202) 265-0930.