Viewers may get a piece of Britney Spears at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, but sadly, they won't be getting the whole pie. On his KIIS-FM radio show this morning, Ryan Seacrest announced that the pop star will not be doing any kind of comeback performance.

"Britney Spears will not be performing at the VMAs this year. I'm telling you officially and unequivocally,” said Seacrest, reading an official statement from Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager, adding that the singer "is in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and was never supposed to perform at that show."

The announcement effectively squashes all the rumours that Spears would stage a second attempt at a comeback after her lackluster appearance last year. For those who don't remember – you know, if you suffered a head injury or just woke up from a coma – the pop star's performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 VMAs was critically panned, with the New York Times writing that she "tottered around the stage, dancing tentatively and doing nothing that sounded or looked like real live singing." Ouch.

But even though Spears won't be showing off her dance moves or her unparalleled lip syncing abilities, she'll still walk the red carpet and sit in the audience. The 26-year-old is nominated for three awards (including Video of the Year) for "Piece of Me" and also stars in a series of charming commercials for the awards show with this year's host, Russell Brand, and an elephant. If you ask us, the elephant gave a disappointing performance – it looked drunk and kinda fat.

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