In prim and proper Thailand, no one baits more controversy than pop minx Tata Young.

The leggy longhaired beauty may exhibit neither extravagance on a Jennifer Lopez scale, nor Madonna-esque grandeur, but Young’s songs show a desire to explore her sexuality and assert her right to party.

On stage, the 25-year-old is not encumbered by minor details — such as being dressed properly — and never shies from bumping, crawling, squirming and pouting to drive home her musical point.

For a legion of conservative Thais, these overtly sexual displays border on sacrilege. But Young, whose father is American and whose mother is Thai, fails to see what the fuss is all about.

“It doesn’t bother me that the public seems to keep tabs on everything I do,” mused the singer in her American-accented drawl in an exclusive interview with TODAY at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok last week.

In person, Young is exceptionally polite, a sign of a seasoned celebrity who’s always eager to flash a toothy smile for some column inches in a newspaper.

She speaks in a voice louder than any other Thai you’ve met and is unabashedly upfront in conversations, qualities that have drawn bile from her traditional Thai critics.

However, Young also revealed herself to be a determined artist who is not about to let prying eyes get in the way of a fruitful career.

“My personal life is always under the microscope,” she said, sighing. “But there is this new thing that I do: I just switch off when things start to get ugly. If I don’t do that, I’ll go crazy worrying about every little thing that comes my way.”

All this hasn’t stopped Young from being one of Thailand’s most popular musical exports to date.

Young’s second English-language album Temperature Rising, released last month, is already posting strong sales throughout the region and is even making inroads into the notoriously hard-to-crack Japanese market.

And that is only the tip of the iceberg: Her record label plans to export Young to Europe next March.

She has already been pencilled in for a guest spot at Robbie Williams’ Singapore concert at the National Stadium in November, and there are plans to fly journalists in from Europe for a sneak peek at the phenomenon herself in action.

Of course, Young’s Eurasian background is sure to make her marketable in Europe, with the potential to surpass even the success of Taiwanese songbird Coco Lee.

ALL EYES ON HER
She’s poised on the cusp of world domination but this singer — born Tata Amita Marie Young in 1980 — is careful not to show it.

Instead, she insists that she’s a target for attention because she’s loud, knows she’s talented and is not afraid to speak her mind when the situation calls for it.

A decade-long veteran of the Thai pop scene, she has sold over 12 million records and has added stints as model and actress to her resume. However, it is her in-your-face confidence that has caused a stink with the politicians eager to score points with the conservative set.

Indeed, things have gotten close to ugly: Her 2004 single Sexy Naughty Bitchy drew the ire of the Thai government, and there were rumblings the song would be banned from local airwaves.

Thai radio and television stations shrugged off the controversy and her debut English album I Believe went on to sell a staggering 40,000 copies on its first day of release.

But as the singer put it: You can’t please everyone. “To be honest with you, I think its horrible how I’m perceived sometimes,” she said, sounding almost sad. “If someone is confident, you should be happy for them.”

Especially since Young is not one to overstep her bounds. “I’m only confident about what I now — singing and performing. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything else,” she said. “I’ve been in the business for 10 years, so for me to be confident in what I do ... I’m just doing my job.”

So was the release of Sexy Naughty Bitchy a calculated move to keep her in the public eye? “That song opened so many doors for me,” she said, almost defensively. “Sure, it was controversial, but you know what? As long as there’s publicity for me that’s always good.”

Young’s frankness is startling. Then again, she stands as a reminder that once you become a celebrity, you’ve got to learn to have really thick skin and not be afraid to rub people the wrong way with your music.

“You mustn’t also be somebody who is super depressed — all the attention will eventually kill you. The Thai government tried to ban the song, while in Malaysia they changed the song title to Sexy Naughty Cheeky.

“Great, why not? It gives people something to talk about.”

Fan support, she added, also makes all the media intrusion bearable. “That keeps me going, I think. I can’t force people to like me. But really, its all fun for me.”

TWICE THE FUN

Fun, it seems, is the operative word for Tata Young.

During a launch party at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club the previous night to promote the release of Temperature Rising, more than 500 journalists, fans and celebrities turned up to get an eyeful of Young delivering her new set of songs.

But while her retina-dazzling show was as short as her skimpy black dress, Young left the showcase knowing her fans were pleased with the fruits of her labour in London, where Temperature Rising was recorded. “I am absolutely pleased with the response,” she declared.

Produced by Alex G, who has worked with likes of Christina Aguilera and Lindsay Lohan, the 12 tracks of bouncy pop are no great departure from her debut album.

“I guess it all boils down to me being a bit more confident this time around,” she said of her latest project. “This is my second English-language album, and I learned a lot from I Believe. Production-wise, I didn’t have much say in the recording process and song selection. I did, however, get a lot of say image- wise, but the music part is a sensitive matter.”

Noting that she treated the recording experience as an opportunity to learn, Young revealed that she would have a hand in the song-writing on her next English album.

“For now, I’m going to let the people who know what they’re doing do their jobs,” she said. But that doesn’t mean Young, who writes songs in Thai and produces a number of Thai acts on the side, sees herself as just another pop.

“Sure, people say I’m at the top of my game right now, but there’s no harm in learning and wanting to do something different,” she said. “But as far as English albums are concerned, I don’t I want to be too ambitious.