If you're Britney Spears, pop supernova, you zap the zit with the help of your makeup professional, limo up to the American Music Awards later that evening and beat out Jennifer Lopez to win favorite new pop-rock artist of 1999 -- while wearing a sparkling Chloé jumpsuit so revealing that your cleavage gets prominent display in newspapers across America the next day. It is, of course, just the sort of seamless transformation -- from bubblegum sweetheart to full-blown vixen -- that has made Spears, who turned 18 on Dec. 2, one of the most popular and controversial teenage entertainers ever. Her debut album of pulsing pop tunes, . . . Baby One More Time,has sold an astonishing 18 million copies worldwide, while her No. 1 single of the same name rivaled Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" as last year's most inescapable anthem. Spears's success -- she's up for a best new artist award at the Grammys on Feb. 23 -- has flooded MTV with a brigade of ever-blonder Britney clones, though Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore have a way to go before they command the kind of rabid fan support that Spears enjoys (there is, for instance, a Web site called Society of Future Husbands of Britney Spears, in which suitors pledge their undying love and use the word "hot" a lot). She even counts Britain's 17-year-old Prince William, with whom she says she has exchanged e-mail, as a fan. "She is a glorified 1950s high school cheerleader with an undertone of perverse 1990s sexuality," says feminist author Camille Paglia. "Britney is simultaneously wholesome and ripely sensual. She's Lolita on aerobics."

"She's a down-to-earth, fun girl," says Melissa Joan Hart of Spears (at the '99 premiere of Hart's movie Drive Me Crazy). Yet her seemingly sudden image overhaul -- from the coltish kid on the cover of her album released last January to the curvy temptress who nearly popped out of her tube top during a May Nickelodeon concert -- has ruffled more than a few feathers. Last April she donned hot pants and vamped it up in the doll-stuffed bedroom of her Kentwood, La., home for a Rolling Stone photo shoot, prompting the Mississippi-based American Family Association, a media watchdog group, to launch a Britney boycott. "When I saw the cover, I thought, 'Wow, this is hot,' but I guess other people thought it was too sexy," says Spears in her rapid-fire southern twang. "I'm not going to walk around in hot pants and a bra on the street, but when you're an artist you sometimes play a part." Posing in revealing outfits, she says, was not a calculated move on her part but rather just a case of the singer having fun dressing up. "I was becoming a young woman," she says, "and it's nice to feel sexy sometimes." Her good friend Melissa Joan Hart, star of the youth-oriented TV show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,similarly sexed up her image with scantily clad appearances on two magazine covers, leading to a reprimand from Sabrina's producers. "We'd call each other, and I'm like, 'God, how did you deal with this?' " says Hart, 23, who appeared in Spears's video "(You Drive Me) Crazy." "We both decided that we liked our decisions, and we just had to stand by them." Suggestions that Spears's handlers at Jive Records are exploiting her are, claims her comanager Larry Rudolph, way off base. "The record company wanted to keep things squeaky-clean, and she went along with it at first," he says. "But it quickly became clear that it wasn't natural for her. She doesn't want anyone to put a blanket around her and hide her. She's totally in control of what's going on."

Indeed no one, not even her flesh and blood, can prevent Spears from baring a little flesh. "Lately I've been telling her she needs to put on more clothes instead of some of the outfits she ends up wearing," says her brother Bryan, 22, a sports-administration major at Southwest Mississippi Community College. "She won't listen to me. She says, 'You have no style.'" But as the singer's wardrobe grew skimpier, whispers about her fuller physique grew louder, leading to persistent but unsubstantiated rumors that she has had breast implants. "Like I'm really going to get breast implants at 17?" says Spears, who insists her figure is due to natural development and a weight gain of around 15 lbs. (she's also fond of push-up bras). "It's a personal decision, and if women are doing it to make themselves feel better, I think it's fine. But 16, 17, 18 is too young for any surgery." At first Spears thought the implant rumors were a joke. "Then I would go up to people and they would stare at [my chest]," she says, "and I was like, 'Eeewwww!' But I had my cry, and now I just ignore it." Adds her mother, Lynne, a second-grade teacher: "Britney handles it pretty well, and she's gotten a tough skin on this. But I don't handle it so well. That's my baby they're telling lies about."

