Britney Spears Not Performing At MTV Awards, Manager Confirms 9/7/08

Brittney Spears' manager Larry Rudolph has quashed speculation once and for all that the singer will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Sunday (07Sep08). The Toxic hitmaker has been plagued by reports she's to make her MTV comeback at this year's (08) event - one year on from her disastrous performance of Gimme More in 2007.

She has so far appeared in a promotional clip for the MTV VMAs with host Russell Brand, and rumors she is preparing to hit the stage once again heated up on Friday (05Sep08) after footage of Spears rehearsing a new dance routine and song surfaced online. The video of Spears in rehearsals shows her singing new track Womanizer as she and her backing dancers practice a routine.

The footage is believed to have been shot at the International Dance Academy in Los Angeles on 22 August (08), fuelling reports she is to make a surprise comeback at Sunday's ceremony. But her manager Rudolph has again refuted the claims, insisting the routine was nothing more than an everyday practice to get Spears back in shape.

He tells website PerezHilton.com, "She was not rehearsing for the VMAs. It was just her going into the studio with some dancer friends and having fun. It's a regular occurrence now. I see that every day."

Rudolph was previously forced to deny Spears was to return to the MTV stage for a performance late last month (Aug08). Spears has been nominated for 16 Video Music Awards in the past but has yet to win one. She's nominated for three prizes on Sunday – Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for Piece of Me.