Britney Spears Talks Stage Persona, Role Modeling, & More

NEW YORK (AP) - If the sultry beats of her latest a single, "I'm a Slave 4 U" (and its hot and heavy video) are any indication, Britney Spears' third album (Britney) and upcoming tour might tip the sexuality scales into the stratosphere.

Which begs the question -- how much is too much for some of the singer's less mature fans? That's a parental concern, according to Spears. Speaking about her tour during a Wednesday (Oct. 24) teleconference, the 19-year-old attributed her skimpy outfits and tantalizing sexual dance moves to a stage persona -- not a reflection her as a role model for young fans.
"I think it's honestly up to their parents to explain to [children] that I'm a performer and when I'm onstage that's my time to perform and express myself," she says. "It's like little kids when they go into their mom's closet and dress up in their mom's [clothes] � It's fine and it's fun but its not what they're supposed to wear into the real world."

Spears' tour in support of Britney (due Nov. 6 on Jive Records) will kick off on Halloween in Washington, D.C. The singer has kept mum on what all will go down during the show, except to say expect the unexpected.
"This is gonna be my third tour and I just want [my fans] to see me in a different light than they've ever seen me in before," she says. "This music that I'm doing now is such a reflection of [me] and I think they'll come to the show and just get a really good idea of who I really am and just be inspired and have a lot of fun. I would like for people to leave being inspired and just forget about the day."

Spears also reported that she turned to recent tours by 'NSync and Janet Jackson as inspiration for her latest jaunt, although she hasn�t directly copped anything from her fellow performers. Speaking of fellow performers, Spears has picked made-for-TV boy band O-Town as the opening act for the tour.

One faux pas must be pointed out about Spears' motivation behind wanting to do her Nov. 18 HBO special, Britney Spears: Live From Las Vegas, in the City of Sin, however:
"I am a really big Elvis fan," she says. "I think the real reason we did the whole Elvis thing is 'cause he's from Vegas and my family [are] all really big Elvis fans."

While he's certainly famous for, among other things, his Las Vegas specials, Elvis Presley is from Tupelo, Miss., not Vegas!