With all the scrutiny of her figure, it's easy to overlook Spears's singing and dancing -- skills she has been honing since she was a hyperactive tyke nicknamed Brit-Brit in her hometown of Kentwood (pop. 2,700), an hour north of New Orleans. "She was always performing and belting out these songs," remembers Bryan. "I'd yell at her to shut up, because I couldn't hear the TV." The second of three children born to Jamie Spears, 46, a building contractor, and his wife, Lynne, 44, she made her singing debut at age 5, crooning "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. Copying the sass and style of her idols Madonna and Mariah Carey (she had never had formal voice lessons), Spears auditioned for the revived Mickey Mouse ClubTV show in 1990, when she was 8. She didn't get the part, but the following year she enrolled in New York City's Professional Performing Arts School, moving into a sublet apartment in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen with her mother and baby sister Jamie Lynn, while her father and brother stayed behind in Kentwood.

Appearances in commercials and stage plays and on Star Search(she won) helped Spears finally land a part on the Mickey Mouse Club.At 11, she was the show's youngest performer, alongside Felicity's Keri Russell and 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake. When the program was canceled during her second season, Spears returned to Kentwood for what proved to be only a brief respite. "I did the homecoming thing and the prom thing, and I was totally bored," she says. Then, in June of 1997, New York City entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph set up an audition for Spears at Jive Records. "She was a little nervous when she came in, but once she started singing, she just blew us all away," says the label's president, Barry Weiss. "She became this different person."

Weiss signed the 15-year-old entertainer to a record contract and sent her to Sweden to craft her debut album with writer-producer Max Martin, one of the hitmakers behind the Backstreet Boys. For her first video, " . . . Baby One More Time," Jive wanted a cartoonish superhero theme. Spears insisted on a racier schoolgirl motif. "She genuinely wanted to go down that road," says the video's director, Nigel Dick. "It wasn't like we pushed Britney into doing anything. Most of the time you have to hold her back a bit." Indeed, it was Spears who made the seminal decision to tie her button-down shirt into a knot, revealing for the first time her now-ubiquitous midriff. "The outfits looked kind of dorky, so I was like, 'Let's tie up our shirts and be cute,'" she explains. "It was about being a girl and knowing about fashion." Spears's instinct for showing skin when the cameras roll may trouble some, but her mother, for one, is fine with it. "I did not raise a promiscuous daughter," says Lynne. "Day to day, Britney dresses like any other kid."

Thanks to the video and aggressive marketing by Jive, Spears's album and single both hit No. 1, making her the youngest female performer to ever accomplish that feat. "That first song was just a killer pop song, and she delivered it well," says Larry Flick, talent editor at Billboard magazine. Spears's instant success "was partly because she's cute and talented," he adds, "and partly because Jive did such a masterful job of promoting her." Since the song's release, life for Spears has been a dizzying blur of concerts, video shoots and TV appearances, as well as home-study high school courses through the correspondence program of the University of Nebraska (Spears has a year of high school left and would love to go to college someday). While her mother often accompanies her to awards shows, family friend Felicia Culotta, 35, travels with her as a sort of chaperone. "And when Britney gets homesick she'll just hop a plane and come home," says Lynne. "The longest we've been apart is six weeks, which is hard, because she's still my girl, and I miss her."

"I wasn't a permissive mother at all,"says Lynne Spears (with Britney at the '99 Teen Choice Awards). Spears, too, finds it hard to be away from her family. "There are days when I go back to my hotel room and cry for no reason," she says. "Then I get in the bubble bath and light some candles, and that solves everything." Her bodyguards and traveling staff wrap Spears in a protective cocoon while she's on tour, but they can't always deflect unwanted attention. Recently, Spears was alone in her room in the Four Seasons hotel in L.A., standing on the balcony and chatting with her mom on her cell phone. Then she noticed an older man leering at her from an adjacent balcony. "The balconies were really close, and it freaked me out," she says. "I ran inside, and I was like, 'Oh God, Momma, I'm so scared!' "Her bodyguards hit the dance floor with Spears when she ventures to a club, but even then she must deal with her share of drooling cretins. "When I just want to dance and there's a lot of drunk guys just standing there staring at me, it's like, 'Eeewwww!'" says Spears. "I have to say the older [fans] are creepy. The 40-year-olds, people who are in your face too much. I can't concern myself with them."

