Britney Spears will open MTV awards

NEW YORK -- Britney Spears will be the opening act at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.

The 25-year-old singer will perform "Gimme More" -- the first single from her upcoming album -- at Sunday's event in Las Vegas, MTV announced Thursday.

Spears, whose late-night partying and erratic behavior have made her a tabloid fixture, is a veteran of the VMAs: She performed "I'm A Slave 4 U" with a 7-foot albino python around her neck in 2001. Two years later, she and Madonna stoked controversy with an open-mouth kiss in the opening act.

As previously announced, Spears' long-awaited new album is due for release Nov. 13 by Jive Records. The mother of two young sons has said she'd hoped to jump back into the music scene this year, and in May staged several concerts at clubs in California.