LeAnn Rimes Defends Her Sexy Image

LeAnn Rimes wants her critics to understand that she is an adult. The singer who burst onto the country music scene as a fresh-faced 13-year-old has no regrets for shedding her girl-next-door image.

"I was always America's sweetheart, but you grow up, you get married, you have sex, my God!" she tells the LA Times. "I work out a lot, I take care of myself and I like showing it off in a way that's fun."

The now 25-year-old Rimes has been showing off her svelte figure a lot lately. She strips down to her skivvies in her 'Nothin' Better to Do' video and rolls around on a bed clad in lingerie in 'Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore,' her steamy video with Bon Jovi. The singer has also graced recent covers of Shape and Fitness magazines wearing a bikini.

Rimes expresses sympathy for teen stars like Miley Cyrus who are criticized for their own sometimes sexy images. When asked about the controversy surrounding Cyrus' Vanity Fair cover shoot, the former child star advises Cyrus to rise above the criticism.

"The sad thing is when you're in their position, everyone at some point is going to bring you down," Rimes says. "This is where they're going to show how strong they are . . . They have to keep their heads down and not listen."

#pmodule_center .dy_container{width:475px;overflow:hidden;border: solid 1px #cccccc;font-family:arial;font-size:12px;color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;line-height:0px;}
#pmodule_center .content_container_header{padding:0px;line-height:18px;margin:15px 0px 0px 10px; width:455px}

#pmodule_center .pd_features{color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:14px;padding:1pt 16pt 2pt 1pt;font-weight:bold;display:block;border-bottom:5px solid #cccccc; height:20px;}
#pmodule_center .content_container_footer{padding:0px;line-height:25px;margin:0px 0px 5px 2px}
#pmodule_center .content_container {height:81px;margin:15px 10px 0px 10px;padding:0px;}

#pmodule_center .c_emptydiv{height:4px;color:#ffffff}

#pmodule_center .c_contdiv{height:64px;_height:65px;float:left;padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 0px 19.5pt; border:solid 1px #cccccc; width:68px;}
#pmodule_center .c_contdiv_left{ height:64px;_height:65px;float:left;padding:0px;margin:0px 0.6pt 0px 0px; border:solid 1px #cccccc; width:68px;}

#pmodule_center .imgDes{float:left;margin:0px;padding:0px;height:60px;_height:61px;overflow:hidden;}

#pmodule_center a.c_zlink:link{text-decoration:none; border:0px;}
#pmodule_center a.c_zlink:visited{text-decoration:none;border:0px;}
#pmodule_center a.c_zlink:hover{text-decoration:underline;border:0px;}
#pmodule_center .c_imgthumb{margin:4px;border:0px;padding:0px;}
#pmodule_center a.alink:link{text-decoration:none; color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_center a.alink:visited{text-decoration:none;color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_center a.alink:hover{text-decoration:underline;color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_center .viewimage{margin:3px 0px 0px 8px;border-top:1px solid #cccccc;width:455px;}

/*---------------------------------------*/

#pmodule_right .dy_container{width:314px;overflow:hidden;border: solid 1px #cccccc;font-family:arial;font-size:12px;color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;height: expression( document.body.clientHeight 351 ? "350px" : "auto" );max-height: 350px;line-height:0px; }
#pmodule_right .content_container_header{padding:0px;line-height:18px;width:300px;margin:15px 0px 0px 7px;}
#pmodule_right .pd_features{color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:14px;padding:1pt 16pt 2pt 1pt;font-weight:bold;display:block;border-bottom:5px solid #cccccc;}
#pmodule_right .content_container_footer{padding:0px;width:308px;line-height:25px;margin:15px 0px 5px 0px}
#pmodule_right .content_container {overflow:hidden;padding:0px;margin:15px 0px 0px 8px;_margin:15px 0px 0px 9px;width: expression( document.body.clientWidth 300 ? "300px" : "auto" ); /* sets max-height for IE */
max-height: 245px; min-height: 80px;/* sets max-height value for all standards-compliant browsers */width:308px;}
#pmodule_right .c_emptydiv{height:4px;color:#ffffff}

#pmodule_right .c_contdiv,.c_contdiv_left{height:66px;float:left;padding:0px;margin:4px 8.4px 0px 0px;_margin:4px 6.3pt 0px 0px;border:solid 1px #cccccc;width:66px;}

#pmodule_right .imgDes{float:left;margin:0px;padding:0px;_height:63px;height:63px;overflow:hidden;}

#pmodule_right a.c_zlink:link{text-decoration:none; border:0px;}
#pmodule_right a.c_zlink:visited{text-decoration:none;border:0px;}
#pmodule_right a.c_zlink:hover{text-decoration:underline;border:0px;}
#pmodule_right .c_imgthumb{margin:3px;border:0px;padding:0px;}
#pmodule_right a.alink:link{text-decoration:none; color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_right a.alink:visited{text-decoration:none;color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_right a.alink:hover{text-decoration:underline;color:#000000;background:url('http://www.aolcdn.com/photomodule/viewimage.gif') no-repeat transparent 0 50%; padding:0 0 0 10px;}
#pmodule_right .viewimage{margin:3px 0px 0px 8px;border-top:1px solid #cccccc;}

#pd_error{
text-align:center;
border:1px solid #ccc;
height:158px;
}

#pd_error .pd_error_inner{
padding:5px;
height:98px;
margin:5px;
padding:25px;
background: #ebf1f5;
}

#pd_error .pd_error_inner p{
margin:0px;
padding:0px;
font-family:arial;
font-size:12px;
}