THE REAL "T" BEHIND BRITNEY'S VMA MELTDOWN

Britney Spears allegedly binged on tequila shots moments before her disastrous performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

Britney, who had months earlier entered rehab after shaving her head, had been planning her routine at the annual event for months to prove to the world she had fully recovered from her personal problems.

However, insiders have now revealed she wasn't mentally ready to perform and was drunk when she went out on stage.

In his new book Britney: Inside the Dream, writer Steve Dennis claims: "Britney herself managed to ruin the most important performance of her life. Hours before the show, her anxieties raged. She decided it was a good idea to start drinking tequila shots to calm her nerves - one after the other."

Britney's fragile mental state was also reportedly tested when her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake came into her dressing room to wish her luck.

"Justin was cool and couldn't have been friendlier, but that wigged her out more," Dennis revealed in the book.

Her preparations descended into chaos when Britney allegedly refused to let celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves attach her hair extensions.

When Britney told Ken to leave, her staff began desperately searching for other hair extensions - which were needed because her natural locks were still very short - and they had to quickly find some from her hotel's salon.

When the mother-of-two did appear on stage - dressed in an unflattering bra and panty set and fishnet tights, after reportedly refusing to wear the agreed more flattering one-piece - she looked dazed, forgot some of the lyrics to her song "Gimme More" and barely did any of the choreography.

The performance was ridiculed by many critics and the book claims Britney - who was going through a messy divorce and custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline - was in tears for 45 minutes after leaving the stage.

The months after her chaotic comeback saw her lose custody of her two young sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

In January 2008, was taken to a psychiatric ward after holding Jayden hostage in her home.

I know Britney's under hypnosis and on some very highy prescribed drugs (which means she's been healed by the hands of GOD), but when's the book coming out? This would definitely make a great summer read. Of course I had to post Britney's best live performance above. Yes it was sad that she looked like one of the whores from the Rock of Love Bus (mainly a blond version of Marcia), but look on the bright side. If you look closely, you can spot Christian Vincent (Ricky from Noah's Arc) as one of her dancers.