[Britney Spears]' nominations are ironic considering neither the song nor the album from which it came, Blackout, were significant hits; both were released amid Spears' spectacular public decline over the past year, and her performance at last year's VMAs in Las Vegas represented one of the lowlights of her fall from grace. She was universally ridiculed for her unkempt look and sloppy performance, which kicked off the VMAs and instantly became one of pop's classic moments.

There's a possibility she'll get a chance to redeem last year's bad performance at this year's VMAs, to be held Sept. 7 in Los Angeles; MTV has confirmed they are in talks to have Spears appear in some capacity, and she's appearing in two video ads to promote the show.