Britney Spears 2007 VMAs "Gimme LESS is MORE": Comparing Vibrant Rehearsal Footage with Limp Performance

Examples of rationalizing the performance:

[quote]" the fact she went the other extreme of half-assing it during a song about how everyone wants more from her is kinda amazing"

[quote]"I honestly believe she gave a half asked performance because the public always wanted MORE MORE MORE!!! so she just half asked it and couldn't be asked!"

[quote]"honestly this choreography, no matter how well performed, was gonna look lazy compared to her usual vma standard"

The rehearsal was pretty lackluster, as well. She's more covered-up in rehearsal, so she maybe looks slimmer. Yes, her fans are delusional if they think this is an iconic performance. She should not have performed at this awards show.

It looked like Weekend at Bernie's. Her dancing was about as good as Kate's (Kate Plus 8) in Dancing with the Stars. Very zombie-like.

Half asked.

Britney superfans. What do you expect.

It’s iconic because it’s infamous and a bit of a mess R1, or do fans think it’s a genuinely good performance?

I have seen two of the other videos, the one on the rehearsal stage, and the rehearsal where she’s in a white T-shirt, and I knew that she was able to do better than she did live. But I’d never seen the one in the upper right hand corner with her rehearsing in costume. It’s not her best performance ever, but at least she did all the moves, and if she had been able to do that, for the show, it wouldn’t have been a news story. Nobody would’ve written articles about Britney giving a good but mediocre performance.

I remember reading at the time that before the show went on, she got extremely drunk and belligerent, and got into a fight with her hairdresser and pulled out all of her extensions, and she wanted to change her outfit at the last minute into something even skimpier (which I don’t even know what that would be). But seeing the upper right corner video does sort of confirm that she pulled her extensions out and it looks like she’s pretty drunk.

And just think, if she had done what she did in the full dress rehearsal, Chris Crocker wouldn’t be a thing. Such a missed opportunity. To not have Chris Crocker be a thing.

I mean...yeah, they do. Some of them. Or, they want to make it be good so they find a way.

[quote]"Am I the only one who loves this performance? I feel like it fits the vibe of the song so perfectly, not every performance needs 8 million dancers and super complex chorography [sp]"

^^^^ for R5 ^^^^^

I'll never forget Rihanna laughing at Britney 😂. She had to excuse it by claiming she was just laughing at the other dancers. Yeah right

Who?

[quote]or do fans think it’s a genuinely good performance?

She’s always going to have defenders, but I think even the diehard fans are sane enough to recognize that that was a train wreck.

I am a fan. I’m not loving her not making music and posting weird Instagram videos where she is constantly twirling and pulling on her low-cut tops. I think ending her conservatorship was probably a bad idea, but I also think it was too strict. I mean, they put an IUD in her against her will! That was something they did to women who might’ve been depressed, but were smart and outspoken and got placed into asylums for having opinions in the 50s and 60s! We are so far past that, that it almost seems like a human rights violation. So I think she needs support, probably a conservator, maybe not her dad this time, but she needs some autonomy, and that includes not imposing unwanted birth control.

She’s made more comebacks than probably any popstar in history. She injured herself shooting a video, ended up canceling a tour and married Kevin Federline, and made a weird reality TV show. And people said her career was over, but she came back. Then they got divorced, she went totally nuts, shaved her head, ended up in a rehab facility, and then she came back with Blackout, which is probably her best album. Then she tanked it at the VMAs, didn’t promote the album, went back to rehab, and came back with Circus just one year later. And between the next couple of albums, there were constant rumors that she was in an out of rehab facilities and weird stuff, like she was getting advice from Mel Gibson of all people. But people thought she was done after Circus, and she still came back. With a number one album and a number one single on it. And the album after that also went to number one. The first album she had that didn’t go to number one was Blackout, and not to sound like a crazed Britney stan, but they literally changed the rules for how they calculated number one albums the week that Blackout came out. She would’ve had her fifth number one album in a row, but Billboard changed the rules THAT WEEK from not allowing exclusive release albums (albums that were only sold at one store) to be included in SoundScan and the Eagles (the fucking Eagles in 2007?) took the number one spot for an album that was only sold at Walmart and Walmart had never reported to SoundScan at all, and definitely wouldn’t have been allowed to report sales for an album that they had exclusive rights to under the rules of the week before. I don’t want to say it’s a conspiracy, but they did change the rules the week she was going to have her fifth number one album. And then her next two albums went to number one and she would’ve had seven number one albums in a row. I think at the time, having five number one album in a row would have made her the first woman to achieve that in history and definitely the first woman to achieve that from her debut album, and possibly the first artist ever to achieve that (and to be clear, I’m talking about consecutive albums, not total albums. The Beatles had the most number one albums,)

I really thought that the duet with Elton John meant Britney was gearing back up for comeback number 211 or whatever, but nope. This time I think she actually is done.

