The 2010 VMA Countdown: Britney Spears And Madonna Swap Spit

Posted 9/1/10 4:30 pm ET by MTV News in VMAs

The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are only a few weeks away. The biggest party of the year features nominated clips by Lady Gaga, Eminem, Jay-Z, Ke$ha and Katy Perry and will feature performances by Kanye West, Eminem, Drake, Justin Bieber, Paramore, Usher, B.o.B, Florence and the Machine and Linkin Park. In order to properly prepare yourself for what's to come, every day the MTV Newsroom Blog will deliver a classic moment in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. Today's installment: Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera make lip-locking history.

Does this one really need any set-up? You know you were watching the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, which were partially a 20-year celebration of MTV as a network. You know you were excited when you saw Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera — three of the biggest and most successful divas in the history of pop music — on stage at the same time. You were totally into Madonna's medley of "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood," and you were excited by their sexy, sexy costumes.

And you know that you nearly passed out when the Material Girl leaned over and kissed Spears square on the mouth, and then did the same to Aguilera. (The fact that she also turned to kiss Aguilera often gets lost, but everybody seemed too overwhelmed by the first kiss to really process the second.) Madonna's permanent place in VMA lore was already set in stone before "The Kiss," but this instantly-legendary moment solidified her place (and Britney's) in the VMA Hall of Fame. Who will make out this year? You'll have to tune in to find out.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12 at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 for Verizon subscribers) to vote for the winners from now through September 12.

Tags britney spears, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, video-music-awards, VMAs