They may be a new generation, but Cambodian music vendors and fans say they are not ready for Britney Spear's new image, nor those of her wild partying friends, and it is changing the face of music in Cambodia.
Once images of Britney adorned every second girl's T-shirt, and businesses from beauty parlors to souvenir shops used her image to promote their image. But no more, according to experts.
Recent scandals in the life of Britney and other young American starlets in this relatively conservative country has changed the focus of youth to music icons closer to home, such as South Korean pop sensation Rain, whose wholesome image and good looks fit more comfortably with Khmer ideals.
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In fact, South Korean stars, Indonesian and Indian artists as well as Thais have increasingly taken over on television and radio music programs as well as at the nation's millions of mainly bootleg music shops. Homegrown Cambodian music has also proved a big winner, promoted by such outlets as government-friendly Bayon Television and the country's hippest night spots.
Sok Leng, the proprietor of Empire Disc music shop in the capital, says although 25-year-old Britney still has fans, they are dwindling in number, as immodest photos, allegations about her parenting skills and other scandals flood local magazines and newspapers in a country where women's ideal image is still that of modesty and family (particularly children) is paramount.
"Although there are still requests for her work, it is almost always for her old hits. We don't sell Korean music at the moment, but there is not a day that goes by when someone doesn't ask for it," Leng said. "Television now shows a lot of Korean music clips, and people want to buy it."
The views of Srey Mom, a 23-year-old music fan, seem typical, and are being reinforced by the country's media, which used to picture Britney as a demure young innocent, but now run scathing articles accompanied by pictures of her in compromising poses, often with her photo at the bottom of the page.
"She is a mother of two but she dances in her underwear. We don't want to follow our parents exactly, but we don't want to follow this example either," says Srey Mom. "For me, I am embarrassed to watch this."
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said he had noted fashions and hair styles increasingly following trends set by Korean artists, which push cultural boundaries but do not cross them uncomfortably, and that may be reflected in Cambodian youth's musical choices.
But Kanharith said it was not only Britney's doing. Paris Hilton's example was another negative one which had dismayed the Cambodian public at large, he said.
"It's no matter for the new generation who inspires their hair or their dress, such as, say, the Korean stars. They must remember they are still Cambodian," he said. "Cambodian young people prefer their own stars and other Asians to those Europeans."
But in a country where a Christmas television special once had the plug pulled by Prime Minister Hun Sen himself when one young dancer was deemed to be dancing and dressing too immodestly, young Cambodians find it easier to follow examples from Korea and Indonesia than increasingly outlandish American pop idols.
Kanharith takes a Buddhist attitude to the immodest cavorting of young Americans. "Everybody makes mistakes. The important thing is that they adjust themselves following those mistakes," he said.
The story about Britney and company being responsible for a swing to local and regional artists featured heavily on Cambodian blogs this week, with not everyone agreeing that Britney was in the wrong.
Overseas Khmers especially said she was within her rights to flaunt it if she's got it, although some, like one Khmer Intelligence blog respondent, were less accepting, writing sarcastically "I hope you are not a parent." Alvin's blog on the issue perceptively noted that maybe the quality of the music may be the ultimate culprit.
Whatever the reason, it seems artists like Rain are on the rise in Cambodia. Britney, here at least, is yesterday's news.