Tata Young, the multi-talented artist, is ready to enchant adoring fans with her latest album Ready for Love.

During her recent visit to the capital, the 29-year-old Thai-American singer shared her feelings about her sexy image, music and romance.

A few years ago, music lovers across Asia were stunned by her flashy, sassy and provocative performance with the disco-pop single "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy".

The song contains suggestive, memorable lyrics: "I pick all my skirts to be a little too sexy. Just like all of my thoughts they always get a bit naughty. When I'm out with my girls I always play a bit bitchy. Can't change the way I am sexy naughty bitchy me..."

The catchy track topped music charts in many Asian cities and instantly stole the attention of music lovers. Her sultry beauty and curvaceous body suddenly featured in just about every magazine.

She has also been named one of the sexiest women in the world several times, including FHM 100 "sexiest women in the world" in 2007.

So how does it really feel to be a sexy woman?

"I'm very flattered. I find that every woman in the world is sexy," Tata said during her New Year's visit in the capital.

For her, the meaning of sexy does not always refer to beauty.

"Sexy means successful. A sexy woman is a successful woman. It doesn't have to mean a good body."

Oprah Winfrey, she said, is one of the sexiest women because she is smart, one of the most successful women in the world and she knows how to get to people.

"Of course, we can say that Angelina Jolie is sexy and you know why. But we can also think she's sexy in the way she supports children and helps with the world."

It is funny that Tata does not consider herself sexy.

"No *I don't think I am sexy*. I look sexy sometimes when I perform."

"When I'm not performing, I'm not sexy at all. I'm very casual. I'm an everyday person. I love eating food. Give me chicken, give me beef and I'll eat any of that," Tata said, adding she had no secret to keeping her body in shape.

"I'm not doing that well right now. It's because I suffer from hypothyroidism and that affects me a lot."

Whenever she has time, Tata goes to the gym to swim or for a sauna just to get her to sweat.

"I care about my skin very much. I like my skin to be good. I don't sleep with my make up on. Make up is what you wear when you go outside. You don't wear it while you're sleeping."

Today, the pop star, who has sold more than 14 million copies of six Thai and three English albums during her career, continues to be a symbol of energy and change in the Asian music industry.

After the success of her Temperature Rising album, which contained hit single "El-Nin Yo!" about three years ago, she is back with her third English-language album, Ready For Love, which comprises 12 songs.

She has made some changes for the album, including the recording location and her image and style.

"We decided to record this album in Berlin, Germany. One of the reasons is because my producer is there. And I wanted to inspire myself in a new way. I wanted to be in a new environment so I could think better."

She claimed that the album was very colorful in terms of music. While the first album is very dance-pop and the second has hip hop and R&B influence, the third is more Euro-pop.

The special thing about the album is she got to sing a song, called "Perfection", written by British pop sensation Leona Lewis, as well as work with Mark Taylor, a Grammy award winner artist who wrote "Ready for Love" and a Korean music video director.

She even changed her style, cutting her long hair short to give her a Korean look for the music video.

"I just want this album to be fun and energetic. I want to be fashionable. It is very cool. Wearing a leather jacket, I almost look like a guy," she said.

Tata was born to an American father and a Thai mother on Dec.14, 1980. She grew up surrounded by music and dance. She beat around 5,300 kids to win the International Junior Singing Contest. At that time, she was only 11. She caught the attention of a music executive and went on to record her self-titled debut album Amita Tata Young, in 1995 which was sold more than 1 million copies in just five months.

She has also developed a modeling and acting career.

At 17, she made her film debut in 1997 in a romantic drama Red Bike Story, which earned her the Favorite Actress Award presented at the Thailand Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in the same year.

She was also chosen to sing "Reach for the Stars" in the opening ceremony for 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, singing in front of the royal family and the whole world.

"That will be something I will tell my children. It's amazing, mind-blowing. There were a few times when I felt like I could not breathe, I was shaking," Tata said.

She followed up her acting debut with roles in two other successful movies, O-Negative and Plai Tien. By this time, companies were competing get her to endorse their products.

