Much has been made about Kanye West debuting his new song on this song from his upcoming album to close out this year's edition of MTV's Video Music Awards. But before Kanye West could deliver his highly anticipated performance, it would be a pop princess taking ownership of the evening.

Britney Spears would make a significant comeback from a career that appeared to be in utter turmoil by taking home three awards. Ms.Spears snatched down awards for "Best Female Video," "Best Pop Video," and "Video Of The Year" for "Piece Of Me."

Hip Hop struggled to snag awards but Lil Wayne would walk away with "Best Hip Hop Video" and would be the lone Hip Hopper to get an award. Weezy also performed a medley of songs as Leona Lewis opened up for his performance of "Misunderstood" before going into "A Millie," and closing out with "This Way." Wayne also joined Kid Rock on stage for "Sweet Home Alabama."

T.I. also delivered with a thematic performance of "Whatever You Like" and premiered "My Life" with Rhianna joining him.

But the evening would close out with Kanye West debuting "Love Lockdown." Mr. West graced the stage donning a grey suit with a lit up heart glowing against the gloomy backdrop. Completely devoid of rap lyrics, Kanye would utilize the auto tune to set the mood for his new single. Definitely unconventional, even for Kanye's standards, "Love Lockdown" definitely raised some eyebrows. But in true Kanye form, he delivered the performance of the night with a tribe of percussionists behind him as he took control of the microphone and put his stamp on the VMAs.

"Love Lockdown" will be available via iTunes Monday. Until then, watch the performance in our Video Section [click to watch].