Another drawback to being globally adored is that most guys her age "are a little intimidated by me," says Spears. "Do you think they come up to me at parties and chitchat? No. They don't really say anything and act kind of shy." Her one serious relationship, with a local Louisiana boy, ended last year, and now Spears insists she's far too busy to date anyone, much less her rumored beau Justin Timberlake ("We're just friends," she swears). Nor does she have a planned Valentine's Day rendezvous with Prince William, as has been reported in the British press. But while Buckingham Palace denies that the prince and pop princess have exchanged e-mail, Spears's camp says they have -- and it's no big deal. When Jive Records discovered that William was a fan, they sent him an autographed picture of the singer last September. The prince responded with a personal letter to Spears, says her comanager Rudolph, kicking off the exchange of e-mail between the young Brit and Britney. Spears, however, won't divulge if they have met or plan to meet. "He's very cute and so sweet," she says. "But people blow things out of proportion." She does admit to having one new companion: Mitzi, the Yorkshire terrier puppy her parents gave her for Christmas. "We'd go into places, and she would pee everywhere," says Spears. "But it's so good, because when I go home I have somebody who misses me."

Spears and little sister Jamie Lynn (7 years old in '99) "are so close," says their mom. "Britney used to diaper and bathe her."

Dating woes? Flirting by e-mail? A cute little puppy? Sounds like the life of "a pretty normal girl," which is how Spears describes herself. She still lives with her parents in the modest three-bedroom ranch-style Kentwood house where she grew up. She's also partial to pizza, cappuccino and Jackie Collins novels and recently had her belly button pierced over the mild protestations of her mom. "I told her, 'Oh, Britney, I just don't like that!'" says Lynne. "I know she's 18 and can make her own decisions. But I didn't want her making this one."Then there are her crushes on the usual hunky suspects. "Britney is obsessed with Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck," says her best friend and cousin Laura Lynne Covington, 18. "I mean, she is really obsessed with them."

"I just try to be myself, and hopefully kids will dig that," says Spears (with fans in Manhattan in '99). Of course, not many "normal girls" can take a meeting with Affleck, as Spears did last year (they each showed up with a friend to their lunch date at a Planet Hollywood). The singer has also bought a four-bedroom Tudor-style gated house for her family on 7 1/2 acres in Kentwood -- a necessity since fans often come right to the door of their current home. This Christmas, Spears bought her mother a white Mercedes sedan to go with the white Mercedes convertible she picked up for herself (Dad got a stainless-steel outdoor grill). "She handed me the keys, and I figured she got something like a Mazda 626," says Lynne. "Then she blindfolded me and took me outside, and when I saw the Mercedes, I started to cry."

Not the usual way a teenager brings her mother to tears, but that's Britney. Raised as a Baptist, she jots her daily prayers in a journal she calls her Bible Book and vows never to get too shocking, like her idol Madonna. "That's just not me," says Spears. "I don't want to go out and be bad and do crazy things." Perhaps a bigger challenge is not turning into the next Tiffany, the mall-playing pop sensation whose overnight success was followed by overnight obscurity. "I think her next record is going to show she has more talent than everyone gives her credit for," says Larry Flick. "It helps that she's the most down-to-earth of all the little divas out there." Spears is also gearing up to go Hollywood; although scheduling problems scotched a planned guest spot on Dawson's Creek,she is pondering several movie offers and likes a script that would have her play the President's rebellious daughter opposite -- big surprise -- Ben Affleck. "He would have to be in it!" says a blushing Spears. "He is soooo cute."

Her main priority, however, is maintaining as much normality as the new millennium's queen of pop can reasonably expect. Recently, she joined her mother for one of their favorite pastimes -- a trip to the mall to shop and get manicures. But Spears resisted Lynne's suggestion that she don a disguise, preferring just to put on a baseball cap. "Stupid, stupid," says Spears. "All of a sudden people all over the mall are looking at me. The whole [store] entrance was backed up with people! It was overwhelming. A lot of times, I forget that I'm a celebrity." Teens today -- always forgetting something.

JOHN NORRIS: Hi, welcome. Welcome home, I guess, you might say.
BRITNEY SPEARS: I know, it's so exciting to be home, my hometown.
JOHN: Is this cool, special for you?
BRITNEY: Yeah, oh God yes.
JOHN: Anything special planned for tonight's show?
BRITNEY: Um, no not really. I'm just gonna talk to the crowd a lot, you know, 'cause my family's out there and all my friends,
you know. They'll be screaming for me. I'm excited.
JOHN: Well, as you know, we kinda spent the day in Kentwood and kinda delved into your past and met some family and friends. Do you...first of all, let me talk to you about growing up in a, in a town that's pretty small of, you know, by most standards. A lot of people would think that it would be tough to, you know, to
really break out and do what you've done, coming from a town that small. How tough was it?
