09/10/2007
Britney Spears Delivers Trainwreck Rather than Comeback at VMAs
Here's the opening of last night's MTV Video Music Awards, a mind-numbingly awful Britney Spears performance that kicked off perhaps the most unwatchable VMAs ever.
Word is that Britney was upset because she overheard Sarah Silverman rehearsing her monologue backstage, which made fun of her children. There was no sign whatsoever of the Criss Angel smoke-and-mirrors routine that was rumored to be part of the opening number. Unfortunately for Ms. Spears, the routine lacked any magic whatsoever.
Reactions: Chart Rigger, Pink is the New Blog, Perez, Dlisted, Arjan Writes.
Posted 8:04 AM EST by Andy Towle in Britney Spears, Music, News | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
She looked so uninterested in what she was doing. I expected her at any minute to say "f-k this, I'm going home," and walk off the stage.
Sad little girl.
Posted by: shane | Sep 10, 2007 8:31:05 AM
As far as the VMAs being unwatchable, I must agree. I was thinking last night during my attempt at watching that I must have reached that age, that the show could be fine and it is just my tolerance for questionable productions, and Hip Hop has reached it's limit. No, the show was blatantly vile. Ms. Spears should have yet again stayed home with her children. She is clearly not yet ready for prime-time, what with her still thick body and a hair weave de-marking her hair re-growth rather than camouflaging it, as well as very unsteady foot work. Britney did not even seem sure of what she was doing out there on stage, I had a feeling she was about to topple over any moment.
Posted by: Critifur | Sep 10, 2007 8:33:30 AM
The VMAs have been unwatchable for quite a few years now. I'm surprised anyone still tries.
Posted by: phil | Sep 10, 2007 8:41:46 AM
Not to defend the trainwreck that is Britany, but
Sarah isn't funnyman cracking tastless jokes about one's kids could throw anyone off. That doesn't excuse the fat one bit.
Brit should have come out, yanked those extensions off all ghetto like, said "it's on (insert antisemitic word here and see how she liked that tastless bit)", and kicked the shit out of sarah flopman
Posted by: no excuse for the fat, but | Sep 10, 2007 8:42:50 AM
Wait... the VMAs still air? In what country?!
Posted by: DW | Sep 10, 2007 8:43:13 AM
I should mention for those who are only watching the above clip
The so called comedian (everything she touches ends up flopping) Sarah Silvermann cracked jokes about Britts kids that were beyond tasteless.
Before anyone flames away, jokes about someone's children automaticaly make ethnic slurs A-OK and Brit should gone at it all ghetto like on sarah with ethnic slurs flying and see how she liked it.
Still no excuse for the fat.
Posted by: no excuse for the fat, but | Sep 10, 2007 8:46:41 AM
Criss Angel WAS there. Didn't you see him make Britney's career disappear?
Posted by: Andrew | Sep 10, 2007 8:53:32 AM
that "piece-of-tailspin" is only slightly worse than her very best work. after ten years of enduring that vapid mouseketeer hack... THANK GOD (and Paris Hilton) it's finally over.
unfortunately the aftermath smells of her suicide and/or a year of Dannielynnesque coverage of Spears' spawn.
Posted by: A.J | Sep 10, 2007 9:02:23 AM
This was a trainwreck, y'all, but a sort of trainwreck (okay, not sort of, at all) in ways never imagined.
Britney's performance at the VMAs tonight was Madonna 20 years ago on a very bad day. On second thought, Madonna never had a day on stage as bad as this performance was...even at any time during the horrendous Girly Show tour. All thru Britney's performance tonight, I kept thinking, "Madonna did all of this 20 years ago" (foot on a man's back, falling backward into the arms of attentive men, using a man as a step-down, frolicking in her underwear -- even Nelly Fertado's finale was a Madonna-like homage to the 1990 VMAs "Vogue" performance with the feathered fans but without the Dangerous Liasons get-up) but Madonna would have never gone on stage to do a sloppy performance like this. Her moves weren't sharp, everything seemed to be in a faze of alcohol (or some other intoxicant), and I hate to say it but she needs to lose about 10 or 15 pounds if she wants to wear that outfit on stage. It appears that the rumors of her preference for partying this past week over rehearsing were all true. The bored expressions of some of the people in the audience summed up the performance very well. I was left empty and not necessarily wanting more. I WANT her to do better (almost as much as I want her to get her act together clean and sober for the sake of her children) and if she has people around her applauding her for a shit performance such as this, she should very much consider getting people around her who will push her to be sharper and get cleaned up.
Posted by: Dean | Sep 10, 2007 9:03:39 AM
I feel bad for the girl. What a mess.
Posted by: Wes | Sep 10, 2007 9:21:15 AM
I don't enjoy watching Britney Spears' protracted (and very obviously painful) fall from grace.
I also think Sarah Silverman's setting herself up for a very large dose of karmic humility too. To spitefully mock someone so obviously lost is quite repulsive, I think.
Posted by: FASTLAD | Sep 10, 2007 9:25:32 AM
Britney seemed totally distracted and totally ready to go home. ...they showed some clips of Britney practicing her routine from the past few days and they looked so much better... I don't know what was going on but it was damn sad and embarassing to watch.
