Sci-Fi Sexpot's Slipped Disc

If Traci Elizabeth Lords wasn't such a hottie, she probably would've recorded a half-dozen albums by now. But dang it, her ready-for-its-close-up pout — not to mention her underrated acting ability — keep getting her cast on TV series (like First Wave, the Sci Fi Channel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers-meets-The Fugitive hybrid) and in movies (among them, the upcoming Blade sequel). As a result, fans of her scorching 1995 techno platter, 1,000 Fires, just keep waiting for her to get back into the groove.

"I was six tracks into a new record when I signed to do First Wave," the sometime songwriter tells TV Guide Online, "and now that I'm [done taping for the season], I'm like, 'I don't feel like that anymore.' So basically, it's all screwed up. I have to start all over."

While the prospect of scrapping a half-finished disc would start many a vocalist shrieking in panic, this admirer of acts as diverse as Ricky Martin and Eminem takes the setback in stride. "I've been singing my whole life," she says. "I was never — and I'm still not — in any hurry to prove something. I don't want to be the pop star of the moment. I waited for the record deal that I wanted, and I got it, ultimately [with Radioactive Records].

"When I have something to say, I'll put out another album," she continues. "There's no pressure [to release new material every year] — I'm not Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez. So I feel really lucky to be in that position."