Not the greatest artist in the world by any means. I think with the right kind of care, therapy and medication, she could release another album and do a tour. But it doesn’t seem like she’s interested in embracing her mental health particularly!! And I don’t think she wants to do it anymore.

Fuck.

I didn’t realize I could write a dissertation on Britney Spears on a gay gossip board. When I was done, I had to cut out almost half of it just so it will post, and there may be some non sequiturs in there because I hacked so much out. You’re all missing my 2000 word essay on Beyoncé that I’ll have to save for a later date. I didn’t really think I’d have that much to say in this post. I like her, but I’m not a super fan.

Feel free to TL;DR me. It won’t hurt my feelings.

[quote] I'll never forget Rihanna laughing at Britney 😂. She had to excuse it by claiming she was just laughing at the other dancers. Yeah right

As if she’s in any position to laugh at someone’s lackluster performance when she’s never been great live.

[quote]As if she’s in any position to laugh at someone’s lackluster performance when she’s never been great live.

YOU TAKE THAT BACK THIS INSTANT OR I’LL SLAP THE GAY RIGHT OUT OF YOU!!

You’ll be condemned to a lifetime of brunches at Denny’s and shopping for clothes at TJ Maxx with the other straights.

You want it? Try me.

[quote] WTF happened between rehearsals and the night of?!?

Sadly, we may never know the answer to this question. It may remain one of history's great mysteries, like who killed Jimmy Hoffa or what happened to Amelia Earhart.

Trash thread.

The comparison of her wearing the stage costume in both the rehearsal and performance is staggering. How did she gain 20 pounds so quickly? A bad camera angle? An allergic reaction? A look-alike understudy who replaced her at the last minute because she had one of her mental episodes?

For the dress rehearsal, on stage, this is the video in upper right. It is lens with the "skinny lens" Britney looks tall and lithe like a supermodel. She is more aware and has some life in her so it's a better performance, too.

In the show version, the lens is back to normal and Britney looks dumpy with an extended belly. And of course is high or drunk or both.

R17 Aha. So there really is a thinning camera!

That’s what I was wondering, R16. She’s a bit heavier in the VMA performance. The rehearsals didn’t happen the day before. Or the week.

Yes and Mariah, Janet Jackson, and Britney all have used of the skinny lens. At least half Work Bitch video is shot with the skinny lens. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it's all skinny lens. One is a little bit skinny and the other even more - for example all the desert dancing shots.

Janet Jackson's skinny lens video Together Again

R11 TLDR!!

The camera angle changed and she drank a shitload of booze, probably some pills, too, to explain the lack of animation.

What a SHIT song it was.

Her conspiracy-loving stans will blame MTV for this tragic performance. Saying they pressured her to go on stage a certain way and she rebelled by giving this "performance." Or they purposely changed the camera angle to make her look bad. Everything is someone else's fault with Britney

Oh her fans went crazy this night. They were on message boards saying that she was going to have a second performance and that Criss Angel was supposed to do it and canceled. They made up all types of stories.

The whole thing was horrible.

And yes her fans are crazy. Go to any video of her singing live and they all gush over how talented she is.

Her stans stalk and doxx everyone they think is a threat to Britney. Like K-Fed's wife they're posting stuff about her on Twitter saying she's trying to steal Britney's money. Yet she has a degree and job.

She looks like she's sleepwalking through both, to my eyes. But she's wearing less in the televised version, so her plumpness is emphasized.

She is wearing exactly the set in the dress rehearsal as the show. Top Right, and Bottom Right, respectively.

I started watching but had no idea what I was actually watching. And I really dislike most of her music. So the stop button was too tempting.

r2 the performance was iconic. It turned out so bad it ws good and was the apex of her post-K-Fd meltdown era. The fact that the crappy song, ended up shooting to the top of the Billboards and being enjoyed by many people is a testament to the spectacle of it all.

