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Britney Spears’ legacy, irrespective of the tumultuous trajectory, is and always will be, undying. And the VMAs proved it. Not one, not two, not three, but as many as 4 leading names in pop and rap paid direct, unmissable tributes to the princess of pop. This is of course aside from the montages of her VMA performances from the early years which took center stage at the pre-show. While Sabrina Carpenter’s power-packed performance carried alludes from one of Britney’s biggest career hits, Megan Thee Stallion pulled out the big guns — we mean a python — throwing it back to the Y2K era. K-pop idol Lisa too had a tiny throwback detail in this regard. Let’s break it down!
Sabrina Carpenter
We could describe Sabrina’s glorious VMAs lap as being ridden with Easter eggs but the newest pop hitmaker wanted the world to know the icons she was paying tribute to. The Taste singer turned up for the red carpet in a shimmery pearly archival Bob Mackie gown, which had incidentally been worn by Madonna for the Oscars back in 1991. Cut to, one of the event’s highlights, her stage performance — it was very evident from the get go that the spirit of Britney’s legacy had blessed the stage. Seated pretty on a bejeweled swing against a larger-than-life likeness of an astronaut reaching out for her, an overture of the iconic dialogues from 2000’s evergreen hit Oops!…I did it again which go like “But I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end” were sounded out.
Not just this, she even went in for a quick kiss with one of her background dancers, a reference to Britney and Madonna’s little moment from the 2003 VMAs.
Lisa
Though very subtle, Lisa too, in her own way, paid tribute to Britney. As she took to the stage to perform her hits New Woman and Rockstar, the K-pop idol proudly flaunted a head mic. For those who didn’t live through the early 2000s, which by the way was peak Britney era, a head mic was an absolute staple for all of her live performances. Lisa donning one then, is being seen as part of the lineup of tributes crafted in honour of Britney.
Megan Thee Stallion
If absolutely anybody committed to ensuring nobody missed the big Britney callback that was actually a major undercurrent through the night, it was Megan Thee Stallion. At one point of time in the night, the rapper stepped out dressed in a forest green bikini blouse and bedazzled booty shorts flanked by tassels. Wrapped around her was quite a chic looking python. Confused? Back in 2001, Britney turned out in exactly this gear for her VMA performance as she belted out I’m a Slave 4 U.
As iconic as this call back was, that’s not all Megan had up her sleeve. A Pepsi commercial which later aired in the night featured the rapper at the forefront with Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, and Derrick Henry also featuring in it, dressed as gladiators. This was in reference to a very popular 2004 advertisement which saw Britney, Beyoncé and P!NK come together on screen.
Tate McRae
Last but not the least, we have Greedy singer Tate McRae. Tate channeled grunge chic in her sheer, laced-up Roberto Cavalli dress. While not archival, the mini was a dead ringer for Britney’s 2001 VMAs look from Dolce & Gabanna. Interestingly, just as Tate began blowing up on the scene, her prissy yet chaotic style and dance moves have fetched her multiple comparisons to a young Britney, which she has always referred to as “obviously an honour”.
Did you miss seeing Britney at the VMAs this year?
