It's Britney Spears' Night At The VMAs

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Britney won her first (and second, and third) Moonman, the Jonas Brothers flooded the fake streets of New York with screaming fans, Pink tossed a dude down a flight of steps, Weezy nearly lost his pants and host Russell Brand told a bunch of jokes you're probably still trying to untangle, which, we can assure you, were very, very, very dirty. It was a historic night for rehabbing pop star Britney Spears, who not only picked up the first VMA of her career, but capped her hat trick with the ultimate prize: Video of the Year.

The 25th annual MTV Video Music Awards were full of those kinds of firsts, but perhaps the one people were looking forward to the most was the first VMA appearance by Spears since last year's notorious onstage debacle. And, to the delight of her fans, Spears knocked it out of the park, opening the show by repeatedly turning down some not-so-slick advances from "Superbad" funnyman Jonah Hill. Showing off some of her "How I Met Your Mother" comedy chops, Spears then shimmied to the stage, looking amazing in a silver, shimmering flapper dress, and welcomed the crowd to the show.

Wearing his signature skintight trousers, black jacket, assorted shiny baubles and a bemused look, Brand introduced the show by ticking off a list of the night's guests, which he said included some of the "world's most famous stars ... and me." Assuring the audience that he's famous in his native England, Brand gave proof by saying that without that fame, his electric-shock haircut "could be mistaken for mental illness."

A quick rundown of the not-even-close-to-appropriate-for-prime-time references Brand made over the course of the night: something about Madonna, Alex Rodriguez and baseball equipment; a bit about how his nether regions are well-lubricated by cherry ChapStick; a pledge to masturbate more that was inspired by Lil Wayne, who he appeared to invite to join him in the bathroom, or not; a cringe-worthy R. Kelly reference; and a string of jokes at the expense of the chaste Jonas Brothers, including some very unclean references to their purity rings.

It wasn't all randy English jokes, though. There were plenty of musical highlights as well.

Rihanna opened the show with a spooky take on "Disturbia," preceded by a procession of zombies as she was rolled onto the stage in what looked like a giant metallic wedding cake, wearing a black bustier and looking like a robot from the postapocalyptic future. A short time later, T.I. returned to the VMA stage to perform "Whatever You Like." Escorting a fine young lady in a hot-pink dress, the dapper rapper walked his friend across the Paramount backlot, taking her to a fur shop, a club and in a ride in his Phantom, all the while explaining the lengths of his largesse, which included, in order, stacks of cash, Patrón on ice, popped bottles and a private jet.

There were also some awards handed out. Picking up her first Moonman, for Best Female Video — which she won over another VMA lady-in-waiting, Mariah Carey — Britney called the moment "an honor" and thanked God, her fans, her family and her "beautiful boys." She repeated those thanks later in the show, when she took the Best Pop Video, also for "Piece of Me," professing to be "speechless" but saying, "This means a lot. Thank you."

But by the end of the night, when a truly surprised-looking Brit picked up Video of the Year, also for "Piece of Me," she professed to be "in shock right now." Saying she wasn't expecting the award, Spears again thanked her family, adding, "I just want to dedicate this to all my amazing fans out there for all of your support."

Source: MTV