20 Things You Probably Never Knew About That Iconic VMAs Kiss 20 Years On
It’s now been a whole two decades since one of the most talked-about moments in the Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera’s collective careers (and, indeed, pop culture history).
On 28 August 2003, the MTV Video Music Awards kicked off with a performance that would make headlines the world over, with Britney and Christina taking to the stage dressed as brides, and each sharing a smooch with Madonna in the middle of their routine.
What followed was a media frenzy, and while you think you might have seen Britney, Christina and Madonna’s performance a million times already, we’d wager there’s still a lot you don’t know about it…
1. The whole thing as an homage to the very first VMAs, where Madonna stole the show with her performance of Like A Virgin
The 2003 VMAs marked the 20th time the awards show took place, so organisers were in a rare mood for some nostalgia.
As well as having Metallica close the show with a medley of some of MTV’s biggest ever hits, the ceremony opened with a tribute to the Queen Of Pop’s scene-stealing performance of Like A Virgin almost two decades earlier. Her successors to the pop throne sported wedding dresses similar to Madonna’s, while the woman herself wore a top hat and tails.
2. While the final line-up consisted of Britney, Christina and Madonna, other pop stars of the time were also in contention
Pink has made no secret of the fact she was approached about being involved in the routine, but turned Madonna down.
“I know how Madonna’s mind works. She was the boss. She was the groom. While everyone else was her 20 years ago. And I am nobody’s bitch,” Pink reportedly told the Daily Record in 2003.
3. Other iterations would have seen Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez sharing the stage with Madonna
Pink claimed that when she was approached, the idea was that herself, Britney and Gwen would have performed with Madonna, and that Christina was invited after she and the former No Doubt singer “backed out”.
Meanwhile, J-Lo also confirmed that she and Britney had a meeting at Madonna’s home to plan the performance, but she ultimately had to decline the offer as she was making a film at the time.
“I love Madonna. I’m a huge fan. I always have been,” the Jenny From The Block singer added.
4. But Britney, Madonna and Christina weren’t the only performers on stage
If you thought the routine ended after the kisses, you’d be dead wrong – that’s actually just when the fun got going.
You see, right after the singers smooch, they enthusiastically declare “who that be!”, at which point Missy Elliott joins them on stage – dressed, like Madonna, as a groom – for a reimagined version of her song Work It (which actually scooped Video Of The Year later in the night).
5. As you might have expected, Madonna was an absolute task-master when it came to rehearsals
“Madonna had been very, very, very rigid about the rehearsals,” Britney’s then-manager Larry Rudolph told Billboard in 2014.
“She was telling Britney and I every day, ‘Be here tomorrow at 10 o’clock’. She would never address me by name, she would just say, ‘You make sure Britney’s here tomorrow at 10 o’clock’.”
When the performance was over, he found himself in a lift with Madonna, who wasted no time in “wrapp[ing] her arms around my waist and [giving] me a big kiss on the lips”.
“You see Larry, it was all worth it,” the Grammy winner apparently then told him.
6. But the biggest headache of all was, in fact, that enormous wedding cake
VMAs producer Alex Coletti told Pop Sugar earlier this month that phone calls about production in the lead-up to the event were “mostly” about the cake.
“I can’t tell you how many conversations I do remember about how big can we make the cake without it crippling the entire production,” he claimed.
7. Staying with the wedding theme, you might have noticed one of those flower girls looks a little familiar
Yep, that’s Madonna’s eldest daughter Lourdes on the left, who was six years old at the time. On the right is Honour Norman, the daughter of Madonna’s former manager Caresse Henry.
8. Madonna had an interesting response when asked by Lourdes about the performance’s true message
“I am the mommy pop star and she is the baby pop star and I am kissing her to pass my energy on to her,” Madge has been quoted as telling her daughter when asked about what was happening on stage.
9. We all remember the Like A Virgin section, but it was one of Madonna’s lesser-known hits that provided the soundtrack to the immediately-iconic scene
After Britney and Christina were done with their sections of Like A Virgin, Madonna entered and began performing a remixed version of her then-recent hit Hollywood, taken from her divisive American Life album.
Hollywood ended up peaking at number two here in the UK, but fared less favourably across the pond, where it became her first ever single to miss the Billboard Hot 100 (at the time, Madonna was still at the centre of controversy over her hit American Life and its scrapped music video).
10. And, in fact, the concept was MTV’s idea, rather than Madonna’s
“We called Madonna with that [suggestion], and she was very receptive,” Coletti told Pop Sugar.
“When you talk about the most iconic moments in the history of the VMAs, [Madonna’s 1984 performance is] the top of the list, or at least at that time was.”
He added: “It’s funny how now the tribute to that moment may have topped that moment on that list. I think more people will remember the kiss now than the original.”
11. Although, as you might have guessed, it was the Queen of Pop who came up with the kissing part
“I remember getting a call on my cell phone from [choreographer] Jamie King, who said, ‘Hey, how do you feel about them kissing?’,” Coletti recalled. “And I was like, ‘I feel pretty good, but let me talk to my bosses.’
“I walked over to the production table and said, ‘So, this is interesting: Britney and Madonna are going to kiss.’ And everyone was like, ‘OK.’”
12. Let’s take a moment to talk about some of our favourite reactions from stars in the audience – beginning with the original Queer Eye gang
The Fab Five – most notably future Drag Race judge Carson Kressley – did little to hide their excitement at seeing Madonna’s original VMAs performance being celebrated by her younger peers.
13. And their excitement only increased once Madonna arrived
As a sidenote – this night would mark the former Destiny’s Child star’s first performance as a solo artist. She and Jay-Z performed her then-recent single Crazy In Love around the midway point of the ceremony.
15. Kelly Osbourne and Avril Lavigne kept it straight-faced throughout.
The duo had walked the red carpet together earlier in the evening, flipping off the photographers as they made their way into the event. Rock and, indeed, roll.
16. Britney’s famous ex Justin Timberlake clearly sensed something was going on early on in the proceedings…
His raised eyebrow says a lot. Just wait, Justin…
17 …But he had no idea exactly what the trio had in store
While he was clearly doing everything in his power to keep it stoic, Carson Kressley (seen literally jumping up and down in hte background) was making no such effort.
18. In fact, the cameras missed quite a bit of Christina’s kiss with Madonna as they were so focussed on Justin Timberlake’s reaction
“I do feel bad for Christina, although she killed it vocally. Like, she’s Christina, right? But yeah, she did get shortchanged, and I always felt bad about that,” Coletti admitted.
19. The kiss has been recreated countless times over the years
Not too long after the kiss, Britney released Me Against The Music as the lead single from her fourth single In The Zone.
The track featured a guest verse from Madonna (which they apparently set up while rehearsing for the VMAs), and the video sees the pair almost locking lips a second time, only for the Like A Prayer singer to disappear at the crucial moment.
Madonna was also one of the few guests at Britney’s wedding to Sam Asghari in 2022, with the two stars sharing a photo of themselves kissing during the reception.
Meanwhile, Britney returned to the VMAs in 2012, where she was awarded the coveted Video Vanguard prize. Lady Gaga – in character as her male alter-ego Jo Calderone – presented Britney with her award, and offered her the chance to recreate her Madonna moment, but the Stronger singer declined, joking she’d “done that already”.
20. Almost 20 years later, rehearsal footage from the event was posted online
It makes for really interesting viewing, with Britney and Christina in their comfies, no studio audience, Madonna being a little more playful than we’re perhaps used to seeing her and – perhaps most crucially – those kisses being a little less intense than they ended up being on the night.