BRITNEY: Well, it was really strange because, like, I was always the one telling my mom, you know, "I want to go to gymnastics, I wanna go to vocal lessons" you know, and, you know, people were like, "You're taking your child to New York?" , you know? 'Cause I'm like, from such a small town it was just, like, really strange but I'm just so thankful that they were so supportive throughout the whole time. They just knew this is what I wanted to do and they just went that extra mile to support me, you know? So, I'm just so happy for that.
JOHN: What is the best thing and the worst thing about growing up in Kentwood?
BRITNEY: The best thing and the worst thing? Well, the best thing is just that, you know, I mean, it's just, I can...it's just your home, you know? You've got your...my grandpa, and my, you know, my granny and I can just go next door if I want to and if she's gonna cook me some pie or whatever, you know? It's just so laid back. But then again, um, everyone knows your business. That's the bad thing about it. Everyone, you know, talk, you know, talking behind your back and stuff like that. And um, so when I do come home I kind of have to keep it a secret sometimes because they're like, so many people who are just, you know... 
JOHN: Low profile?
BRITNEY: Oh yeah, oh yeah.
JOHN: You can't go hang out at Sonic anymore?
BRITNEY: Oh yeah, yeah, I can. Yeah, me and my cousin Laura Lynn, we always drive up in Sonic so...
JOHN: So now, I know you were back there for Christmas, in Kentwood right? Is the reaction of people different? I mean, do they treat you differently now after what's, everything that's happened in the last six months? 
BRITNEY: No, I mean, there's a lot more like, "Congratulations", you know, "I'm so happy for you," and stuff like that but no, 'cause like my friends are like my sisters, you know? So, I mean, it's like, when I go home it's so like, "Oh, let's go do this, let's go..." It's completely normal. I don't have to worry about, you know, them treating me any differently at all. Because I've known them for all my life. I grew up with them, so... 
JOHN: Do you think, do you think the small town environment, the small town roots, helps you, as far as being out, seeing as much of the world, being around the things you're around now as opposed to having grown up kind of a wild child in midtown Manhattan, for instance? 
BRITNEY: I think so, I think I'm more grounded, you know, and I know what I want out of life and I'm, you know, my morals are really, you know, strong and I have major beliefs about certain things and I think that has helped me, you know, from being, you know, coming from a really small town. 
JOHN: Speaking of which, I mean, I'm sure there are some conservative types in a small town. Did any of them think, "Wow, you know, why are you letting your daughter get into such a, you know, big bad business like the music industry?"
BRITNEY: I'm sure there were. I mean, 'cause my mom, you know, there were times that she would be like "You know, some lady called me up and was like, "What are you doing, you know, sending your child to New York and..." You know, it was really a crazy thing to do, but then all of the...
JOHN: A stranger or...?
BRITNEY: Just a friend.
JOHN: So there were some people who had something to say about...
BRITNEY: Yeah, but it was really weird because all of the sudden, six months later, they're sending their child to, you know, away and trying to, you know, so that was funny.
JOHN: Do you, do you feel like you've been an inspiration to other kids in Kentwood or anywhere else?
BRITNEY: I mean, I hope so. I hope that, you know, if they have something that, you know, talent singing, dancing, or acting,
or whatever it may be, and you know, God has given them that gift to do that, then they should, you know, go for it and try to,
you know, let the world see it.
JOHN: I gotta' tell you, I was, um, impressed and kinda surprised when I talked to your mom about the period when you guys
went to New York and you did the off Broadway show and, that, she was, she didn't seem to like, be very concerned about you,
you know, young girl, being in the big city and, granted, she was with you but, um, she seemed like she was completely supportive of it.
BRITNEY: Oh yeah, totally. Oh, gosh yes. My dad and my family and everyone has been so supportive. And it was really strange because it was really hard at first, you know, being in New York at such a young age but then I went to school and then like, being younger, you're gonna find new friends and you're gonna' have certain things that you do during the day to have fun. So, yeah, it worked out good.
JOHN: Yet, you're lucky to have parents who are supportive like that. 'Cause I'm sure there are a lot of people who'd be tougher, right?
BRITNEY: Right, right.
JOHN: I guess they had been convinced because you had already done quite a bit up to that point. You did the MMC thing, you did...I mean, you had some success before you...
