Getty ImagesWomen and men, the young and the old, singers and non-singers—we all want to be like Britney Spears!
But who does the original pop princess look to for inspiration? Ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake (!), mega-talent Beyoncé, BFF Miley Cyrus and a few more of her pop contemporaries.
"Bruno Mars is so different and fresh, and Justin Timberlake is, too," she told USA Today Friday, Dec. 27, before kicking off her Piece of Me tour in Las Vegas. "It's inspiring for me, and it makes people eager to listen to music, which helps everyone."
The 32-year-old singer also said she "looks up to Beyoncé" because "what she did with her (surprise release) album was genius, really brilliant."
As for Miley Cyrus, who was dancing and singing along front row and center at Brit's show? "She's cool, she's fun to be around," she gushed. "You know, she's got really good energy."
The humble superstar also praised Lorde "who is really different and cool" and Michael Jackson. "[My] favorite part of the show, where it's just me in the spotlight (during 'Me Against the Music') with a hat on," she said, "which is really a tribute to Michael."
But, getting back to business, this isn't the first time Brit's praised her ex-boyfriend. Back in November, she told Ryan Seacrest how much she liked "Holy Grail" (which is actually a collaboration between J.T. and Jay Z), saying, "I think it's mystical."
AWW! Now, don't expect to see Britney and Justin matching in double denim anytime soon (Justin is married to Jessica Biel, and Britney is happily dating David Lucado), but, teeny boppers' hearts everywhere should be happy knowing there's mutual respect and admiration between pop's former power couple.
Not a bad thing!