"When people say I'm powerful, it scares me in a way," admits Britney Spears. The mere suggestion that she's as influential as Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts (two of her role models) causes her to burst into laughter. "If you saw what I see when I wake up in the morning, you wouldn't think that either," she says. Okay, but tell that to the millions of fans who buy her CDs, books, and bubble gum, and the bigwigs at Pepsi - and then there's Madonna, who wore a t-shirt emblazoned with Britney's name while she performed in New York last year.
Whether Spears likes it or not, that incident elevated her to the highest cultural rank possible: she's a pop icon's pop icon. "When you have power, you don't know you have it. It comes to people who work really hard," she says. "But it's not something you go around flaunting. You have the most power when you don't show it."
Sounds like an odd comment coming from someone who is often criticized for showing too much. Spears shrugs off accusations that she's promoting sex or using her body as a tool to sell records. "When people try too hard to be sexy, it's not appealing," she says. "I think being sexy is beautful when it's really you, and when it works with your personality." Even those who think they've seen it all probably don't know about her three tattoos: a fairy on her back, a daisy on her toe, and a symbol for mystery in the center of a daisy on her stomach.
As current queen of the top 40 universe and girlfriend of *NSync's Justin Timberlake, Spears is eager to call her own shots and create her own future. Lately, the 19-year-old explains, she's taking more interest in her contracts, has gained enough confidence to say when she needs time off, and is busy decorating her new housein LA (with help from her mother and an interior designer). Her third CD, due later this year, will be followed up by her first dramatic film, which she recently completed shooting in southern California. The movie, co-staring Kim Cattrall, is a classic tale about three childhood friends who have had a falling out and get back together for a road trip; she plays the goody-two-shoes. Clearly the Kentwood, Louisiana native is plotting a course to become the next megastar to strike it rich with a singing, dancing, and acting trifecta - much like Jennifer Lopez. (And Spears hasn't rules out the possibility that one day when she's not so busy being Britney, she too may venture into the fashion business.)
Offstage, Spears's fashion taste ranges from A & F to Dolce & Gabbana, who designed the seductive corset dress she wore at Bazaar's photo shoot. Calvin Klein's cashmere coat and Balenciaga's wool tailcoat add a dose of this season's severity to her naughty-but-nice persona. "The clothers were funky but elegant," she says. "Everything was black, so I played with hats and gloves and put my personality into it." As much as she enjoys playing dress up and updating her look each year, when asked if we can expect a Madonna-style pattern of reinvention, her answer is simple: "No, I doubt that."
Having achieved total world domination at such a young age, Spears isn't ready to pack it in. "There's definitly a lot of life I haven't experienced, and a lot I still have to do," she says. Experimenting with her sound, songwriting, producing, directing her own music videos, and making more movies are just the beginning. "I'm all about work, and I put 100 percent into everything I do," she says, "but lately, I just want to have fun."