BRITNEY: Right, right and I just drove my mom crazy, singing all the time and she's like, "Lord, she needs to sing." You know, with the hairspray, in front of the mirror.
JOHN: She said something about it was hard to get you to shut up. Did you have any idols that you wanted to emulate that you really listened to a lot growing up?
BRITNEY: Yeah, Whitney Houston, oh my God. I loved her. And Madonna, you know, in "Like a Prayer" and all those songs. Prince and, oh God... Mariah Carey.
JOHN: So, was...I read, something I read recently, that it was in church at age four that was, I guess, officially your first public
performance?
BRITNEY: I don't even remember!
JOHN: And it said you did "What Child Is This"?
BRITNEY: Right, and I saw a video camera of it and I had my head turned to the side like that 'cause I was so nervous, it was so cute.
JOHN: Oh, so a tape exists of this?
BRITNEY: Yeah.
JOHN: Oh wow, I'd love to see that.
BRITNEY: Oh my goodness.
JOHN: So, um, do you remember was there any point at which you...was it a gradual thing that you decided, "This is what I want to do for a career?"
BRITNEY: It was probably um, when I was on the Mickey Mouse Club that I realized that I had such a major love for music, because we had concerts and we got to be in the recording studio and I was just in love with music. And that's when I realized, I wanna' go for this. But when the show was canceled, um, um sad, I
went home and I was just like a normal kid, you know, I went to the Prom and the whole Homecoming deal. And then I was like, you know, "I want to perform again and I want to get out there." And I had an entertainment lawyer, Larry, in New York and I came up there and pop music was coming back and it just really
made sense. So I went to Jive records and they signed me so...
JOHN: This is like a year and a half ago?
BRITNEY: After...yeah, yeah.
JOHN: So, what...how was it coming back to Kentwood? Because, I mean, you had been in New York, you'd been in Orlando doing the Mickey Mouse Club, and then to go back to a relatively small town and kind of a normal, you know, teenage life...was it...did you feel restless being back there?
BRITNEY: Um, not really because the Mickey Mouse Club was really laid back. They really pampered you. You were on for six months and then you went home for six months. So, I mean, this right now, this is my dream and this is what I want to do but it's a lot crazier than that. So when I came home, it was a little different, because I was used to having my little schedule and having certain things I'd do every day. But for the most part it was completely normal. It was satisfying.
JOHN: But then, there was a point, there must have come a point, where you said, "I gotta' do something 'cause Mickey Mouse Club is over..."
BRITNEY: Oh, oh yeah. Then, oh yeah, totally. I went home and it was like a year and I was just like, "Eh!" I wanted to sing
and I wanted to perform and performing for all these functions in my home town just wasn't enough, you know? So I hooked up
with my entertainment lawyer and thank goodness, I mean, it just, the timing was awesome.
JOHN: Now, was it through him that you eventually met Max Martin and the Swedish people that you work with?
BRITNEY: The record label hooked us up.
JOHN: Right. What was it like being over there working on that?
BRITNEY: Actually it was my first time to be overseas so, that was just phenomenal. It was really, really nice. But I didn't get to see that much of Sweden because I was in the booth the whole time. We were actually supposed to do only three songs in ten days when I went there, but we just worked so well together, with
Max's crew, and they were just like, "I want you to do this song, I want you to do this song!" So we ended up doing, like, half the album over there and we got a lot of work done. So, I was happy with that.
JOHN: Do you feel there's a real difference between the Swedish half of the album and the New York half of the album? Do you hear a real difference?
BRITNEY: Yeah, I do hear a difference but it goes well together. You know, I think it blends really well together. Because Max's stuff, you can hear a little bit of that European twang to it, totally.
JOHN: Did people associate it with other people he's worked with, Ace of Base, whoever.
BRITNEY: And 'N Sync and Backstreet, yeah. He was the guy that I worked with at first and, you know, that's when the label realized, "Oh, we do have something here!" He's just brilliant. He's incredible and they went to the next level with me. But yeah, his stuff is more American. He's awesome.
JOHN: Does the way that "...Baby One More Time" [28.8 RealVideo] has just exploded in the last few months surprise you at all or did you have a good feeling about that song to begin with?
BRITNEY: Well, I hoped and I dreamed...
JOHN: Did you think that was the one, though, that would break through for you?
BRITNEY: Oh yeah, I totally did. The first time they brought it to the record label and they played the song, I was just like, "This song is, you know, is gonna be it." I was so excited. And you know, I was really worried because I'd worked for a year, for so long and I was really hoping and wanting it to do well. But then when it debuted at so, you know, really high, I was just like, "Aaaw!" I was so excited. I was really overwhelmed.