Posted by: Rob (lrdarystar) | Sep 10, 2007 9:25:40 AM
She wasn't confident. I think she was up there knowing that everyone was watching her, probably going to make fun of her. She seemed to be embarassed while she was performing, because she knows that she's become the bud of everyone's jokes.
And I agree Fastlad, its horrible to kick someone when they're down like that. Britney Spears has had sooo many f*ck ups in the last few years, but she's human and being cruel towards her only makes it worse.
Posted by: Wes | Sep 10, 2007 9:34:23 AM
I don't know if this counts as a trainwreck because it was obvious she wasn't giving it her all anyway. Like she just wanted the number to be done with, no effort. She didn't miss the steps, she knew the blocking.. she just wasn't bringing it. A disaster is when you give it your all and it's still painfully craptastic in the end.
Nevertheless, THIS needed to happen. Here's praying she finds her priorities. So many fanatics were clamoring for a comeback, for her to unleash a spectacular VMA performance, as if it was the most important thing she had to do right now. Nevermind her personal problems, they just wanted their Britney doll back. So they could play with her and vicariously live that sick celeb diva superstar life they just need.
Posted by: Jedd | Sep 10, 2007 9:35:30 AM
What I fail to understand is why people continue to give this person the benefit of the doubt. Unlike her contemporary Xtina, she *never* had any real singing talent. Her success was driven by her dance performance and a very well-cultivated image assembled by a crack team of handlers and marketers. All of that crumbled a long time ago, revealing a persona nothing like the one crafted for her. Without that, the empress (?) was left with no clothes. Yet MTV and legions of fans still seem willing to give her another shot, and another, and another. What's that saying, "Fool me once...?"
Posted by: Davey | Sep 10, 2007 9:35:32 AM
This clip says it all... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY_QDvS1amY
Posted by: Peter Griffin | Sep 10, 2007 9:37:07 AM
I was expecting a train wreck and I got one. But I don't feel sorry for her at all. Neither she or the newest black-man to join the human race, Justin Timblerlake. I anticipated seeing a lot of raucous behavior from the other performers and I got what I was looking for and then some.
I had to miss the end of the show as work loomed and sleep was necessary. U-tube proved I made the right decision. I just can't feel for someone while I'm at the grindstone, I mean the 8-6:30; and she rakes in 700K a month even without performing badly.
Just ain't got the time.
Posted by: lexxicuss | Sep 10, 2007 10:17:00 AM
Like Wes, I dislike watching a trainwreck, a good description of Britney Spears since her dance album; it's disheartening. But I also miss the Britney Doll, who was a great performer and deserved all of the money and attention her fans threw at her. It's the core reason people still care about her. She used to be a whole lot of fun to watch!
It's true she makes terrible decisions. As an aside I'm not sure I would be making publicity-friendly decisions either if my entire life was being documented by gossip photographers.
I liked her performance. I'm not sure if it will give her any life motivation, but she at least knew the routine and she can still dance. I have my hopes up.
Posted by: James | Sep 10, 2007 10:28:21 AM
loved the clip. mall walking around the stage, mumbling while the backing track bubbles along. debbie allen choreography with a dollop of burlesque tease. its a bore and we all know it - MTV - now like 'misshapes' is officially over. let britney do her sid vicious and piss on the whole mess as she walks off the stage.
next year its the KLF. 4real.
also--- Silverman is just a liberal, Jewish version of Coulter's schitck. so provocative and 'outrageous'. now if she could just manage to sell a ticket to one of her productions, she'd be onto something.
Posted by: resurrect | Sep 10, 2007 10:51:28 AM
Agree with all the above. Please, Britney, go home and raise your kids. Your 15 minutes - 10 years, in this case - are over.
Posted by: Jack Scribe | Sep 10, 2007 11:05:24 AM
three words: britney nicole spears
Posted by: psgoodguy | Sep 10, 2007 11:09:17 AM
three words: britney nicole spears
Posted by: psgoodguy | Sep 10, 2007 11:09:27 AM
three words: britney nicole spears
Posted by: psgoodguy | Sep 10, 2007 11:09:39 AM
...now if what was said about sarah's monologue was true, what would have been really entertaining is for the curtain to have gone up for us to have found britany in a "Jesus Is Magic" t-shirt with her foot deep in sarah's ass...maybe wack ass jimmy kimmel, sarah's 'partner', will feature such a skit on his lame ass show...i'm not a britney booster, but that excuses the mood during the performance for me...and for those who think that britney should have just sucked it up, (no pun intended), and silverman as funny, i'm so sure she is, so long as she's not talking about YOUR kids...! bitch...
Posted by: yeahisaidit | Sep 10, 2007 11:18:22 AM
Evidently, str8 men are SO desperate for wank material that talentless vessels like Britney, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, etc. are elevated to star status where, unfortunately, the rest of us are subjected to them. Alas, pop culture is not a meritocracy.
Posted by: Andy G. | Sep 10, 2007 11:19:57 AM