Britney's MTV Comeback A Bust

(CBS/AP)  Somewhere, Kevin Federline is laughing. An out-of-shape, out-of-touch Britney Spears delivered what was destined to be the most talked about performance of the MTV Video Music Awards -- but for all the wrong reasons.

Kicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, "Gimme More," Spears looked bleary and unprepared, much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles. She walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. It appeared she had forgotten the entire art of lip-synching. And, perhaps most unforgivable given her once-taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.

As The Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman put it, "Her lip-synching and gyrating lacked punch."

Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused expression; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.

"I kind of felt sorry for her," hip-hop artist Common told Kauffman. "It didn't look like she was really into that performance."

"I don't think her head was fully into the show," singer-songwriter Akon remarked to Kauffman. " ... And I wanted to hear her sing."

Things didn't get much better when comedian Sarah Silverman followed Spears with a stand-up routine.

"Britney Spears, everyone. Wow!" Silverman opened. "She is amazing. I mean, she is 25 years old, and she's already accomplished everything she's going to accomplish in her life."

Silverman continued to draw less and less laughter with jokes about Spears' children and private parts, along with digs at Madonna and 50 Cent.

Though Spears' performance "fell flat," Kauffman observed, some in attendance wished Spears only the best, such as singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, who commented to Kauffman, "I'm a mother, too, and I'm also an entertainer. It's a tough balance, balancing motherhood and the entertainment business. So I support her."

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton of PerezHilton.com predicted, "It's Britney Spears. Her new album will sell. Will it sell as well as the old one? No way."

The VMAs was hoping to reinvent itself on Sunday. After suffering poor reviews and a decline in ratings during the past few years, MTV moved the show to Las Vegas' Palms Casino, shortened the show from three hours to two, and changed the show's setup to focus more on performances than awards.

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Photos: 2007 MTV VMA Red Carpet

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To that end, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters were each hosting four separate suite parties, where much of the show's performances would be held.

Thankfully, after Spears' dismal start and the lukewarm intro by Silverman, the show rebounded. Timberlake's suite was packed with revelers, alcohol and eight lingerie-clad stripper types on raised platforms. Before he accepted the Quadruple Threat of the Year award at his suite, the DJ summoned the partygoers to watch the monitor and go crazy if Timberlake won.

He did, they did, and Timberlake said: "I want to challenge MTV to play more videos!" Then he was whisked away by bodyguards and disappeared. He later won male artist of the year, and hit home on that point: "We don't want to see the Simpsons on reality television" -- apparently he's not a fan of either Jessica or Ashlee's MTV shows.

Meanwhile, Rihanna won Monster Single of the Year for her ubiquitous hit "Umbrella," and Beyonce and Shakira won Most Earthshattering Collaboration for "Beautiful Liar." Beyonce's shimmering gold dress barely contained her top; immediately after she picked up her trophy, she asked an assistant backstage to help fix her dress, apparently to prevent a wardrobe malfunction.

Other performers were appearing on the show's main stage, in front of an industry-only audience seated at tables, like at the Golden Globes. Chris Brown gave one of the evening's most extravagant performances -- a dance-centric, eye-popping spectacle that channeled Michael Jackson, right down to a brief "Billie Jean" imitation. Later, he was joined by Rihanna, who performed her monster single.

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Photos: MTV VMA Fashion Police

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While Spears' performance was a showcase, others were delivered in snippets: Akon crooned a bit of his "Smack That" before an award was announced, while the cameras zoomed in on performances from Fall Out Boy and the Foo Fighters mid-performance in their suites, giving viewers the sense that they had happened upon an intimate concert. Cee-Lo delivered a rocking version of Prince's naughty classic "Darling Nikki" in the Foo Fighters suite; Soulja Boy was showing Kanye West his "Crank That" dance in West's suite.

Timberlake and Timbaland's joint suite looked like the most exciting -- T.I., buffeted by pole dancers, delivered a rousing version of "Big Things Poppin' " while 50 Cent stopped by to perform "Ayo Technology" with Timberlake and Timbaland.

Not to be outdone, T-Pain and West danced high atop Las Vegas in one of the Palms' balcony suites as celebrated "The Good Life." And Lil Wayne, doing double duty in the Fall Out Boy suite, was particularly animated during their joint performance.

But the TV audience never got full views of those performances, though the network promised viewers more via its Web site and other "remixed" versions of the show. That might have been the purpose -- to whet the audiences appetite for repeat viewings by promising glimpses of what they missed during the traditional broadcast.

