Can Britney Comeback After VMA Trainwreck?

Is it just me or were the MTV VMAs totally disappointing this year?

Kudos to MTV for trying out something new and moving the show to the Palms in Las Vegas. I'm guessing that the idea behind the move was that everyone acts a little crazier in Vegas. After all, their slogan is "Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." The producers probably assumed that the performances would be that much more exciting, the thank-you speeches that much more candid, and the guests that much more scantily-clad.

Instead, the whole show played like a drowsy dress-rehearsal. The energy was noticeably low during almost every single segment. All the guests seemed bored with the show and even the crowd cheered like they were waiting for the whole thing to be over so they could go out to a real party.

As soon as I saw that they had split up the main show into a bunch of smaller performances in luxury suites in the hotel, I knew we were in for trouble. The VMAs are usually a big live-tv party, not several small parties that were barely televised. This year, it seemed like all the big stars were at smaller events, like the Southern Hospitality Party with Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent and Timbaland or the Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes performances in another Fantasy Suite in the hotel.

With all the big performances happening in the Fantasy Suites, it's no surprise people in the main venue were less than thrilled with what they were watching. What fun is it to go to the VMAs if the only cool performances you can see are live feeds of a cooler party broadcast on a big screen?

The only main-stage event that seemed to wake up the groggy guests was Chris Brown's energetic dance routine. Brown proved that, though he's young, he's a natural performer and captivated the crowd with his dancing. He even broke out a killer Michael Jackson impression, dancing to the first few minutes of "Billie Jean" like a pro. His performance was so impressive that it made Male Artist of the Year winner Justin Timberlake proclaim that Brown made him realize he wasn't a young guy anymore because he could never dance like that.

Now, let's get to that big elephant in the room.... Britney Spears.