The Ten Best VMA Performances Of All Time

5. Britney Spears, “I’m a Slave 4 U” (2001)

There are a lot of “Britney” moments at the VMas. Almost as many as there are Madonna ones. Like Madonna, MTV made Britney, though more with the Total Request Live type stuff from the 90s than with the VMAs the way Madonna came up. Still, there’s a reason that the Madonna Britney kiss is the one we all talk about. It really was pass the torch.

But the reason we knew it was passing the torch is that by 2003 (when that kiss happened) it was already a formality. Britney had already snatched the torch years before and run with it. Most notably, with her 2001 performance of the single “I’m A Slave 4 U.” Most people don;t remember much about the performance except for the few moments where she danced while carrying an albino snake on her shoulders. It doesn’t matter. She danced while carrying an albino snake on her shoulders. Eat your heart out Madge.