`LITTLE BY LITTLE, IT JUST HAPPENED' A CROSS BETWEEN BRITNEY AND JENNIFER, TEEN STAR ANGELA VIA IS GETTING NOTICED.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Do the best romances start out as friendships?

Peppy Latin teen-pop singer Angela Via not only believes so, but she belts out the message loud and clear on her first single, ``Picture Perfect.'' The 18-year-old Via says she based the catchy dance-pop confection, about a girl and her longtime guy pal, on her own experiences.

``If you've ever had a guy friend for a long, long time, you can really get to know him without the pressure of dating,'' Via said. ``That can be the best way to go before you get too serious.''

Via, who has been likened to a combination of Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, maintains her Latin roots, peppering her music with hot rhythms, bilingual lyrics and Spanish guitar.

``It's something that's in my soul,'' she said. ``At the beginning, I needed a lot of encouragement to find out who I am as a writer and artist. And, little by little, it just happened.''

Via, whose self-titled debut album is due Sept. 26 from Lava/Atlantic, found encouragement in an unlikely place after a chance meeting with the great songsmith Carole King led to a collaboration on the ballad ``Stay Together.''

After chatting casually, Via and King decided to try writing together.

``Carole's fantastic, and she's yet another reason why making this album was so thrilling for me,'' Via said. ``Plus, she was doing some dog-sitting when we were working together at her house, and that made the work all the more fun.''

Born in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Portland, Ore., Via started singing at age 8, influenced by Gloria Estefan, Selena and the traditional Latin music her grandmother would play during family visits. In late 1996, Via ventured into a studio for the first time, cutting some of her favorite Selena songs.

``I just wanted to see what it would be like to do some recording,'' she said. ``Dad knows his way around a studio, and we just thought it would be fun.''

Via soon made her first public appearance as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Portland for a crowd of some 3,000.

``Getting on stage that day was so special,'' she recalls. ``It broke down some of the fears I'd built up about singing in front of a large audience, and it showed me just how powerful music can be. The reaction was great, and I couldn't wait to do it all over again.''

Via performs Sunday at the All That Music & More Festival 2000 with LFO, B*Witched, Sammie, Bosson and Take 5 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine. The show, a sort of Lollapalooza for preteens, is hosted by Kenan Thompson and Nick Cannon of Nickelodeon's ``All That.''

Released three months ago, Via's ``Picture Perfect'' reached No. 28 on the singles chart, leading to a spot on TV's ``Rosie O'Donnell Show.'' Another song, ``Catch Me If You Can,'' was used on the million-selling soundtrack to ``Pokemon: The First Movie.'' And as if that weren't enough marketing to the Radio Disney crowd, Via's image will be seen this fall on the back of 15 million boxes of Cocoa Pebbles cereal.

``What I love most is coming up with the song,'' Via said. ``But, more recently, what's really been great is hearing the way people react when they hear the music. I mean, if people find that they can relate to these songs or are just having fun with the album, that's the best.''

Joining Via in the studio was a top-flight crew of hitmakers, including the team behind the Jennifer Paige smash, ``Crush,'' and the writers-producers of Christina Aguilera's chart-topping ``Genie in a Bottle.''

For Via, who wrote most of the album's lyrics, the songs trace the emotional highs, lows and eventual end of a romance - from ``Picture Perfect'' and its story of two friends falling in love, to ``Kissing You,'' which tells of love in full bloom, to the romantic crisis detailed in ``Wish We Could Be Free'' and the hopeful longing of ``Start Over Again.''

Via avoids dwelling on the heartbreak she relates in ``Wish We Could Be Free,'' though, and laughs when asked about what it meant to turn 18.

``I can say to my parents, `You know what, Mom and Dad? I don't have to wish I could be free, because I'm 18,' '' she said. ``Can you imagine? They would love to hear that.''

THE FACTS

--What: All That Music & More Festival 2000.

--Who: Angela Via, LFO, B*Witched, Sammie, Bosson and Take 5. Hosted by Kenan Thompson and Nick Cannon of Nickelodeon's ``All That.''

--Where: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

--When: 5 p.m. Sunday.

--Tickets: $15 and $25.

--Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Angela Via will headline the ``All That Music & More Festival 2000,'' Sunday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine.

Box: THE FACTS (see text)