Ex-teen star returns with adult sound

NEW YORK -- When Brandy plops down on a chair in her hotel suite, preparing for a morning of picture-taking and interviews, a sour look suddenly comes over her face.

It's not the day ahead that's upsetting her; it's the baby inside.

"The baby's turning, and it's making me queasy," says the 23-year-old singer-actress, rubbing her protruding belly. A newlywed, she's expecting her first child, a girl, in July.

The image of a grown-up Brandy as wife and mother is something new for those who remember her as the teen-ager who rose to music stardom with fluffy hits like "Sittin' Up In My Room," "Baby" and the Grammy-winning "The Boy is Mine." Or as the good-girl title character in UPN's first sitcom, "Moesha."

But it's clear that Brandy is no kid anymore.

Besides new family duties, the singer has returned to the limelight with a new album, "Full Moon," which showcases her evolution into a young woman. The trademark braids are gone, and her look is sexier. (In the video for the disc's first hit, "What About Us," she wears tight leather and a plunging neckline.)

"She's not a goofy teen-ager anymore -- she's a beautiful woman," says Emil Wilbekin, editor-in-chief at Vibe, which features her on its April cover.

Comfortable in her skin

Whereas once, Brandy talked like a schoolgirl, now she speaks with confidence and authority.

She says she finally feels comfortable in her own skin.

"I was very dependent on people, and there was a certain part of me that didn't want to be dependent anymore," she says. "I was very clinging, and I needed to just be my own person. I wavered in my decisions, I people-pleased ... I was very insecure."

Brandy Norwood first gained recognition at 14 as the smart, sassy daughter on the short-lived ABC sitcom "Thea." When that was canceled after one season, the child star turned to her first love -- singing -- and scored instant success with a self-titled album that went platinum and helped create the teen music craze in the late '90s.

Soon, Brandy would have another television show, this time centered on her. "Moesha," which in later years featured her brother, singer-actor Ray J, debuted on UPN in 1995 and ran for five years. It created a spinoff hit, "The Parkers," and further made Brandy a household name.

But success brought self-doubt instead of confidence. Brandy wondered if people wanted to be around her just because of her fame.

In addition, her hit television show was the source of tension and gossip: Rumors flew that Brandy did not get along with some cast members. And she and her mother, Sonja Norwood, were criticized when they pushed to make the show more gritty.

"I would read comments about what people would say about the characters ... and would bring that back to the writers," says Brandy. "I didn't have to be credited as producer, I didn't have to have credit for anything. I just wanted to make the show that much better. ... Certain people didn't want to give that up."

'She has found herself'

On "Full Moon," her third album, Brandy reconnected with Rodney Jerkins, who produced her second album, the multi-platinum "Never Say Never." It took her a year and a half to finish "Full Moon," which features the kind of sensual material that she shied away from in her teens.

"The subject matter is more adult," says Wilbekin. "She's definitely been through a lot of kind of emotional growth, a lot of love and breakups, and I think that she has found herself more on this album."

She also found her soulmate -- her husband, producer Robert Smith. But she said she's found more than happiness.

"I know my purpose," she said. "I couldn't say that before."