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[kelly652]

Hey Lay Off Britney! Did anyone ever think she might have Post Partum Depression? She has had two babies within two years, and then she was married to what''s his name, a total loser. Britney only started to act up only months after the birth of her second child. I bet she doesn''t even realize she has Post Partum Depression, but it is real and it can make you pyschotic. The girl needs help, she is not well, but either way she is free to live her life without the whole universe watching and critising her every move.

[briansgirl2]

Yeah, Brittney was awful, and her costumes was worse. However, shame on Sarah Silverman for commenting about the children. Yes Brittney is a trainwreck, but the kids should be "hands off" as far as comedians are concerned. They can''t help the family that they are born into. Shame, shame, shame on you Sarah!!!

[sugarbabe54]

Poor Britney! She seems to have no idea what is going on around her. It is obvious she has serious mental problems or addiction problems.She has banished from her life the people who really love her and wanted to help her by making sure she went to rehab, which didn''t work. She has to want it for herself. She was a star for many years, starting in early childhood and what is happening to her is the same old "child star" story.They usually seem to end sadly. As for Brit''s appearance.......well, she would have looked better if she was dressed more modestly. She is a mother now and she needs to think about how her kids are going to feel about her appearance and actions in the years to come. They will be teased unmercifully!

[yamuttya]

Entertainment has been around for millenia.
Since the 60s we have gone from the genius of the Beatles, Dylan and the Stones to he idiocy of today.
Like The idealism of Kennedy to the idiocy of Bush , in 40 short years we have gone from the mountaintop to the sewer.
Thank you W, youve been an inspiration.....

[socrates392]

Was she on anti-psychotic drugs? No really, I have a friend who''s mentally ill and he has that same dull expression sometimes when on his medication. I wouldn''t be surprised if she is seriously mentally after seeing all her strange behavior over the couple months.

[samthetvcat]

It''s not just the public who are fed up with all the Britney antics, apparently Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were going to do a duet with her but they''ve backed out just like Criss Angel did because she''s so unreliable.

I don''t know . . . I feel bad about being harsh at this point because the contrast between her performance last night and her old MTV ones was shocking and her glazed look and stumbling reminded me so much of Anna Nicole when she was spaced out and painted like a clown. If she''s got addiction issues, maybe it''d be better for her kids'' sake for everybody to urge her to treat her problems and put her ''career'' on the backburner. Hard to know what''s going to get through to someone with issues because people were harsh like this to Mariah and she managed to turn things around - of course Mariahs got massive talent, and in contrast people are always supportive of Whitney and she''s still a train wreck . . .

I wonder how Bobbie Christina''s managing (Whitney''s kid) . . . kids are pretty resilient, so hopefully with a sober nanny, Britney''s kids''ll turn out okay. The big question is how her judgment is in picking nannies . . . I heard she hired a manny a couple of months ago who made $$ running porn sites - not sure why she would think somebody like that would be a good role model for her kids!

[keithle1]

What a surprise. Big shock. WOW.

Like someone else commented, I hope this puts the final nail in the coffin of her musical career.

Call me crazy but why doesn''t she make her kids her priority? Her time has come & gone. Who is buying her stuff? I can''t believe teenagers are.
Her fans from back in the day have moved on to bigger & better things I''m sure. Retire already.

If you ain''t got it, don''t show it off. I haven''t displayed my bare chest in public
since Reagan was President.

[brity12]

sarah silverman on the mtv vma''s was a waste of time. she is soooo boring as one of your viewers commented on. she is not funny. her jokes are corny and i know it''s comedy, however, some things just should not be said. as for britney, her performance was disappointing. it was not old britney. i was expecting more movement from her w/ her dancing. it was blah. i think her overall personal issues have taken a great big toll on her. i liked britney as a entertainer, however, i have never cared for her actual singing. (her lip-synching was not good either)she looked like she could barely move, i''ve heard she was working out to get back her shape.no offense but she has not gotten it back. her mid area was square and from the side views she has to work on her abdomen if she wants to have back the body she had before. overall, the awards show was boring with the exception of chris brown, alicia keys, rihanna and justin. the show was not well put together.

[iampositive]

Perhaps Racist extraordinaire, blogger V-1618, who is concerned about the monoply of "negro hip hop gangsters" should give credit to the real gansters at MTV Kid Rock and Tommy Lee.

I have always wondered why people such as he or she always recognize bad behavior when it is associated with people of color, but not Caucausions. Perhaps he didnt see Britney who came off looking like a drunken porn star. However, that has more to do with the "person" not the "color".

If the V-1618''s of the world considered color when it involves whites to the extent they consider it when they see Blacks and other races, there wouldnt be the level of racism that is in the world today.

[yamuttya]

21st century American culture, Paris, hos and cheap losers, what a sight....