Hollywood's new 'it' girl

NEW YORK -- Lindsay Lohan seems like a typical 18-year-old. She's really concerned with boys and her hair, she's fidgety and giggly, and she just bought these fuzzy purple boots from a Marc Jacobs sale.

But this seemingly typical teen, who first got noticed as a child playing those famous twins in "The Parent Trap" remake, has a full-time job. The freckled redhead has made herself a household name with films including "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls."

And now she's put out an album -- "Speak."

The songs are hyper-produced and sound a lot like the other girls her age coming out with CDs: Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson, to name a couple.

This latest venture could put Lohan at risk for further overexposure, especially after appearing in myriad magazines and newspapers (sometimes with seductive -- and nearly nude -- photos) and becoming a regular in the gossip columns for her tiff with Duff and a public breakup with "That '70s Show" actor Wilmer Valderrama. Her father's run-ins with the law aren't helping her to stay out of the papers, either.

Lohan, though, says she is only trying to work hard and have fun, too.

Why do an album?

I've been singing since I was a little kid. I have been taking voice lessons since I was 6 or 7 years old. I used to put on shows for my Barbie dolls singing Madonna or Paula Abdul. But I started acting first, so it made more sense to just go with that, and I was young when I started. I wanted to be singing at 18 so if I sung a track or dressed a certain way in my video it wouldn't make a difference, which somehow it still does.

Is it hard for you to find some middle ground because little girls look up to you and guys think you're hot?

Girls my age dress so much raunchier than I'd ever imagine myself dressing. And I understand that I'm a role model though, and I have to look out for that. I have a 10-year-old sister, too. But you also want to be appealing to guys and stuff, that's just something girls feel. It's hard. You want to be that girl that's unattainable to all the guys because there are so many other girls out there that are like that.

What is with people's obsession with your breasts?

God. I don't know. They're real though.

Do you feel disconnected from people your age?

In some ways, because my friends are in college now and they're going to frat parties and drinking beer. If I go out in New York or something with my friends, I'll have a drink, I'm not going to lie. But my friends in college are out getting wasted and I don't really have a desire to do that. I have sort of grown past it because I have a full-time job and responsibilities. It's cool to have that, it makes you mature faster.

Do you want to go to school?

People go to college to find who they are as a person and find what they want to do in life, and I kind of already know that so it would be like I'd be taking a step back or something.

When you go to clubs and stuff do you show ID or something?

No, you go in the back door.

Do they care?

Well it's not like I order bottles of vodka to my table or order drinks. Most of my friends are over 21, and if I have a sip or whatever it's not a big deal. It's not like I order things to my table and get wasted and all trashed.

One song on your album is about not having privacy from the media. But how can you complain when you're in show business and you know that's how it is?

You can't really complain because it's what you have to accept is going to happen when you're in the spotlight. And you want this. And I understand that. At the same time, it's hard when you're just waking up and you're going out to get your mail and there are people there. It bugs me sometimes, of course. But I don't do it on purpose, you know, I try to just live my life, I'm not doing stuff like that to get noticed.

OK, but going out with the likes of Paris Hilton is bound to draw attention to you.

Yeah. Well, like I said, I'm friendly with other girls in the business. Some of them make rumors up about other girls in the business. They'll say "Oh, she does drugs. She drinks too much." I know a lot of the girls in L.A. smoke pot, but I can't do that. I would have an asthma attack. It's stupid to smoke, I do that once in a while, but everyone goes through that phase. I would never be an excessive drinker. You feel like [expletive] the next day anyway.

Why were you in the hospital?

Exhaustion. I lost, like, 15 pounds. And when I got out the whole breakup happened and I lost more weight.

So how was that whole breakup?

Yeah, it was hard. It was hard because he keeps talking about it in the papers. I don't really have a comment on it. The thing is, because I was younger people made it out to be like I was the immature one. But you know, it wasn't true. I wanted to stay home sometimes and he wanted to go out all the time.

So if you could do one thing in public if you would not be recognized, what would you do?

I would go and do everything that the tabloids say Lindsay Lohan does, if they thought I was someone else. I would go and do everything they say Lindsay Lohan does and have them focus on someone else and have the attention taken off of me completely.