It's OK to look now: The littlest Spice Girl is all grown up!

They were the first act ever to reach No. 1 with their first four singles, starred in their very own movie and had Eminem pondering which member of the quintet he wished to impregnate. Then, poof!-the Spice Girls split. Six years later, 28-year-old Emma Bunton-formerly Baby Spice-is ready to conquer America with her solo debut, Free Me.

“I've got loads of fans back in the U.K. who've watched me grow up,” Bunton says. “But there's something about American men. I wouldn't mind raising eyebrows with my new look-I've worked bloody hard for this body and it's time you all appreciated it.”

First, would you like a moment to apologize for the Spice Girls?
Absolutely not! I would, however, be more than willing to apologize for the platform boots. Just looking at them makes me cringe. Walking in them was tough. I used to fall over. One time I cracked my ankle.

All of the Spice Girls have now made solo albums. Whose is the best?
Come on, I can't answer that. We're all so different; it's not competitive. We've all moved on with our careers, but there's always going to be something special among us.

Is that girl power?
Um, no. There's a special bond. We care about each other.

Sharing the spotlight with four other girls is one thing. How was sharing bathrooms?
It was bloody hard. You never got in there if you didn't push and shove. But the Spice Girls had fun. We'd have pillow fights and do dares. One time in an L.A. hotel, Mel C dared us to streak down the hallway with nothing to cover ourselves but tiny washcloths. We had to run down the corridor, touch the far wall, turn and run back. We almost made it when the elevator doors opened on our floor. There were people in the elevator, but nobody got out. They must have been in shock.

If a regular guy wanted to date a pop star, what advice would you give him?
I like confident guys-if you're taking someone out, you want him to be able to mingle on his own. And he should be tall, but not too tall. I was seeing a guy once who was 6-foot-4. It was ridiculous. And perhaps most importantly, I like a man with a nice bottom. Nothing too big.

If FHM wanted to be your lover, would we have to get with your friends?
You would.

What are we talking? Threesome, foursome, what?
No, not in that way. My friends have to approve of whomever I'm seeing. That's what that means.

You have a solid transvestite fan base. What draws them to you?
I don't know, but I know that I love them. They're fabulous. I love drama, I love dressing up and I love theater.

Who sends the weirdest mail: the kids, the transvestites or the prisoners?
My older fans are pretty weird. Recently, a man has been sending me his pay stubs along with pictures of himself smoking.

Do you have male groupies?
Yeah, I do actually. I have about five very special male groupies who follow me around, but I've yet to take advantage of them.

When was the last time two became one?
Nine months ago. It's quite a while, I know. I've been too bloody busy. It's hard. Sometimes I'll come back to my hotel room and have a drink or two and get really lonely. Honestly, there are only so many baths a girl can take.