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Standing in her publicist's office at Warner Bros.' Manhattan headquarters, Gina G. makes eyes at Madonna's platinum record for You Can Dance. ''Look at what she's wearing,'' Gina says, checking out the corset-clad pop idol on the cover. ''That's quite suggestive. That's the attitude.''
Gina G., the voice behind the Eurodisco hit ''Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit,'' knows that a squeaky-clean image can mean early retirement for a pop singer. To that end, she shows off her gams in a short lace Gucci dress in her video, and appears on the cover of her debut album Fresh (in stores March 4) smeared head to toe in chocolate. The London-based Australian watched the million-selling ''Ooh Aah'' (now No. 14 on Billboard's Hot 100) reach No. 1 in the U.K. the day after she performed it on Britain's tacky 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, an appearance she says she made purely for the TV exposure.
Talking about everything from pay-for-play radio politics to setting a good fashion example for fans, the media-savvy 26-year-old says she plans to stick around by pushing the envelope. ''If you keep people talking, I don't think you go wrong.'' Sounds like another blond diva with a taste for shock value.
''Really?'' she says coyly.
Really. The similarities to Madonna are striking, including sexy posturing, lightweight pop tunes, and a canny sense of style. ''I want to put the glamour back in pop,'' Gina says. ''Madonna did it so well. I'm not trying to copy her. I don't think the record company thought, 'Let's push Gina G. because Madonna's doing movies.' But the only other people doing real pop is Spice Girls.''
Speaking of that female pop juggernaut, is it conceivable that the mind-boggling success of ''Wannabe'' has overshadowed the Stateside release of ''Ooh Aah'' just a little bit?
''Maybe.'' Gina smiles coolly. ''But I'll have my time.'' Spoken like a true material girl.
