By Steve Dollar

WHO IS SHE?:

The 33-year-old singer-songwriter is the thinking dude's (and dudette's) pop sex symbol. She comes on breathy, vulnerable, formidable and most definitely grown-up on her long-time-coming sophomore release, I Confess, which swaps the coffeehouse strum of her 1996 debut for the low-riding beats of Dr. Dre (who lent a hand to the production).

WHAT HAS SHE DONE?:

Paid a lot of dues. After her first album failed to catch fire, she moved to London, made a second disc that her record company rejected, and eventually won a redeeming gig singing backup for David Bowie (on his Hours album and subsequent tours).

WHY DO WE CARE?:

Because even though she's a foxy blonde from Southern California, Palmer insults no one's intelligence, least of all her own. All hail the anti-Britney!

Playboy.com: You've got a lot of sexy grooves on the record. Do you feel like you have to compete with the Britney Spearses of the music business?

Holly Palmer: I have my own thing going. My interests always seem to be out of step with everything that's gone on -- always! It's a matter of stamina. I get curious about stuff, but I always get back to what's important to me, what turns me on.

PB: So what turns you on?

HP: "Feel." It's all about "feel" for me. It just needs to feel good. The beat needs to feel right. It needs to feel like something you want to move around to, something that's not forced. Something that's liquid. That's the most important thing to me.

PB: And where do you go with that?

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photo: Sheryl Nields