Back in music news, teen singing star Brandy is 18 now, and back in the studio working on a new album, and contemplating the possibility of adding some more adult touches to her winsome image. Well, maybe not too adult.

BRANDY: I'm right in the middle, I'm almost starting and almost finishing. So actually, I just started but I finished like five songs in one week, so I'm like almost done. Right now I'm just finishing my sixth song with Rodney Jerkins.

RODNEY JERKINS, Producer, Darkchild Entertainment: The song is called "The Boy Is Mine" and it's going to be a duet between Brandy and Monica. [1.6MB QuickTime]

BRANDY: It's about my boyfriend, and the opponent that I'm challenging is telling me that it's her boyfriend, when it's really not. She's saying these words to get me jealous, to get me upset.

JERKINS: It's not like friendship, you know, you've seen friendship duets like Whitney, Cece

and different duets. This is Brandy and Monica, like, they're, we're just gettin' it on.

MTV: But Brandy won't be gettin' it on with her fans until 1998. She's hoping to drop her second album in March, leaving the diva-in-training with plenty of time to take notes.

BRANDY: I like Celine Dion, I definitely like Celine Dion. I like Mariah Carey, I still love Whitney Houston. I also like Jewel. I look at all these other female artists that are coming out and who've done so well. I get to see what they're doin' with they self, you know, and the imaging and the songs, and I get to take bits and pieces from everybody and put it into my own style.

I'll do a song, and then go in my car and listen to someone's CD and if that sounds better than what I did, I'll have to go do it again. Like I listened to number 4 on Mariah's album, I said, "Oh my God, I have to do the slow song again, it has to be just like this, it has to be this type of quality.

MTV: But there

are some qualities that Brandy may not be borrowing from the new Mariah. Still too young to drive when she released her first album, Brandy, now 18, is ready to let her hair down, but not much else.

BRANDY: I can't tell you all my secrets... Well, I'm gonna tell you a little bit. I'm gonna be sophisticated, a little, a little sexy, a little edge, but I'm still gonna be innocent, you know, I still have to give 'em that America's sweetheart thing. I have to do that, can't never get rid of that.

America's sweet heart, indeed. Brandy's album will be out next spring, and she'll be starring in a TV movie version of "Cinderella" next month, with Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother.