Britfree

When in Rome, as they say, well, you know what you are supposed to do.

So when Britney Spears was in Seoul last Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 8 and 9) for the Asian launch of her new album, In the Zone (BMG Records), she wowed the media guys from all over Asia by showing up for the presscon at a function room of the Marriott Hotel dressed in a pink Korean kimono that made her look like a walking and talking Dresden doll.

Three years ago when I first interviewed her in Tokyo during the Asian launch of her second album, Oops! I Did it Again, Britney wore a Japanese kimono to the presscon and it must be her way of endearing herself (with smashing success!) to the host country. I suppose that, as she plans to, she comes here next year for an album promo or a concert, Britney will wrap herself in either a Maria Clara attire or an Igorot-inspired one (topless?).

Now 22 (born on Dec. 2, 1981 in Kentwood, Louisiana), Britney has radically changed since then. She has become fodder for the gossip mill. In a US magazine interview, she confessed having lost her innocence to former boyfriend Justin Timberlake (who has successfully embarked on a solo career away from N’SYNC, the group he was originally a member of), whom she described as "my first serious boyfriend."

There were more "shockers": She had a well-publicized fling with other guys after she broke up with Justin (now romantically linked to Cameron Diaz), including Hollywood’s new "bad boy" Colin Farrell, Jared Leto (Cameron’s "ex"), Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst and even Ben Affleck (still Jennifer Lopez’s current squeeze). And then, during the recent MTV Video Music Awards, she and Madonna did an open-mouth-tongue-out kiss, a bold public act that (plus her sexy way of dressing) prompted the wife of the Governor of Maryland to announce, during a domestic-violence conference, her desire to "shoot" Britney.

During that Tokyo interview, I asked Britney to comment on the controversial issues confronting her then, such as:

• Her breast implants: "Things like that are a personal choice. If a woman does it to make herself feel better, then it’s fine. But at 16 or 17 or 18, it’s too young for any girl to go through that kind of surgery."

• Prince William being her cyber friend: "I haven’t even met him! One time, during an interview, somebody asked me if I had met Prince William and I said, ‘No, but I would love to.’ Soon, I was reading things that I was going out with him!"

• Her sexy pictorial for Rolling Stone magazine (wearing hot pants, etc.): "When I saw that Rolling Stone cover I did think it was hot and many people did find it much too sexy. But I’d like to assure everybody that I’m not going to walk around in hot pants and a bra on the streets."

Oops! Britney has just posed near-nude for another Rolling Stone cover and in similar state of undress for other magazines, including Esquire (Nov. 2003 issue) showing her bottomless.

At that time, she mentioned that after two years in the Mickey Mouse Club (starting in her pre-teens, together with Justin whom she described as "a family friend"), Britney began her music career, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her idols Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston (take note: she didn’t mention Madonna).

In her 2002 song Oops! I Did it Again, Britney kind of "warned" her fans, "I’m not that innocent." But that didn’t prepare most of them, I suppose, for the blatantly sex-laced lyrics of some of her songs on her latest album, such as (from Breath on Me) "Boy don’t stop ‘cause I’m halfway there," directing her partner to, you know, go ahead. In Touch of My Hand, she doesn’t exactly sing about shaking hands but of, brace yourselves, some other kind of touching (the gratifying kind).

During the Seoul launch, Britney beautifully fielded questions that touched on her personal life, not showing any sign of irritation at all, and then she did five songs from In the Zone at the showcase four hours later, with more energy – and enthusiasm – left for more than a dozen TV one-on-one interviews the next day. Two days later, she flew to Tokyo to continue her Asian promo tour.

Here are excerpts from the presscon and my one-on-one with Britney:

Are you feeling sexy today?

(Smiling) "I guess so. Oh, I’m okay!"

Why is your latest album called In the Zone?

"In the Zone refers to the state you go into when you’re dancing."

Any favorite from the album?

"Early Mornin’ and Everytime."

You are very different now than you were three years ago when I talked to you in Tokyo. Are you comfortable with your image now?

