So you're half of Montreal pop duo Sky -- one of Canada's most successful acts of 1999 -- and just before you snag best new group honours at the 2000 Juno Awards, your lead singer-lyricist James quits because of an aversion to the spotlight.

 What do you do?

 If you're Sky's singer-songwriter-producer-multi-instrumentalist Antoine, you just pick up where you left off.

 And with a female, no less.

 Anastasia, an acquaintance since they were Montreal teens jamming together in college bands, has replaced James on the band's sophomore effort, Travelling Infinity, which hits stores Tuesday.

 "If we don't have success -- that's not the goal," said Antoine during an interview in Toronto this week with Anastasia at his side. "The goal is to make the best record we can, to write the best songs we can write. If people like them, then f---in' great. If people don't ....

 "Then too bad," Anastasia chimes in. "But at least we're satisfied with what we've done."

 Adds Antoine: "We're confident that we got a great f---in' record and we got a great f---in' band. So, after that, you know if the public don't understand or fans are freaking out because now we've got a female singing instead of a male, well so be it."

 Antoine says he knew as far back as 1992 that James wasn't comfortable as a frontman, so he wasn't that upset when he finally decided to leave. (James moved to L.A. and is trying to make his living solely as a songwriter.)

 But he does think re-connecting with Anastasia was meant to be. She was playing the club scene in Montreal and working at a restaurant that was one of his favourite haunts.

 "When J (James) left -- then I came up to her," says Antoine. "I was like, ' I wrote all these new songs. How do you feel like maybe coming in and writing some lyrics for them?' And see just how it would gel. We started demo-ing some tracks together, (and) the chemistry, the emotion, everything was there."

 For now, Antoine is buoyed by the fact that Travelling Infinity's first single, Superhero, is the No. 12 song in Canada.

 He also thinks that Anastasia, an attractive woman whose olive-colored skin and dark eyes reflect her mother's Chilean background, may even draw a new fanbase

 "We never had really a lot of male fans before. I think we'll get some male fans now with Anastasia. Everything will balance out in the end, I hope."

 However, Anastasia admits that replacing James -- whose lyrics, distinctive voice and heart-throb status helped propel the first Sky album, Piece Of Paradise, to sales of 250,000 in Canada -- was daunting.

 "James had done such a wonderful job with Piece Of Paradise, that it is a frightening thing," she says. "But I can't cling on that. I am my own person. I am a singer-songwriter. I'm a performer. I'm all these together and I think I do a pretty good job."

 Both Anastasia and Antoine say they're taking their new partnership one album at a time, although they are looking ahead to a possible February tour across Canada.

 When Sky finally does hit the road, Anastasia says she will be singing only some of the material from Piece Of Paradise, which spawned three hits -- Some Kinda Wonderful, Love Song and Push. But the transition will be a gradual one.

 "We want to do this gently and not freak out the crowd --- me singing a full song that James used to do -- maybe the audience won't necessarily dig that. So we're gradually letting the people accept it."

 For his part, Antoine says he's just relishing the fact that he's now working with an enthusiastic partner.

 "We definitely now have two energies that go in the same direction, which is fantastic," he says.

 SKY'S THE LIMIT: Antoine and Anastasia will appear tomorrow afternoon with a seven-piece band at HMV Square One at 2 p.m. to perform songs from their new album, Travelling Infinity, and sign autographs.