Britney Gets Her Star in Hollywood Zone

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday November 18, 2003 01:00 AM EST

On the eve of the release of her new CD "In the Zone," Britney Spears got her star added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, becoming the 2,242nd performer honored with a bronze star embedded in Tinseltown's famed sidewalk, reports Reuters.

"I'm seriously speechless right now," said the pop princess -- described by the news service as giddy and dressed modestly, for once. Her outfit consisted of jeans, a pink top and pink jacket (no trademark bare midriff).

"This is something I've dreamed about since I was a little girl. ... Thank you so much for even coming out today and sharing this memory with me that I'll never forget," she said.

Having a star with one's name on it embedded in the Hollywood Boulevard pavement costs $15,000. The honor caps Spears's flurry of press appearances to promote her latest album, her first in two years.

Reviews for "In the Zone" have not been kind. The Associated Press calls it insipid. USA Today, awarding it two stars out of four, says that the attempt to present Spears, 21, as a more mature woman is forced and unconvincing, and that she still sounds like a little girl trying to turn on little boys.

Rolling Stone considers Spears's attempt to project a more grown-up persona to be unconvincing, and the music on the CD to be brittle. The music magazine also says that her voice is too processed to be sexy.