Can Britney Spears rise again?

Britney Spears is back, said Natalie Kalow in the blog Generation Q Music, and “in a big way.” After “a terrible year for the pop icon, including a failed child custody battle and a stint (or two) in rehab,” she’s now been nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards, “including the coveted Video of the Year prize.” Maybe she just needed to go “a little crazy” before resurrecting her career.

A Britney Spears comeback would have been “unimaginable a year ago,” said Carrie Melago in the New York Daily News. “Her sloppy, lip-synched performance” of “Gimme More” at least year’s VMAs “was universally panned and ushered in a year of lousy luck.” If she gets the chance to perform at the awards show this year, it would offer her a much-needed “chance at redemption.”

“MTV would have to be crazy" not to put Spears on stage, said Alan Fein in AXcess News. Her “popularity is still strong,” and even if she blows a performance again this year, MTV still comes out on top: “To advertisers, a bomb can sometimes be worth more than a win.”

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MTV fans have spoken, said Brian Marder in the New York Post, and they “clearly want to see Britney Spears take the Video Music Awards stage again.” But it’s not going to be easy for her to “win the prized Moonman”—she’ll have to “beat out” the Jonas Brothers, Chris Brown, the Pussycat Dolls, and the Ting Tings.