MTV seems to be pushing Britney Spears back into the spotlight, whether she deserves it or not. Pop Tarts has an interesting article about Brit’s recent VMA nominations this year. While her videos aren’t bad at all, she’s not in the same league as her fellow nominees Beyonce and Lady Gaga. They also point out the last year Brit won three awards. Which doesn’t seem suspicious, until you notice that she’d previously been nominated sixteen times and never won – and that was when her career was going well and she was the top-selling female pop singer. It makes the awards seem more like compensation prizes or honorable mentions for getting better, instead of being the best.

Yet it seems MTV really wants Britney around, and may even push for her to perform again at the VMAs this year.

It’s that time of the year again — last week nominations were released for MTV’s star-studded and notoriously controversial Video Music Awards. But who should score a whooping seven nods, including the top category for Video of the Year? Britney Spears, y’all.

The songstress will be up against 2009’s hottest acts, Beyonce and Lady Gaga for the coveted prize, prompting numerous industry insiders to question if she really deserved such a slew of nominations for her one and only music video this year, Womanizer, in which she suggestively caresses her seemingly naked body, photocopies her bottom after stomping around a corporate office in a black wig and gets raunchy in the back of a car in her secret-service inspired get-up.

“We were surprised she got so many nominations because she has been ‘lip synching’ and while she is talented, the terrain has changed so this may be sympathy nominations because she is getting well,” said a key industry insider. “Every network is hurting for eyeballs. Britney always draws an audience.” But let’s not forget that it was because of the troubled Tinseltowner’s sedated-like opening performance in 2007 that the VMAs surged into a whole new ratings stratosphere. “When I first saw it I started to panic,” an MTV advertising executive told Tarts at the time. “But I soon realized that this was great, it was obviously going to get a lot of attention around the world.”

Last year, Brit was ratings-gold for the VMAs (viewership was up 41 percent from two years prior) thanks to her over hyped ‘comeback’ – although this time she didn’t have to sing and dance, she just had to gratuitously accept three moonmen for her musical abilities. Interestingly, those three VMAs were the first Spears had ever won although she had previously received 16 nominations. Her 1999 debut album “Baby One More Time” remains the highest-selling album by a female pop artist of all time but even then she only scored three nominations.

So does Brit really now deserve seven nods or is MTV trying to not-so-subtly steer Spears back to the stage, for better or for worse? …Spears rep did not respond for comment and it remains unclear as to whether Spears will present or perform at the uber-hyped awards show, which will take place in New York City on September 13.

[From Pop Tarts]

Britney’s last VMA performance can never be mentioned without using the words “infamous” or “notorious.” Oh, and “bomb.” She wandered around the stage in a confused haze, sometimes bothering to lip sync but mostly not so much. She didn’t look like a dear in the headlights so much as a dear who got drunk the night before, then woke up with a nasty hangover so decided to just keep drinking. You know what I’m talking about. Throwing bras at her own antlers. Ridiculous. Which is about what her performance was like. She didn’t even have any clue as to how bad she was until later.

So should Britney perform again? Absolutely. She seems to be on her game and has lots of recent concerts under her belt. Is MTV kissing her ass to butter her up? Absolutely. But hey, it’s business, and Britney is back in the game. She may not be on top of it, but she’s a player and she’s working her way back up. It could be cathartic for her to really nail it. It’ll never be as famous as her Madonna kiss or that nearly naked outfit she wore when she sang “Satisfaction.” Or that thing with the boa constrictor. But it’ll definitely be better than her stomach hanging out while she wanders around looking for a cosmopolitan. Let’s not let that be Britney’s last and lingering VMA performance.

Here’s Britney sporting a honking ring while shopping yesterday. Clearly she needs some attention. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .