Britney's next act: she conquered the teen pop world. But can Britney Spears succeed as an adult artist? It's not a given, as other young stars can attest.

• Author: Holson, Laura M.
• Position: Arts

Britney Spears, the pop star who brought sizzle to the schoolyard with glitter T-shirts and short shorts, strode onto a Milan runway recently in a $23,000 rainbow-spangled gown by designer Donatella Versace.

Spears, who turned 21 last month, was flaunting her inner grown-up, turning to the makeover queen of fashion for a quick fix.

It was the culmination of Spears's two-month intermission from work, ostensibly to relax but in reality to begin the process of refashioning herself for a new career. It will take more than one session of dress-up to do the job.

Spears, who made her debut as a wholesome bubblegum star with a penchant for flashing her belly button, is caught in the typical trap of fame acquired young: The qualities that made her accessible and popular as a teenage star may be precisely the ones choking her career as an adult, leaving her looking like an unseemly parody as she tries to become a grown-up recording artist.

After her appearance in a leather outfit at the MTV Video Music Awards in August, Steven Cojocaru, a fashion critic for People magazine, wrote, "Was Spears planning on doing a Village People tribute?"

TIME TO CHANGE

Versace, who has known Spears for two years, says: "She understands that she has to change. We had a long discussion about it."

The teen-pop movement she led is "very five minutes ago," says Craig Marks, the editor of Blender, the music magazine. "She needs to come back with a new second act."

While Spears has sold 52 million albums worldwide in the last four years, sales have nose-dived, from 24 million for her first album, to 19 million on the second, to 9 million on Britney, which was released in 2001. For any other artist, 9 million would be a blockbuster, but for Spears it shows her popularity has seriously eroded.

Brandon Holley, the editor in chief of Elle Girl magazine, says she gets negative e-mail from hundreds of teenage readers, many of whom complain about her revealing outfits. "It's a Britney backlash," Holley says.

It is a pop-star crisis shared by a number of her peers, including Christina Aguilera, *Nsync, the Backstreet Boys, and a host of Britney clones, as they try to make the often hazardous shift from teen idol to adult superstar without alienating loyal fans.

"The majority don't get to the next level," says Jonny Podell of Evolution Talent Agency, which represents young stars like Spears.

MUSICAL SHIFT

Spears has been challenged by a raft of grittier teen singer-songwriters...