New Britney Spears sweeps at otherwise tame MTV VMAs

Britney Spears has provided some of the most memorable moments in the history of the notoriously unpredictable MTV Video Music Awards, for better and for worse.

That kiss with Madonna! Singing “I’m a Slave 4 U” with a giant snake draped across her shoulders! And of course, her debacle of a performance during last year’s show, a lethargic rendition of “Gimme More” that signaled the apparent nadir of her spiraling pop career.

This time, Spears made news — and earned a standing ovation — just by showing up, smiling brightly and not making a fool of herself. She also happened to sweep all three categories in which she was nominated — including the top honor, video of the year — with the clip for her defiant dance tune “Piece of Me.” And she seemed surprisingly sedate about the whole experience.

“Wow, thank you, I’m in shock right now. I was not expecting this,” she said at the end of the night as she accepted the shiny Moonman statue for video of the year.

Spears, who wore a glittering silver dress that hugged her curves, gave similarly generic speeches with her previous two prizes — best female video and best pop video — thanking God, her children and her record label before quickly leaving the stage. “This is such an honor to have this award right now,” she said. “I want to thank my fans, this is dedicated to you.”

There was no such honor for Spears last year, when the declining diva — by then known more for her tabloid exploits and erratic behavior — kicked off the Las Vegas telecast. Looking haggard and dazed, Spears bumbled her way through a performance of “Gimme More” that gave new meaning to the phrase “Sin City.”

Though Spears didn’t perform this time, she still opened the show, giving an introduction of Rihanna. Still, just being there was enough for a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd long before she opened her mouth to get things rolling.

Spears did provide a few laughs during a pre-taped comedic segment with “Superbad” actor Jonah Hill that preceded the live telecast. There were a few more laughs during comedian Brand’s opening monologue, but the celeb audience seemed more nervous than amused, as the frenetic Brit took aim at Madonna, and the virginity of teen sensations the Jonas Brothers.

He clearly got under the skin of one celebrity, however, with his jokes about promise rings, which the Jonas Brothers wear to signify their virginity. Another famous promise-ring wearer, Jordin Sparks, said before giving out one award: “I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?” she quipped.

Afterward, a somewhat contrite Brand apologized to a stone-faced Jonas Brothers, saying, “I didn’t mean to take it lightly.”

Though the VMAs have been defined by zany, wild moments in the past, there were more head-scratching moments than outrageous ones at the sprawling Paramount Studios lot.

The prim and proper Leona Lewis gave a graceful opening performance for a song by ... Lil Wayne, who appeared on stage barechested, displaying his tattooed torso as his pants hung below his buttocks (Ralph Lauren’s underwear line got a nice plug, however). He performed hits “A Milli” and a song with T-Pain.

The Jonas Brothers performed a version of their song “Lovebug” that was so genteel. But the trio then segued to a rocked-out version of the song in the final moments, as a throng of screaming fans surrounded them on one of the movie’s many sets.

Pink gave perhaps the show’s most rousing performance, a pyrotechnic-fueled performance of her new song, “So What.”

Closing the night was Kanye West who, like Spears, was hoping for a second chance after a disappointing VMA experience last year. In Las Vegas, he had a Kanye-sized hissy fit backstage and vowed never to appear at the VMAs again after he didn’t get a Moonman trophy despite several nominations.

This time, he had a stage all to himself, but he still may have reason to be miffed: he won no trophies during the ceremony, and, appearing after Spears accepted her third and final trophy of the evening, may have been more of an afterthought. (AP)