MORE THAN `ONE MORE TIME'; FOR 17-YEAR-OLD PHENOM BRITNEY SPEARS, HIT SINGLE AND ALBUM ARE ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Byline: Tamara Conniff Entertainment News Wire

Britney Spears is the latest addition to pop music's cult of youth. With her blond hair, big brown eyes and innocent yet sexy girl-next-door image, she's the Sandra Dee of the '90s.

Only a few years ago, Spears was a Mouseketeer on the Disney Channel's ``Mickey Mouse Club.'' Now, she's a 17-year-old pop superstar with a No. 1 album, a double-platinum single and a provocative video in heavy rotation on MTV. Spears' debut album and its title track, ``... Baby One More Time,'' have taken the music world by storm.

``It's like one of those songs - right when you hear it, you're like, `This song is going to be a hit,' '' says Spears in her soft Louisiana drawl.

Spears is a product of the same songwriting-production machine that made bubble-gum phenoms out of the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync (all three are signed to Jive Records). In fact, the album was written and produced by two of the hottest names in pop - Max Martin (Backstreet Boys, Robyn, Ace of Base) and Eric Foster White (Whitney Houston, Hi-Five).

``Max is just so brilliant,'' says Spears. ``He is so unassuming and just real quiet and to himself. It was awesome working with him.''

Released in October, the Martin-penned single ``... Baby One More Time'' was backed with a heavy marketing campaign targeting teen consumers. Spears embarked on radio promotion tours, also doing numerous mall appearances. It was a strategy that propelled teen pop stars Debbie Gibson and Tiffany into the national spotlight in the '80s, and it seems to have worked for Spears as well.

The tune started shooting up the charts. When the much-anticipated album was released last month, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That same week, the single went to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 (The album is at No. 5 and the single at No. 8 on this week's charts).

In ``... Baby One More Time,'' Spears sings about love, heartache and teen wonderment in a style calculated to make boys swoon. But she doesn't necessarily relate to all the songs she sings. ``Usually I'm just thinking about singing,'' she says. ``I really don't think about the words I'm saying. You really don't think about anything when you sing `... Baby One More Time.' It's just a - you know - a fun, attitude, funky song.''

Born and raised in tiny Kentwood, La., Spears auditioned for the ``Mickey Mouse Club'' at age 8. Though she was too young to be cast on the show, one of the producers recognized her budding talent and secured her an agent in New York City. She spent the next three summers at a Manhattan performing arts school, appearing in TV commercials and off-Broadway shows.

By age 11, Spears was old enough to be a Mouseketeer and stayed with the show for two years. Coincidentally, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake from 'N Sync, with whom she recently toured, were also sporting mouse ears at the time.

``I totally remember them,'' says Spears. ``JC was the rambunctious one, and Justin - he was just Justin. He was a small little kid. They are so sweet - all those guys in the group are just so normal. You know, you would never think they were like one of the biggest, well, the biggest band in the world.''

What was it like touring as an opening act for her old Mouseketeer buddies?

``It was probably the funnest thing I have done since I have been signed to Jive,'' says Spears. ``I had the advantage that I wasn't the main act, and I was able to do my little show and get back on the bus and go. I didn't have all that pressure on me like they did.''

It could be easy to dismiss Spears as a bubble-gum pop sweetheart. She likes slumber parties, going to the mall and gossiping with girlfriends. Her excessive use of the terms ``you know,'' ``like'' and ``really'' make her sound like a ``Clueless'' cast member. But this multitalented young woman has hit it big because, as her Jive representative says, ``she works really hard.''

While rehearsing for her new video and next single, ``Sometimes,'' in L.A., Spears dislocated her knee. ``Nobody was at rehearsal yet - I was there first of course,'' says Spears. ``I saw it in the mirror. It just went completely out.'' Spears was afraid she had broken her leg and began to scream and cry. ``I stretched my ligament really really bad, but I didn't tear it. So I am so thankful.''

Recovering at home in Kentwood, Spears says she is finally getting some needed rest. ``Even though my leg is hurt, and I'm really depressed about it, it's kind of OK,'' she admits. ``It's like God does things for a reason, I think. And I think this is just a way of him telling me, `Britney, your body is wanting to shut down completely.' ''

Between touring with 'N Sync, making her video and completing a promotional tour of Europe, Spears had been traveling nonstop. Her parents don't travel with her because of her 7-year-old sister. ``It wouldn't be fair for my little sister to travel around the world and not have a normal life,'' says Spears. ``One of my mom's really, really good friends travels with me. I don't know what I would do without her.''

Where does this teen-ager get the strength to face the pressures of being a pop star?

``When I'm on the road,'' she confides, ``when things get really crazy and I just want to cry, I call my mom, and everything's OK.''

For her next album, Spears says, ``I want it to, of course, grow. I still want it to be pop music, but I want it to be a little bit more in depth.''

In an industry that feeds on one-hit wonders, Spears is determined not to become one herself. ``My main goal is just to make good music. And since I am so young, I can grow as an artist each time and hopefully be a legend or something, like Madonna.''

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Photo: no caption (Britney Spears)