Britney Spears Covers Harper's Bazaar June/July 2011

By now it's more than clear that 2011 is the year of Britney's comeback. After catching the spotlight with the "Femme Fatale" album, the always surprising pop diva openly discusses her career, past fashion hits and misses, artists she looks up to and family in the June 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar.

Britney Spears looks absolutely classy and glamorous on the cover of Harper's Bazaar 2011. Dressed in a Bill Blass white cut-out dress, the pop diva looks mature, gracious and sophisticated. With her new album, 'Femme Fatale' receiving a myriad of positive reviews from critics and her relationship with Jason Trawick going strong, Britney has every reason to feel optimistic: "I've worked so hard on this album, so it's really refreshing. I feel like I'm drinking a tall glass of homemade sweet tea on a really hot, beautiful day."

In the pictorial for the magazine she sports several alluring looks: an air, star printed Dolce & Gabbana dress paired with Raphael Young pumps, an edgy tight fitted dress with sheer details, an elegant Blumarine dress with lace details and a long sleeved dress signed by Isabel Marant paired with Christian Louboutin black pumps.

Although her current look is definitely a highly flattering one, she didn't always make the most stellar choices fashion wise. In fact she readily admits one of her biggest past faux pas: "Ten years ago at the Billboard Awards, I wore this orange hat and orange bra and orange booty pants and purple fishnets. Oh, and I had an orange jacket on. I actually thought I looked hot at the time. But, um, I definitely stood out. I thought it was just a marvelous idea to wear this purple and orange outfit; it was like high school colors. I was a cheerleader for a school I didn't know. People were talking about it, but not in a good way."

When asked about her best fashion look she stated: "I went to the Grammys in 2002, and I had really curly, curly hair. I had a red dress on. It wasn't short and saucy; it was a long red dress. That dress was fun."

The 'Hold It Against Me' singer also revealed her take on some of the hottest artists of the moment: "I love 'S&M' and 'Only Girl' by Rihanna; that's why I jumped on the 'S&M' remix. She's really cool. I like her a lot."

Speaking about the 'Justin Bieber fever', Britney recalled some strategies she herself used in order to get noticed in the past: "I think he's adorable. I just saw his movie, and I really didn't realize how big he was. He's enormous; he's just Mr. Man. A lot of the movie is really similar to what I did when I was starting out. I did a promo tour for a year, going into radio stations and all that. It was so cool to see our similarities."

Lady Gaga is another artist she appreciates: "She's unique and extremely talented. I love her spin on everything."

It appears that several artists have influenced Britney professionally, Madonna certainly being one of them: "I guess she's really taught me to stay true to myself. That seems like a simple thing to say, but she taught me through action, not just by saying it. There are so many people around you that have opinions, but you just have to listen to your instincts." She also reveals that Whitney Huston is her biggest music inspiration and that she would like to become an American Idol judge just like Jennifer Lopez although she would not be a though judge.

Moving on to more personal topics, the 29 year old singer reveals that the experience of motherhood has changed her at a professional level as well: "I think things through a little bit more, and I worry a lot. I'm more straightforward, and I speak up more than I did before. When I was younger, I wouldn't speak up as much, but now that I'm a mom, things have changed." We might even hear surprising news from her personal life soon as she might get married once again or even have more kids: "I've thought about both, so if the timing was right …"

Read the rest of the interview in the latest issue of the Harper's Bazaar magazine which will hit the newsstands on the 31st of May.