Thai songstress seeks international fame

BANGKOK—Tata Young is Asia's version of Britney Spears: Catchy pop tunes you hear once and can't get out of your head, stiletto heels and a dash of scantily clad, gyrating naughtiness. Tata's 2004 debut English-language album, "I Believe," won her fans throughout Asia, placing her among a small circle of Asian pop stars to grow beyond their nation's borders.
But Tata, the only daughter of an American father and Thai mother, hopes her second English-language album released in September, "Temperature Rising," will propel her to worldwide fame, and her determination is backed by the songwriters and producers behind the sounds of Spears, Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera.
"People who represent me have made a lot of people famous... like, come on, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, you name them all," the 25-year-old Bangkok native said in a thick midwestern American accent that mimics her father's.
But some have criticized Tata's racy songs and steamy music videos, including the conservative former senator and culture watchdog Rabiabrat Pongpanich.
"People who go to her concerts don't go to listen to her music but are wasting a lot of money to see breasts, hips, a belly and a butt that can dance," Rabiabrat said in a report on the Thai-language Web site Daily News.—Agencies