Long-suffering starlet Britney Spears gave the performance of the evening at last week’s MTV awards in Las Vegas - for all the wrong reasons.
Unlike her last appearance at the 2003 VMAs, when Ms Spears locked lips with Madonna, this time the singer barely managed to puff her way through a badly-timed routine leaving the star-studded audience gasping in disbelief.
Designed to drum up excitement for her upcoming album, Spears performed ‘Gimme More’ - her first single in over two years thanks to a string of disasters in her personal life including a spell in rehab.
Out-of-synch lip-synching, lethargic movements and a less-than-streamlined Britney were all factors that contributed to the singer’s lack-luster performance.
Organizers attempted to reinvent this year's awards after low ratings and poor reviews over the last few years including moving the location to Vegas, shortening the air time to two hours and disposing of the hosts to focus on the performances.
While Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters hosted separate suite parties where most of the performances took place, it was still Britney’s star turn that was the talk of the evening.
Speaking at the awards, singer and producer Akon said: "It definitely could have been a lot better. She seemed nervous ... you could tell by the expression on her face. Instead of just blocking everybody out and doing her thing, you could tell she was thinking about it."
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