By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Somewhere, Kevin Federline is laughing. An out-of-shape, out-of-touch Britney Spears delivered what was destined to be the most talked about performance of the MTV Video Music Awards _ but for all the wrong reasons.

Kicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, "Gimme More," Spears looked bleary and unprepared, much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles. She walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. She appeared to have forgotten the art of lip-synching. And, perhaps most unforgivable given her once-taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.

Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused look on his face; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.

Some comeback. Breathlessly hyped by MTV as the evening's most anticipated performance, it became the most shockingly bad of the night. Jive Records might want to push back that Nov. 13 album release date.