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By Christina Garibaldi

We are now in the second round of the competition in our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years! From now until December 2, Britney Spears' hottest, sexiest and most iconic videos are battling it out for the title of Best Britney Video of All Time. We know that this is not an easy decision to make, which is why we are here to help! We will be taking a look back at several of Ms. Spears' videos throughout the years to get insight from directors, set visits and Britney herself.

Next up is one of Britney’s biggest budget videos of all time, "Oops! I Did It Again." The video will battle it out against "Stronger" in the second round, another video off her Oops!..I Did It Again album. Britney hooked up with director Nigel Dick to bring "Oops" to life, which stripped Britney of her school girl look and put her in to a skin-tight catsuit.

"There was another catsuit, actually, which was fantastic, which I loved," Nigel told MTV News in 2009. "And the night before, I was told that Britney hired this guy that worked with Michael Jackson, and so we're going to use that catsuit. So that's the catsuit."

Britney told MTV back in 2000 that she was the one that actually came up with the concept for the video. "This whole idea was my idea," she said. "I was like, 'I want to be on Mars, dancing on Mars.'" Read More...

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By Christina Garibaldi

We are now in the second round of the competition in our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years! From now until December 2, Britney Spears' hottest, sexiest and most iconic videos are battling it out for the title of Best Britney Video of All Time. We know that this is not an easy decision to make, which is why we are here to help! We will be taking a look back at several of Ms. Spears' videos throughout the years to get insight from directors, set visits and Britney herself.

This Thanksgiving we are giving you a look back at Britney’s video for "Piece of Me." The video, which got a first round by in the competition for its 2008 VMA win for Video of the Year, gets in on the action against "Hold It Against Me." "Piece" was the second single off her 2007 album Blackout and the video takes aim at the paparazzi, who at the time (and even now) were following her every move. The video marked not only Brit’s first Video Music Award, but also director Wayne Isham’s.

"On 'Piece of Me,' I really just wanted to put the mirror back onto the whole experience," Isham told MTV News in 2009 about the video's concept."You can see that she had that kind of confidence. And, literally, every take became a more and more confident take, so that she could have fun with what was going on. Not being over-the-top sarcastic but having a laugh at everything that was going on around her with confidence."

And it seems that Britney’s real-life confidence was returning as well. Wayne revealed that she came up with the choreography for the final dance on the set of the video. Read More...

Tags britney spears, Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years

Round Two of MTV News' Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos For 30 Years is underway and everyone in the MTV Newsroom is ultra excited about it!

So excited that we called up our friend Tamar Anitai from MTV Buzzworthy to join MTV News' own Christina Garibaldi and Kara Klenk to get into an in-depth discussion of the second round of competition. The fierce ladies of MTV are joined via Skype by one of Britney's biggest fans, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who reveals his favorite Britney video!

Check out the red-hot discussion below:

And don't forget to vote Round Two of Britney Spears: 30 Videos For 30 Years:
>>> Round Two, East Division
>>> Round Two, West Division

Tags britney spears, Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years

By Christina Garibaldi

We are now in the second round of the competition in our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years! From now until December 2, Britney Spears' hottest, sexiest and most iconic videos are battling it out for the title of Best Britney Video of All Time. We know that this is not an easy decision to make, which is why we are here to help! We will be taking a look back at several of Ms. Spears' videos throughout the years to get insight from directors, set visits and Britney herself.

Next up is Britney’s video for "Stronger." The clip, which has some stiff competition in the second round against "Oops! I Did It Again," was the third single off Brit’s second album. This video was Britney's first departure from her brightly colored, feel-good music videos, showing a more mature, darker side. The clip also marked the first time Britney teamed up with director Joseph Kahn, and like most of her videos, Brit was the one that came up with the concept.

In the video Britney showed off some serious dance moves… with the help of a chair.

"She pitched it to me as an original concept by herself, but the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of the chair sequence, in terms of how it applies to music videos, was Janet Jackson's 'Pleasure Principle' — the iconic chair sequence in that," Joseph said.

And it seemed that this was the point in Britney’s career when she was ready to show the world her sexy side, even if her manager wasn’t. Read More...

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It's time for the Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years, MTV News' celebration of all things Britney to honor the pop star's 30th birthday! In the lead up to the big day, we're asking you, Brit's most loyal fans, to help us decide which video from her legendary career is your favorite by participating in a winner-take-all tournament. MTV News' resident Britney experts assigned 30 of Britney's videos seeds and put them up against one another in a series of single-elimination match-ups. Fan voting will determine which of her amazing clips is named the fan-favorite. So vote now and vote often for your favorite video. The winner will be announced on December 2 – Britney's 30th birthday!

