Britney Spears's performance at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
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| Britney Spears performance at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards | |
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| Run time | 3 mins (approximately) |
| Country | United States |
| Network | MTV |
| First aired | September 9, 2007 |
Britney Spears performance at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards was given on September 9, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Palms Hotel and Casino .
Heavily hyped and lauded as Spears' comeback performance, the result was nearly universally panned.
As the opening act for the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears, appearing in black sequined bikini and knee-high stiletto boots, performed "Gimme More", the lead single off her upcoming album. MTV described what ensued as a "James Bond-meets-underground S&M club slither." Reviews of the performance were harsh and very unfavorable; many noted that Spears seemed confused and disoriented onstage[1] and appeared to have also forgotten the lyrics and dance moves to her performance[2], other critiques involved Spears' weight. The Associated Press noted:
Out-of-synch lip-synching. Lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home. The paunch in place of Spears' once-taut belly. At times she just stopped singing, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance..
After abruptly ending the performance, Spears reportedly cried. A source from US Weekly reported[3]:
She was able to see video of herself throughout the auditorium. She flipped out. She came running off the stage, yelling, 'Oh, my God, I looked like a fat pig! I looked like a fat pig!
Pre-performance
The NY Post reported that "[Spears] didn't even get to Las Vegas until 4:30 p.m. The production people at MTV were freaking out." [...] "She went to her hotel room and ordered a bunch of food and some frozen margaritas. She came down, like, an hour later with a frozen margarita in her hand."
According to The New York Times, Spears changed the format of her performance hours before showtime. "She clashed with Ken Paves, the high-end hairstylist chosen to do her hair extensions. She also decided not to wear the custom-fitted corset designed for the performance."
Accusations of anti-depression use
According to a source by the British tabloid The Sun, Spears was under the influence of anti-depressants before the performance.“Britney took enough to floor an elephant. They calmed her down, but clearly were too effective,”
Prescription drugs were given to the pop star by a doctor at the Palms Casino resort.
“She knew she hadn’t rehearsed enough and was going to mess up the whole show and possibly her career - then she saw her hairdo and it was the final straw.”
The Sun said Britney went into a wild rage and started lashing out at everyone, including her stylist.
“The scene in the dressing room before the show was one of absolute blind panic.”
Critics
Comedienne Sarah Silverman, directly following Spears' performance, said "She is amazing. She is 25 years old and she's already accomplished ... everything she's going to accomplish in her life."
American Idol Judge Simon Cowell said that Spears "could've killed her career. It's difficult to come back from that performance, for a while at least."
Defenders of the performance
"Leave Britney Alone"
YouTube celebrity Chris Crocker vehemently defended Spears' performance in an emotional, profanity-laced video .[4] Within the first 24 hours of its posting, the video had accumulated over 2 million views[5] and has had over five million views to date and is currently one of the most discussed videos on YouTube with more than 70,000 comments.[6]
References
- ^ BBC journalists (September 10 2007). "BBC report on MTV Award Show performance". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ editors from TimesOnline.co.uk. ""Oops! Britney Spears forgets the words in catastrophic return to stage" confirmed by Times Online". TimesOnline.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ "Britney Cried Over VMAs Performance". SF Gate. September 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Simon Cowell says Britney Spears's career may be over", News.com.au, 2007-09-12, retrieved 2007-09-13
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
salon1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Crocker, Chris (September 11, 2007). "Leave Britney Alone!". YouTube. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
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