JOHN: Do you have another favorite, personal favorite track on the album?
BRITNEY: Yeah, it's a slow song called "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart." It's just, it's a really nice song. It talks about your first love and, you know, every girl can relate to that.
JOHN: Speaking of which, as I understand, you had a relationship that kind of ended as your career took off. Is that that right
BRITNEY: Uh huh.
JOHN: Is that just because it was hard to have, maintain, that...
BRITNEY: Yeah, 'cause when you're traveling, you just get caught up in so much stuff and there's no time to have a relationship. I mean, I'm home, what, every six weeks, you know? Not even that, now. And it's just really hard to have a relationship and that trust thing. If he doesn't trust you then, there's nothing there and, you
know, the possessiveness. You can't have that. And I'm young and I just want to have fun right now.
JOHN: Do you, so you don't really miss that? I mean, there's so much else going on in your life...
BRITNEY: No, no not at all.
JOHN: Right. Um, I'm glad. Another track I wanted to ask you about is "Soda Pop," which is a kind of cool reggae-oriented thing. Whose song was that?
BRITNEY: That was Eric Foster's song. Yeah, it's like a party song. It's a song that, you know, you get ready to before you go out at night. Yeah, and Mikey Basie, he does the, the reggae thing. Yeah, it's just a fun party song. I like that song.
JOHN: Now, the next single is "Sometimes," right? Anything you can tell me about that song or the video that's coming up?
BRITNEY: We're looking at treatments right now but we haven't found the right one because we want the video to be really, really neat. So, we're looking for that. But it's probably gonna' be similar to "Baby One More Time," with the dancing. But it's gonna' be to the next level. So yeah, I'm excited about it 'cause it's like the
type of song that's mid-tempo -- you know, it's just like, it's a really cool song.
JOHN: How much do you think the video for "Baby One More Time" has helped the single do as well as it's done?
BRITNEY: Oh, I think it's helped tremendously, because it's, you know, it's with girls being in school, something that girls can all
relate to, and they're bored. I wanna' get out of school. And we get out and there's dancing, and that makes it more interesting
and there's like a storyline with me wanting the guy, wanting him back. So, yeah, I think it's helped a lot.
JOHN: Are you happy with the critical response? Do you read reviews and, secondly, have you been at all surprised by them?
BRITNEY: I really haven't read anything yet. I mean, I might. They show me the good ones. I haven't read the bad ones.
JOHN: I haven't seen too many real negative ones, actually.
BRITNEY: Good, good. I'm happy to hear that.
JOHN: It doesn't really affect you one way or the other?
BRITNEY: No, I mean, critics are gonna be critics, you know? And then just, you know, whatever the audience hears and whatever they like and whatever they want is what I'm concerned with.
JOHN: Ok. Let me get back to questions just about Kentwood before I forget. I heard a few old stories from your friends and family that I just want to run by you. I heard a story about when you were running track and you didn't hear the starting gun? Does this sound familiar? Would you like to elaborate?
BRITNEY: Well, I was, like, standing there and I was getting all pumped up to go and it was so fast and he just did the gun and I was just like (looks vacant)...
JOHN: It just came all of the sudden.
BRITNEY: Yeah! And he did it so fast, I was just like, "Oh well." I was really embarrassed.
JOHN: I spoke to your third grade teacher who told me about when you just handed her your retainer before you had to go perform. You took your retainer out and shoved it in her hand, do you remember this?
BRITNEY: No, I don't remember that one. Oh, I can't believe I did that, oh well.
JOHN: Brian, typical brother, was like...I asked, "What was she like growing up?" and he goes, "Basically a pain."
BRITNEY: Oh, whatever. He was the pain! I mean, he's like the overprotective bother, which is good though, you want that in an older brother.
JOHN: He is? See now, it's funny you should say that 'cause I asked him, I said, "Are you a little worried about her being out there in the real world?" And he said, "Oh no, you know, I trust her and all." But does he still...?
BRITNEY: Yeah, but when I come home it's different. Like, he trusts me out 'cause basically he can't do anything about it, right? So when I come home, he's just like, "Where you going? What you doing?"
JOHN: Like you're gonna get in any trouble in Kentwood that you're not in New York or L.A.
BRITNEY: Right.
JOHN: He also said, basically that he taught you everything you knew.