"Oh, yeah, I am. I think I just kind of grew up a little bit more and I know what I want."

What can you say about your responsibility as a role model?

"I don’t look at it as a responsibility. I don’t want to be the kind of person that people want me to be; I want to be the kind of person that I want to be."

Madonna did a number with you on the album and she’s with you on the video (showing Britney about to kiss Madonna who vanishes into thin air). It reminds people of that incident at the MTV Music Video Awards last August.

"The incident?"

I mean, the much-talked-about kiss.

"Oh, the kiss."

How did you feel about it?

"Hmmmmm. It was a performance, you know."

Some people said that kiss had overtones of lesbianism?

" I assure you that that it wasn’t about lesbianism at all. Not at all. I think it was kind of funny how everyone was talking about it, how some people took that kiss too literally. They should just have sat back and watched it and enjoyed it."

Is Madonna some kind of a role model to you?

"Oh, I think she’s great! She’s a very inspiring person to be around. She knows what she likes."

Do you get pointers from her as far as performing is concerned?

"I get a lot of inspiration from her. I like the way she does what she wants to do and, you know, command the kind of respect that she does."

Has she always been your favorite?

"Always."

Being so busy with your career, do you find time for yourself? Don’t you have a love life?

"Right now, I’m having fun with my career. I’m doing my own thing. I don’t have a love life at the moment."

What’s the tough part of being in showbiz?

"Oh, that’s a good question! The toughest part is not having a private life anymore, not enjoying your personal life without the public having a big share of it."

What is it that you miss, if any, about having a normal life?

"Just my girlfriends, my mother and my sister. My one regret in life is probably missing my little sister’s graduation. I was really upset that I missed it. Those are the things that really matter because they don’t happen again. Once you miss it, you miss it. Sometimes, you get caught up in what you’re doing so you miss and forget what’s important in life."

Are you still close to friends you had before you became a star?

"Oh, yes, I am. When we talk on the phone, we take up right where we had left off. I go home every summer and first thing I do is seek out my friends. We end up doing the same things we used to do, like buying the same swimsuit."

Were your girlfriends there for you when you broke up with Justin?

"They were there for me; they’re always there for me. You don’t need a therapist who sits there and tells you all that crap, all you need are your friends with whom you can feel completely sorry for yourself."

What do you remember Justin for?

"He’s such a good guy. I remember him for his being silly and for always making me laugh."

Who among the actors do you find sexy?

"Brad Pitt or George Clooney."

What do you find sexy in a guy?

"His personality. His smile."

Do you have an ideal man?

"Oh, yes, someone who can make me laugh, someone with a sense of humor, someone who can make me feel special, like a princess, someone who can make me feel warm inside and very secure, very confident."

Have you ever dreamed of living like a princess?

"Hmmmm. I don’t think I’ll be happy being a princess because having everything, what would you strive for? Life is cool even if you don’t have everything; it’s not perfect but it makes you a stronger person if you strive for things. If you have everything, there’s no more challenge."

By the way, what part of a guy’s body do you find sexy?

"The hair and the neck."

Going back to your being a role model. How do you feel being criticized by some parents for being a "bad example" to people your age because of the (sexy) way you dress?

"I dress sexy only onstage, during a performance. I certainly wouldn’t want other girls to wear that kind of outfit to a dinner. Offstage, I wear decent clothes. I don’t think it’s my responsibility to tell kids what they have to wear. I’m not responsible for anybody’s kid. These parents, they think I’m a role model. I beg to disagree. It’s the parents who should be teaching their kids how to behave; they should be responsible for their kids."

If Justin was your "first serious boyfriend," was he your first love?

"I had my first love when I was about 15 or 16. It was also my first heartbreak. I was so in love that I got really hurt when we broke up. I don’t know, but we just grew apart."

Do you have a motto, a guiding principle in life?

"Oh, yes. Live each day to the fullest. That’s exactly what I’m doing. Living each day to the fullest."

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