After achieving massive success at home, she ascended to greater heights by releasing her first English album I Believe in 2004.

The record was a big success. The album, which sold more than 1 million copies across Asia including 300,000 copies in Japan, hit nine times platinum in her home country, earning her the Best International Artist of the Year in 2005 from the Recording Industry Association Japan.

In the same year, Tata also got her chance to sing the theme song for Bollywood blockbuster movie Dhoom. The single sold more than 800,000 copies in India.

Tata confessed that Michael Jackson was her ultimate inspiration.

"I've found his death devastating. I still don't believe he's dead," she said, adding she cried while watching This Is It and listening to the song "Wanna be Starting Something".

The song was supposed to be entertaining and happy, but when the first song came out, she burst into tears. Even though she is still mourning his death, Tata tries to see Jackson's death in a positive way.

"It has inspired me even more today to be a better artist. He's a legend. He's the king of pop. I'm a pop singer, so I'm influenced by him."

During her New Year's Eve performance at Hotel Mulia in Jakarta, hundreds of fans enthusiastically watched her. She decided to perform in Jakarta because her latest album had been doing pretty well in this country.

"I want to thank to all my fans in Indonesia. I want to be with people I think are special and the Indonesian people are special to me," Tata said, adding Indonesia is her second-biggest market after Thailand.

She brought along six Thai dancers and performed songs from her three English albums, from "Come Rain Come Shine", "Dhoom", El Nin-Yo!", "*Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" to new tracks like "My Bloody Valentine" and "Ready For Love".

As for the New Year's resolution, she hopes to break into the international music scene, like in the US and Europe.

"If that's not gonna happen, that's good too. I don't set my hopes too high on anything because if it doesn't happen, I tend to get upset. So, normally I just keep simple and happy," she said.

"I end up singing the soundtrack even though I'm in a movie. I end up singing on the catwalk when I'm modeling. No matter what I do, I end up doing singing anyway."

Besides music, Tata is the ambassador of the ozone layer for the United Nations environmental program, encouraging people to stop using CFCs.

Even though she's a diva, in reality Tata is far from snobbish. She is very warm, friendly, fun and energetic.

During a press conference before the New Year's event, for instance, she happily greeted dozens of journalists and even challenged them to ask silly questions.

"C'mon! Give me a good one!" she encouraged.

She's just like any ordinary women. When she is not busy touring or recording, she likes to stay at home, watching all the movies that she missed at the theater with her five dogs and cooking.

"My parents love to cook, so I grew up in the kitchen a lot and seeing them cook. I just like to cook. It's fun," she said, revealing that she used to go to a cooking school.

"I would love to have a small bistro or being in a cooking program like Jamie Oliver."

She also welcomed personal questions, including one about her boyfriend.

"Not anybody in particular at the moment. I'm still looking at him if he's going to be the person. It's going to take a little time. Boys are hard to understand because boys will be boys."

She felt lucky that her father never asks marriage-related questions.

"I don't get that from my dad. My mother passed away and she was very cool also. When she was alive she never pressured me about this kind of thing.

"My parents are very modern. They are like *If you don't get married that's OK'. But I want children. I like children. If the dad is not there that's OK. I can handle being a single mom. I'll be OK."

BIOGRAPHY

Full name : Amita Marie Young

Place & date of birth : Bangkok, Dec. 14, 1980

Education :

Bangkok Pattana British International School

Diploma from Nebraska University of Lincoln

Album (English) :

I Believe (2004)

Temperature Rising (English-2006)

Ready For Love (2009)

Achievements :

One of Thailand's 10 Most Influential People by Elle magazine (1997)

Favorite Actress for Red Bike Story at the Thailand Blockbuster Entertainment Award (1998)

Best Female Actress for O-Negative at the Thai Film Critic Association Award (1998)

Best International Artist of the Year by Recording Industry Association Japan (2005)

FHM 100 sexiest women in the world by FHM Thai edition (2005)

Unbeatable Female Artist at the Teen Choice Awards (2006)

FHM 100 women in the world by FHM Thai edition (2007)

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