Sheryl Crow's hits include All I Wanna Do

Ambrose Kappos, 38, of New York, is accused of breaking in to her dressing room at a concert venue where Ms Crow was due to perform last October.

Ms Crow, 42, is expected to testify at the trial in New York next week.

Mr Kappos' defence lawyer Stan Hickman urged jurors to keep an open mind until all evidence had been heard.

Mr Kappos is free on $15,000 (�8,100) bail. He was discharged from the Navy last year after taking emergency medical leave.

Concern

"This defendant is a stalker and has a dangerous obsession for Sheryl Crow," said assistant district attorney Tara Daly in her opening statement at Manhattan Supreme Court.

"This defendant did not stop at merely being a fan but got personal with her."

She said that Ms Crow's father Warren became "greatly concerned about his daughter's safety".

Prosecutors said Mr Kappos flew from his naval base in Virginia in early 2003 to Missouri to see Ms Crow's sister and parents, after he found out where they lived using the internet.

Ms Daly said Mr Kappos told Warren Crow that he found the family's home by following a bird, and that he wanted a date with his daughter.

Defence lawyer Mr Hickman emphasised at an earlier hearing that his client had not been accused of anything violent.