Britney Spears Gets Into Russell Brand's Head in VMAs Commercial

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Last year Britney Spears, British comic Russell Brand and the, uh, elephant in the room starred in a series of amusing ads for MTV's Video Music Awards. This year two of the three promise to return — Brand as host, Spears as seven-time nominee — and the pair are appearing in a cheeky non-West Side Story-themed promo advertising the September 13th event. Britney's even in a bikini, but not the same one she wore to read David Letterman's Top 10 List.

But will Britney perform and bring us a new Britastic VMA moment? Rob Sheffield wants to know, and so do we. Until we get confirmation as to whether the Circus star will step into the center of the ring at New York's Radio City Music Hall, let's look back at last year's big show in photos. And if you're still baffled as to who exactly Russell Brand is, you'll want to read our feature on the potty-mouthed host.

Then, watch all of Britney's videos — with commentary — in our Complete Video Guide.

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  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
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  MOVIES 'This Is the End' Brings the Goods
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  TV The Women of 'Mad Men'
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  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

More Song Stories entries »

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