Alone, this performance is just blah. But you have to remember all of the stuff, hype, drama, and media attention she had leading up to the big comeback. This was the downfall that the media loves to see. Then followed up by a muted rise from the ashes type of bullshit.

So it's an icon 2000s pop culture moment and the last notable VMA moment beyond the Kanye and Taylor Swift event.

I do remember watching , laughing and dissecting with fellow bitch co workers the next day. And then a better man (he was hot too) came along and scolded us.

She definitely looks heavy on the actual live performance. But I saw her in concert (yes I actually bought tickets o a Britney Spears concert) and she was super skinny. But it was probably midway through the tour and that concert was quite a work out. So I wouldn’t be surprised if she got thinner during the tour.

But I do remember going on the breathe heavy website, which is sort of her unofficial official fan website, and people were realistic. They knew she bombed. They were disappointed, and they hoped she would get better. But I didn’t see a lot of comments that said it was a good job. I don’t know if I saw any that night. She has a lot of fans. Some of them are delusional, but the majority of them are reasonably sane and they knew that she fucked it up. They were just really sad.

Chris Crocker was sad. He knew she fucked it up. As ridiculous as his video was, he was basically saying just don’t give her a hard time over this. He just did it in a very weird fashion.

I don’t think she has a skinny lens for her Instagram videos. I think she works out like a maniac, probably because her husband does too. And she’s in very good shape for being 40 something.

So, I’m glad she’s taking care of her physical health. Wish she would, or could do something about her mental health.

I kind of suspect that the smiling manic Instagram videos take everything she has to give, and when she’s done filming she’s probably pretty fucking sad and miserable.

And God, I hope she doesn’t have another kid. The last thing she needs is a second– wait – strike that– THIRD divorce and having a new baby taken away from her. I think that would just put her over the edge. But I did post earlier that I think it’s unethical to force her to have an IUD. So if she has another kid, let’s just hope that her current husband likes kids, because he’ll probably end up with sole custody.

I wonder if her meds needed adjusting or had just been adjusted.

The album was called blackout. She was in such a terrible mental state that she's barely in the GIMME MORE video. This was her lowest point before mental health professionals medicated her. And you're wondering why she might be acting differently from day to day?

She just had two babies in like 3 yrs here. I don't think she looks fat. At all

Most of Blackout's vocals were Robyn and Keri Hilson's lyrics and backup vocals. Just like Toxic is Cathy Dennis' lyrics and backup vocals.

why did elton john edit out so much of brit on their collaboration???

Michael Jackson didn't like the collaborative performance of him and Britney because her live vocals were poor and she couldn't keep up with his dancing. I don't know if he even planned for her but maybe had someone else like Mya or Usher who weren't available. That's why that duet of them wasn't replayed on TV much.

Another thing is Madonna also didn't plan to have Britney or Christina for the MTV performance. She wanted Jennifer Lopez, Pink and Gwen Stefani but they didn't agree to it. Brit and Xtina were the backup choices.

In the MTV case, it was a memorable performance. Since MTV panned the camera onto an annoyed Justin Timberlake and a disgusted Mary J Blige after Madge kissed Brit while shadily ignored Madge kissing Xtina with her guidette looking tan. Just to raise up drama. I can't see J Lo or Pink agreeing to kiss Madge. Maybe Gwen.

Her top right performance is closer to the old Wow Britney in 00s but she was always overrated.

She might die soon because of something stupid, electrocutes herself accidentally, falls off horse, something. The sad demise of the sweetheart, aggressive dancing, overly confident because she's crazy BS.

R27 why would anyone with a degree and job be with KFed? I see he wants to move to Hawaii so he can extort more of Britney's money. They require child support to age 23 or completion of college. It's funny how he thinks everyone doesn't see he's a grifter.

Rumor was she heard Justin was in the audience and downed an bunch of tequila shots before the performance.

She also apparently tore all the extensions out of her hair and cut off the babydoll nighty portion of her outfit that was meant to look more lingerie and hide her tummy.

If that is true about the tequila, R43, then it's amazing that she was even standing let alone dancing. Quite the reframe there.

There’s also this video of what the choreography was supposed to look like. The stand in makes it look sexy.

Too bad.

She is still obsessed with Justin Timberlake. She would randomly bring him up in her social media rants and dance to his music, begging for a collab. Justin definitely dated her for fame and after getting what he wanted, dumped her and moved on. Cry Me A River was his way to exploit the breakup for a hit single.