NEW YORK — Early success can breed great pressure and greater expectations, as musical prodigies from Mozart to Michael Jackson have learned. Beyoncé Knowles turned 25 yesterday, and the former Destiny's Child ingenue is determined not to disappoint.

Today, Knowles unveils a sophomore solo CD titled, logically enough, "B'Day." In December, fans can watch her tackle her most high-profile and dramatically challenging film role to date in the much-ballyhooed screen adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical "Dreamgirls."

In the interim, it will no doubt be impossible to avoid the showbiz kid turned multitasking diva. Knowles "continues to shock and amaze people" with the range of her productivity, says Vibe editor-in-chief Danyel Smith. "She can do the bounciest songs, then also give a sense of raw emotion and sexual energy."

Granted, some of the "B'Day" tracks find America's bootylicious sweetheart sounding a little more raw and, frankly, combative than she has in the past. Perhaps you have heard "Ring the Alarm," the latest single, on which Knowles, her voice pitching to a near-scream, gives an unfaithful lover what-for: "I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm." Similar sentiments are expressed, with similar sass, on "Kitty Kat" and the deceptively buoyant "Irreplaceable."

When Knowles played the new songs for her longtime squeeze, rapper/mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, she recalls, "Jay was like, 'Oh, Lord, there's gonna be a lot of mess.' "

At the boutique Wales Hotel on New York's Upper East Side, Knowles, down-to-earth and daisy-fresh as only a practiced pro could be after a 12-hour-plus workday, laughs like a woman who has never harbored a suspicious thought about her beau. "I was like, 'You know what? You're right.' "

Carter, whom Knowles also refers to as Shawn and, apparently, "PopPop" — more about that later — is a contributing writer and guest star on the first single, "Deja Vu," and "Upgrade U."

So he already knows that the more vexed lyrics on "B'Day" were inspired by another woman — not one in his life, but one his girlfriend has grown close to.

That would be Deena Jones, the girl-group leader whom Knowles plays in "Dreamgirls."

FILM INSPIRED NEW CD

Though Knowles initially had planned on waiting until next year, after the film's December premiere, to release a new CD, she decided it could be more exciting, and empowering, to jump back into the studio with Deena still fresh in her mind and heart.

"I didn't want to write sappy love songs, even though I'm happy now," she said. "I wanted to do different things, to be innovative and kick really hard beats. I think I would have been scared to take that risk if I hadn't done ('Dreamgirls'). I would have made a love album, because that's where I am in my life. The movie inspired something else that's not in me. Or I guess it is, somewhere."

Knowles acknowledges that parallels exist between her own experiences and those of the fictional woman who informed much of "B'Day." The Dreams, the girl group that propels Deena to fame, gets its start in a talent contest in the '60s; a very young Destiny's Child got a shot on "Star Search" in the '80s.

"We lost, and they lost," Knowles points out. "But I didn't want to try to re-create what had happened to me personally."

Besides, Deena also presented obvious contrasts to Knowles, who has been managed by her father, Mathew, since childhood, and runs a clothing line with her mother and stylist, Tina. "My character came from the projects; she needed to be successful to bring her family up. I went to private school and had a great childhood with everything I wanted. Our personal needs are different."

So are their personalities. "(Deena) could be really manipulative, and her defenses small and catty. She wasn't angry or funny or overly sexy. She was mysterious, which is harder to play."

Though Knowles previously co-starred in comedies such as "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and the remake of "The Pink Panther," she describes "Dreamgirls" as "the first movie I've really acted in. I put six months aside, worked with a coach for two months. And that carried through to my music. I treated the video for 'Ring the Alarm' like a movie scene. I was thinking, 'I've got to make my acting coach proud.' "

Smith feels this conscientiousness helps Knowles' acting prospects.

"There is an unabashed attention to showmanship," Smith says. "She's so modern and yet completely old-school. You can tell she's not just sponging off old film clips of Tina Turner and Diana Ross. My guess is that she has studied these people."

What's ahead?

Knowles still seems loath to discuss her relationship with Carter in great detail, though she says reports that a wedding is being planned are not true. When asked to identify the man she calls "PopPop" in the "B'Day" liner notes — "Thanx 4 upgrading my album (twice)," she writes; "Did you know you were the coolest man alive?" — Knowles sighs.

"Why did I write that?" she wonders, then says, suppressing a grin, "I'm sure people can figure out who that is." (For the record, it's not Mathew Knowles, who is simply called Daddy.)

Knowles does want marriage and children "eventually," she says. "But I'm in no rush — when I'm ready to slow down and focus. I had a great family, and that's what I want." She's content to play "Auntie BB" to sister Solange's baby son, Daniel.

Knowles also said she considers erstwhile Destiny's Child colleagues Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams family members and doesn't rule out working with them again.

For now, though, the solo star, who plans to launch a world tour in the spring, has a full plate. "I'm not going to do another movie until I'm as excited about it as I was about 'Dreamgirls.' If that takes six months, two years, whatever."