"Gimme More"? At the 2007 MTV VMAs, Britney Spears appeared to not give less of a damn.
In 2007, the pop star had a public meltdown. She shaved her own head at a Los Angeles salon, attacked a paparazzo's SUV with an umbrella and spent time in rehab.
That September, almost 10 years ago, Spears released a comeback single, "Gimme More." Wearing a black sequinned bikini, mid-calf boots and hair extensions, she performed the song for the first time at the 2007 MTV VMAs. It marked her first major performance in three years. The performer who became famous for her amazing VMAs performances, gave a lackluster, seemingly unenthusiastic one, complete with lip-syncing.
"She, like, really wanted to sing, but she just couldn't," a friend of Spears told E! News at the time. "She would have had to wear one of those headset things and they are so not cute."
"It was one bad thing after another," the friend added. "Brit was bummed out that she had to sing to track, and then her heel broke so she couldn't even dance so great."
Viewers and professional critics were far from impressed. The BBC's David Willis said her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards."
Most of her fans stood by her. Chris Crocker became a viral sensation after he posted a video in which he tearfully defended Spears.
Spears experienced more personal turmoil after the botched VMAs performance. Months after the show, she was hospitalized on a 5150 psychiatric hold.
With the help of her family, she has since recovered and has concentrated on her health, loved ones and music.
And while it will likely always be associated with the VMAs performance, "Gimme More" was certified platinum.
So was the album it appears on, Blackout—in 2012, five years after its release.
So was her 2009 album Circus. And her 2011 album Femme Fatale.
Her 2013 album, Britney Jean, did not do as well domestically. Neither did her latest album, Glory, which was released in 2016.
In 2012, the singer made her big TV comeback as a co-judge on Fox's The X Factor. She was featured on the show for just one season, but she did delight fans by debuting a seemingly happier Britney Spears following all those past years of public turmoil. Also, she inspired viral GIFs. Many GIFs.
Over the past few years, Spears has continued to tour the world. She also returned to the VMAs after her 2007 blunder, appearing at the annual show in 2008, 2009, 2011—where she received the prestigious Vanguard Award, 2015, and 2016, when she finally performed.
But Spears' biggest comeback came in the form of her Las Vegas residency show, Britney: Piece of Me. The show began in December 2013 at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and continued running on and off to this day.
At a recent concert there, Spears talked about her mixed relationship with the media, saying, "It's really crazy 'cause one minute, they tear you down and it was really horrible and the next minute, you're on top of the world, you know."
She then launched into a live cover of Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About."
The performance came almost two months after Spears shut down rumors that she lip-syncs in concerts.
"A lot of people think that I don't do live," she told Israel's Channel 2 News. "It really pisses me off because I am busting my ass out there and singing at the same time and nobody ever really gives me credit for it."
Watch the Fashion Police 2017 MTV Video Music Awards special Monday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m., only on E!