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She's power-popping her way to the top of the charts, but does newcomer Jessica Simpson have what it takes to stay there?

After years of slogging it on the gospel circuit with her minister dad--he preached, she sang--nineteen-year-old Dallas native Jessica Simpson is finally ready for her close-up. She's off to a good start: After opening for 98 [degrees] (whose singer Nick Lachey she's dating) for the better part of the past year, she won the coveted support slot for Ricky Martin's current tour. How will she compete with those hips? For starters, she's got her own troupe of dancers, including her fifteen-year-old sister, plus a formidable set of pipes all her own that get quite a workout on her debut album, Sweet Kisses (Columbia). And, of course, there's her showstopper, the power ballad "I Wanna Love You Forever," which is quickly becoming a power hit, as well.

Singing songs of everlasting love, faith, and the importance of "holding out," Simpson is positioning herself for the title of virgin pop queen--a crown worn this past year by Christina Aguilera thanks to her "Genie In a Bottle" single. But that doesn't stop Simpson from tarting up in cheetah-print skirts or hot-pink halters. As Simpson sees it, innocence and sexuality aren't mutually exclusive.

RAY ROGERS: I understand when you were younger you came very close to joining the cast of TV's Mickey Mouse Club, where Britney Spears got her start. Were you devastated that you didn't make the cut as a Mouseketeer?

JESSICA SIMPSON: Yes, I was. That was when I was twelve years old. Everybody was there: Justin and JC from 'N Sync and Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. We were all at the same finals together. There was a two-week audition in Florida and we all took acting, vocal and dance lessons. On the last day, I sat in the green room and watched everybody perform and they told me that I was a shoo-in, that I didn't have to worry about it. The whole week they were like, "You're our number one choice." So I go in thinking that I already have it and when I got up there, I froze. I forgot everything: all my lines, all my choreography and all the lyrics to my song.

RR: That's terrible. Are you ever afraid that that's going to happen again?

JS: Oh my gosh, yes. I wanted to quit after that, but my parents enrolled me in voice lessons and that's when my vocals went to what they are now. Then when I was fourteen I got a record deal and made a CD and fight when it was about to come out, the label folded. I just wanted to throw it in and say, No more.

RR: But you made it.

JS: I made it! That's a cool message, too: not giving up and continuing to pursue your dreams. It was always my dream to be where I am fight now.

RR: Was it daunting to enter into a pop scene that is already so saturated with young female voices?

JS: Yes, at first, because I was going to do that whole young, up-tempo thing. But when Tommy Mottola heard my music he was like, "We have to release some ballads." I hope that women and men of all ages relate to the music, as well as teenage girls. More than anything else, I want my vocals to be respected.

RR: You must be acutely aware of how successful Britney Spears has been.

JS: I signed the day after Britney signed! Isn't that weird? She just jumped on her album and got it released, and I've been watching it climb the charts going, Oh my God! Oh my God!

RR: Was that a source of confidence or fear?

JS: At first, fear, because they were doing what I wanted to do; I didn't want to wait [so long to get my record out there]. But I am glad it's taken this long because it's allowed me to really develop as an artist, and I think that if I had come out with the album when I was seventeen, when I first signed with the label, that it wouldn't be as strong as it is.

RR: HOW do you feel about touring with Ricky Martin?

JS: I'm thrilled. When I found out, I just started crying. It's going to be an amazing tour. His production is going to be off the hook. My part of the show has a lot of dancing--I have six dancers--and then I end with "I Wanna Love You Forever," which is my favorite part of the show because I love to sing really big songs.

RR: What do you think distinguishes that love song from all the other love songs out there?

JS: There aren't really any big power ballads out there fight now. I'm such a sucker for big sappy songs. I'm a big romantic and I love love. I love singing about it and listening to songs about it.

RR: How do you go about choosing what songs you'll record?

JS: If I listen to a song and it feels like a hit, I do it. But I also do songs because I like the lyrics. That was the case with "Woman in Me," the song I recorded with Destiny's Child. It's about self-esteem.

RR: When you were starting to put out this record, was there a whole process of determining how you were going to present yourself?

JS: Definitely. I could either have gone for a young teen, pop schoolgirl image, or I could have done an extremely sexy approach, but I didn't want to come across as intimidating to anybody. My whole thing is that I think innocence is sexy. That's my image--that you can be sexy and innocent. I think that the image we ultimately chose is basically who I am.

RR: Which is--

JS: A really strong person who has persevered through a lot.

RR: "Heart of Innocence," the song you cowrote on your new album, seems to be about holding out sexually. Is this an issue you feel strongly about?

JS: Yeah, it is. I would never press that issue on anybody else, but for me personally, that's something I want to save for marriage. I think that's the best wedding gift that anyone could ever give. I'm not saying that I have to receive that; it's just something that I want to give and that's extremely precious to me.

RR: But how can you resist with Nick [Lachey of 98 [degrees]] right next to you?

JS: [laughs] I'm not saying that it's easy! At all! But it's worth it to me.

RR: How does that idea of holding out for the right person fit with the other things you sing about on the album, things like "I'm gonna move you, I'm gonna groove you, tonight's the night." Those lines are pretty sexual.

JS: When I recorded it, I didn't really think that those lyrics contradict anything that I stand for. The way I saw it, the song is about when you've been wanting to get to know someone for a long time and finally you say to yourself, "I can be the one. I can move you, I can groove you. Tonight's the night, we're gonna start tonight." It's nothing like, "We're gonna get down!" [laughs] That was going to be my first single and the video was going to take place at this huge school dance with me meeting this guy and dancing around with him. We actually changed tons of lyrics on that song.

RR: How were the lyrics changed?

JS: It was really sexual in the beginning. It was, "I'm gonna move you, I'm gonna do ya."

RR: You were the one who said, "I can't go for that"?

JS: Uh-huh! I can groove them, but I can't do them! [laughs]