BRITNEY: Oh, ok.
JOHN: I think he just wanted to take credit for that. Anyway, I saw your collection of dolls. That was really cool. Is that something you've done for a long time?
BRITNEY: Oh yeah, every Christmas I get a doll. I'm in love with dolls. Yeah.
JOHN: There's hardly any room left in your room.
BRITNEY: I know! I need to get, like, a big cabinet to start putting them in 'cause they're just like...my room is so small and I have these dolls everywhere!
JOHN: I did see some more Mickey Mouse Club pictures...
BRITNEY: Oh, you did?
JOHN: A very little Justin Timberlake when he was about, what was he, eight years old or something?
BRITNEY: Um, probably like twelve, oh goodness. We were so little. We were like babies.
JOHN: I know, you're right. Does it look weird when you look back at those pictures?
BRITNEY: Oh yeah! I was such a baby. And I thought I was so, you know, knew everything. Still do.
JOHN: But like you said, there were some pretty successful alumni from that Mickey Mouse Club. Keri Russell, who's on Felicity...
BRITNEY: Yeah, Felicity, J.C. and Justin. Ryan Gosling, he's on Nickelodeon right now, doing the new Hercules. And, um, I think that's it. And Christina Agulularia, she's signed to RCA now and her album should be coming out pretty soon.
JOHN: When you go back home now and you actually walk into the room you grew up in and having blow up in the way that you have in your career, is it good for you or is it, "Wow, this is still part of my life too?"
BRITNEY: Oh, it's so good! I just see my bed and I get to sleep in my bed, you know. I love my bed and my fan. I'm such a homey person, I have everything
where it's supposed to be and, you know. I love going into my room.
JOHN: I hear Jamie Lynn has kind of taken over your room.
BRITNEY: Oh, she has. Every time I come home I'm like...'A hem!' Because all my dolls are put somewhere different and I'm
just like...ugh! I have everything, I'm such a clean nut.
JOHN: Yeah. You a Virgo?
BRITNEY: No.
JOHN: Oh, ok...'cause they're supposed to be real...
BRITNEY: No, actually Aries.
JOHN: Oh, you are?
BRITNEY: Yeah.
JOHN: I hear that, speaking of your sister, that she's showing signs of wanting to follow in your footsteps.
BRITNEY: Yeah, she sings! She can really sing. It's really weird because when I was younger, I was really quiet and shy, but when you first meet her she's like that too, but oh my goodness.
JOHN: She kept saying "Yes sir" to me. I'm like, "I'm not your dad, please!"
BRITNEY: I know, I guess it's a Southern thing. Because I say yes sir, yes ma'am, wherever I go. But like, she is really, really like, you know, a wild child. She is like, full of personality and everything so there's no telling what she's gonna do.
JOHN: Have there been other people in Kentwood who've been kind of inspired, do you think , by you?
BRITNEY: Um, I hope so. I mean, I've seen some younger kids that were like, "Oh Britney, can I have some voice lessons from you?" which is so flattering, you know? It's really cute. It's really sweet that they want to sing and express their music.
JOHN: When you think back to growing up in that house, in that town, were you always optimistic that something like this would happen someday?
BRITNEY: Yeah, I think I've always had it in me.
JOHN: The confidence?
BRITNEY: Yeah, I wanted it, really, really bad, you know? But, um, there was times when I was just like, eh, that's a fantasy world, you know, living that. I could never. But then, I always had it in the back of my head. I'm gonna go for it and if it works out, that's fine but if it doesn't, well great.
JOHN: A lot of people talked about last year being the year of the boy bands in America. All of the sudden they came back. For a long time it had been hard for them, now Backstreet, 'N Sync. And then I read a thing the other day, one journalist saying that they thought that this year would be the same kind of thing for young
females, for people like yourself as an example. But, also a lot of yk, they mentioned Bewitched, Cleopatra, all these girl groups coming up. Do you see that happening at all? Would you like to?
BRITNEY: Yeah, I would, I totally would, yeah. I mean...I mean, I think it's just like a period, yk, that all the sudden...I think it's so strange how there was New Kids on the Block were really, really big and everything went down and it was just a period of (JOHN: Kind of a backlash)...Right, right, but that would be good for me.
JOHN: Spice Girls? Into them at all?
BRITNEY: Oh, I love the Spice Girls, yeah, yeah. I just like their whole, you know...