"Till The World Ends" vs. "My Prerogative"

After receiving a by in Round One because it was Britney's most recent MTV Video Music Award winner for Best Pop Video, "Till The World Ends" enters the race in Round Two and it is facing the unexpectedly formidable "My Prerogative." In round One, we thought "Prerogative," despite the video's quality, might fall to its competition, "Sometimes," because we assumed nostalgia would be a major factor in voters' decision-making. Across the board, that hasn't seemed to be the case, which makes this race particularly interesting because it pits the video that essentially ushered in Spears' new era against one of her most recent hits.

"Everytime" vs. "Lucky"

While Round Two is largely dominated by more recent clips (save iconic videos like "…Baby One More Time" and "Oops! I Did It Again," which seem bound to be major contenders to the end), "Lucky" was, well, lucky. It took down "Boys" in a close race and now finds itself going up against "Everytime," one of Spears' most controversial clips and one of only two ballads to advance to the second round.

"Oops! I Did It Again" vs. "Stronger"

It's an Oops! I Did It Again album showdown, as the otherworldly, colorful, dance-heavy, big budget video for the title track goes up against the more stark clip for "Stronger." "Oops" had it pretty easy in Round One, squaring off against the lesser-known ballad "Someday (I Will Understand)," but "Stronger" fought a tough fight again "Gimme More."

"Criminal" vs. "…Baby One More Time"

In one of the bigger surprises of Round One, "Criminal" defeated "I Wanna Go" by a substantial margin. Fans really rallied behind Spears' most recent single and the amount of support the clip received makes it seem like it could put up a serious fight against "…Baby One More Time." And it will be one heck of a fight. "Baby" is one of the most iconic music videos of all time. We mean, there seriously isn't a single person on the planet who cannot conjure up an image of Spears in a schoolgirl uniform with her shirt tied up to reveal her naval.

Second round voting continues through Sunday night (Nov. 27) at midnight. Vote now and vote often! The videos you voted to move on to Round Three will be announced first thing Monday (Nov. 28).

Tags britney spears, Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years

It's time for the Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years, MTV News' celebration of all things Britney to honor the pop star's 30th birthday! In the lead up to the big day, we're asking you, Brit's most loyal fans, to help us decide which video from her legendary career is your favorite by participating in a winner-take-all tournament. MTV News' resident Britney experts assigned 30 of Britney's videos seeds and put them up against one another in a series of single-elimination match-ups. Fan voting will determine which of her amazing clips is named the fan-favorite. So vote now and vote often for your favorite video. The winner will be announced on December 2 – Britney's 30th birthday!

"Piece of Me" vs. "Hold It Against Me"

"Piece" enters the competition after receiving a by in Round One for being Britney's only video to receive the top prize at the MTV Video Music Awards. In the Video of The Year-winning clip, Spears addresses the mania that surrounded her private life at the time of the song's release. It goes up against the tech-heavy video for "Hold It Against Me," the lead single from Spears' most recent album, Femme Fatale. On her "Hold It Against Me" video, she worked with a huge name in the video game, Jonas Akerlund. Akerlund has worked with some of pop's biggest names, from Madonna ("Ray of Light") and Christina Aguilera ("Beautiful) to Pink ("Sober") and his most recent muse, Lady Gaga ("Paparazzi," "Telephone"). Can her VMA-winner take down her all-star recent hit? That's for you to decide.

"(You Drive Me) Crazy" vs. "Me Against the Music"

"Me Against the Music" handed "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" its backside in Round One, joining "Toxic" as one of the clips to defeat its competition with over 80 percent of the vote. The elaborate clip for "Music" throws Britney into the ring (or more accurately, the maze) with her idol, Madonna. When these two came together for this song, it was a pop culture event – it was the moment when the Princess and the Queen came together to make some magic. How will it stack up against one of Britney's early fan favorites, "(You Drive Me) Crazy." Only time will tell.

"Toxic" vs. "Circus"

Two of Miz Spears' most elaborate videos go head-to-head here as "Toxic" takes on "Circus" in Round Two. Both videos are, of course, among Spears' most beloved and neither faced a particularly formidable foe in Round One – "Toxic" easily handed "Radar" its backside in a landslide victory, while the only real competition "Circus" faced form "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet a Woman" came from sentimental longtime fans.

"Womanizer" vs. "I'm A Slave 4 U"

This is one exciting face-off! In one corner is the ultimate comeback video, "Womanizer," which our girl used as a forum to show off her buff bod and return to musical form after a few tough years. Like its sister clip "Toxic," it was a big, elaborate story-driven spectacle. In the other corner is one of Spears' most iconic clips, "I'm a Slave 4 U." In Francis Lawrence's legendary clip, Spears sweats it with her hot and heavy dance crew in a futuristic urban setting. The ultra sexy video was a major change from the more family-friendly clips that dominated Spears' early career. Which hot and heavy vid will rule Round Two? Vote below and make your voice heard.

