GMA: Britney Spears Interview

Jan. 8 -- Britney Spears comes across in her performances as a self-confident and sexy force of nature. Her form-fitting outfits have led observers to describe her as Lolita on aerobics. But in person, ABCNEWS’ Don Dahler says he found her to be a small, polite, and sweet young woman.

Subhead Text“Are you really that nice?” Dahler asks.

“Yeah, I guess. All of my friends are like, you never get mean man, probably I should, but … ” Spears says, shrugging and laughing.

Spears will surely be smiling tonight as she hosts the 28th annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show will broadcast live at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the ABC television network.

Her 1999 debut album, Baby One More Time, shook things up with its combination of school girl sexiness and hip hop dance beats. But critics wondered if Spears had it in her to hit the charts one more time.The title of her follow-up album was either coincidental or a bold prediction. Oops … I Did it Again has already sold 7 million copies in the United States.

After the success of her first album, the pressure was on for Spears to put out a second album that would also be a big hit — and it is. “I don’t think it really proves anything,” Spears says. “It’s just me, basically, doing my thing and me just having fun. It’s not something where you say I’m gonna do this so it will be big; or I’ll do that, you know. I just go in the studio, do what happens, you know, and just sing and do what you feel at that moment and just pray, that everything falls into place and everyone likes it, you know.”

Among Her Fans: MadonnaMusic industry watchers say part of her success is because she can attract a wide demographic — from pre-teen girls to teenage boys to even some of her pop music competitors.

In fact, one of her fans is none other than Madonna. Dahler points out that the Material Girl was spotted wearing a Britney Spears T-shirt. Spears says she was as surprised as anyone when she heard about her celebrity fan.