JOHN: Yeah, they're a lot of fun. And, speaking of boy bands...you're obviously been associated with 'N Sync very much up to this point in your career. Is that a
good thing or did you feel like sometimes, "Oh, at some point I need to get out of the shadow of 'N Sync"?
BRITNEY: Um, well right now I think the timing of me opening up for them is really, really great. Hopefully, you know, one day I'll have my own tour. It's a big dream. But, right now, I think it's, you know, really, really good and the guys are really, really cool guys. But the only thing I was worried about was the girls having
that jealousy with me opening up for them and them loving the guys and [being] like, "Who is this girl? Get off the stage, I wanna' see 'N Sync!" But so far the crowd has been really responsive.
JOHN: And, speaking of jealousy, I should at least clear up, 'cause I know you've answered it a million times, but there's this, this continuous rumor about you and Justin...
BRITNEY: No, it's not true. No, no, they're just like big brothers to me. Yeah.
JOHN: You have known him and J.C. a long time.
BRITNEY: Right, right, I guess that's why they think that, because we were on the, you know, Mickey Mouse Club together so they just assume that.
JOHN: So, it's not like someone's publicist started this rumor or something like that?
BRITNEY: I don't know where it came from.
JOHN: Well, less people are asking about it now, so I think maybe it's starting to fade away. Let me ask you about another comparison. These guys, 'N Sync and Backstreet and all these boy bands always get the question of, "Do you feel like you're continuing the tradition of New Kids?" And then the name from the past that I keep hearing brought up as compared to you is Debbie Gibson. Do you feel any kind of, like, there's ground for comparison between you and what she's...
BRITNEY: I think people say that just because she sang pop music and she was young. My music is totally different. It's edgier and you know, we're two totally different people so I don't see why people say that. I guess people wanna' say things...
JOHN: So, also, when we were sitting down with some of your girlfriends in Kentwood they mentioned the fact that there was never, never a lack of dates for Britney Spears. Is this true, were they like, beating down the doors?
BRITNEY: Noooooo! Not at all! I never really dated dated. I just dated a bunch of guys, like, as friends. So I could have fun so, yeah.
JOHN: 'Cause I said, the town has only got 2,225 people. You'd have to run out of guys sooner or later. They said, "Well she never did!"
BRITNEY: No, no, I just, um, had a lot of guy friends.
JOHN: How do you deal with the guys and the guys who probably wait for you after shows and write you letters or send you...do you get all kinds of crazy gifts?
BRITNEY: Um, yeah but they're all really, really sweet and I haven't had any that are freaky. That's good, I wouldn't like that at all. But so far they've been really nice.
JOHN: So there haven't been situations where you feel like security was an issue?
BRITNEY: There was one time when I was at home and this guy came to my house, but he parked, like, half a block away. And thank goodness I wasn't home alone. So he came and he came knocking on the door and I was like, "oh my goodness", and it was really freaky, I didn't like that. But that's the only thing that's
happened.
JOHN: On the good side of this success, I would imagine that you feel like, with a lot of young girls in your audience, that you're a role model. I mean, do you get a lot of letters asking for advice?
BRITNEY: Yeah, but it's mainly about, you know, how can I get into the show business and stuff like that. So, it's nothing, and they have had problems and everything, but nothing too deep.
JOHN: Well, I tell you I was really impressed today when we were there in a parking lot with just car after car after car and banners just written on, "We love you Britney!" It was amazing. It must be something special being from a town that's a real tight community like that. As you said, sometimes they're kind of in your business, but...
BRITNEY: Yeah, but when I go home, it's just like you can go to everyone. Everyone's like, your family because you've been there for so long and you're neighbors and it's awesome.
JOHN: Did you ever, as a fan, as a kid growing up, make signs and go to concerts for any particular artist?
BRITNEY: No, not really. I was never one of the ones...I mean, I would put like, posters up of people on TV shows in my room, but I was never the type of person to like, go crazy and scream and da da da da da. I was never like that. I don't know why, maybe I missed out.
JOHN: So now, let me ask you about, say, five years down the road. Is pop music and being a recording artist definitely what you want to do or would you like to incorporate it into, say, doing theater, I know you've done theater before. Or would you rather continue recording on your own?
BRITNEY: I want music to always be a part of my life. It will always be a part of my life and I just want to grow as a person each time each album comes out. I wanna focus on my music right now and if, like, film or something comes up, I'd go for it. But music will always be my main priority. Just like Madonna. I respect her
so much because every time, she has changed, and I just totally admire that.