Second round voting continues through Sunday night (Nov. 27) at midnight. Vote now and vote often! The videos you voted to move on to Round Three will be announced first thing Monday (Nov. 28).

Tags britney spears, Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years

By Christina Garibaldi

The heat is on! From now until December 2, 30 of Britney Spears' hottest, sexiest and most iconic videos are battling it out in our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years for the title as the Best Britney Video of All Time. We know that this is not an easy decision to make, which is why we are here to help! We will be taking a look back at several of Ms. Spears’ videos throughout the years to get insight from directors, set visits and Britney herself.

Next up is Britney’s video for "Womanizer." The video faces off against "3" in the first round and was the first single off Brit’s Circus album. This video not only solidified that Britney was back, but it also paid homage to one of her most memorable videos, "Toxic," which was also directed by Joseph Kahn.

"She pitched to me a very detailed idea of what she wanted to do, she wanted to dress up in costume, she wanted to follow a man to work and she wanted to eventually show at the end that she is all three of those women," Kahn told MTV News of "Womanizer" in 2009.

Once Joseph had Britney’s big idea, he was only given a matter of days to pull the whole video together. Read More...

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While we're still in Round One of our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos For 30 Years, it's never too early to speculate about the races, right? Right?

So that's exactly what MTV News' team of Britney experts – joined via Skype by Breathe Heavy's Jordan Miller – did. Some races are shaping up in surprising ways, with "Boys" holding up strong against the early Britney classic "Lucky" and "Gimme More" putting up a real fight in its showdown with "Stronger."

Also, Jordan gives us a little insight into which Britney clip he thinks will rule after all is said and done.

Check it out below:

Read More...

Tags britney spears, Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years

Yesterday, MTV News' Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos For 30 Years kicked off with a bang!

Nearly 220,000 votes have already been cast in 14 different showdowns with just over 13 hours still to go in Round One! Vote now and vote often!

Britney's biggest fans are loving our celebration of all things Britney. Facebook user Natalia echoed the sentiment of the MTV Newsroom, saying, "Tough decision. Hope Womanizer wins, it's her ultimate comeback... although I love her old classic vids, like Lucky, Stronger, Oops, BOMT, Sometimes (sooo sweet)... OMG! I just remembered how much I love her!"

We feel the same way, Natalia! We had the great pleasure of putting together the polls and writing about the different bracket showdowns, which meant two days of diving in Britney's catalog of videos (many of which we haven't seen in some time). It was an awesome assignment!

What are some other fans saying? Read on for more and be sure to cast your vote!

>>> Region 1: "Sometimes" vs. "My Prerogative" / "Everytime" vs. "If U Seek Amy" / "Lucky" vs. "Boys"

>>> Region 2: "Oops! I Did It Again" vs. "Someday (I Will Understand) / "Stronger" vs. "Gimme More" / "I Wanna Go" vs. "Criminal" / "…Baby One More Time" vs. "Overprotected"

>>> Region 3: "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" vs. "Hold It Against Me" / "(You Drive Me) Crazy" vs. "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" / "Me Against the Music" vs. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"

>>> Region 4: "Toxic" vs. "Radar" / "Circus" vs. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" / "Womanizer" vs. "3" / "I'm A Slave 4 U" vs. "Do Somethin'"

Read More...

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By Christina Garibaldi

The heat is on! From now until December 2, 30 of Britney Spears’ hottest, sexiest and most iconic videos are battling it out in our Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years for the title as the Best Britney Video of All Time. We know that this is not an easy decision to make, which is why we are here to help! We will be taking a look back at several of Ms. Spears’ videos throughout the years to get insight from directors, set visits and Britney herself.

It kicks off with Britney’s video for “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.” The video, which faces off against “Circus” in the first round, was a song that was featured in her first feature flick, Crossroads and her album Britney. This video had Brit hanging off cliffs, walking through caves and showing off her ridiculously toned abs. The clip was directed by famed video director Wayne Isham, who put his life on the line before shooting with the pop star.

"I go, 'Let me check it out first,'" Isham told MTV News in 2009 of having Britney stand on the cliff."She understood that if my fat ass was out there and I could stand there, then she could stand there," he laughed.

“When I first got up there on the mountain I was really really scared,” Britney said in 2001. “My heart was beating really really fast, but once I got there I overcame my fear, it was really cool.”

Read More...

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