Magician Criss Angel has revealed how Britney Spears' disastrous VMAs performance could have looked - had the wayward singer been prepared to put in the effort.

The Mindfreak star had planned a show-stopping series of illusions for Brit’s much-hyped live comeback.

He says: "With Britney I presented concepts to create, within her performance, illusions that would happen in the open. You would see Britney and then she would split into two Britneys and then four Britneys with no boxes or covers. It would just be a visual effect using no screens...

"I also thought of having her levitate over the audience. It was going to be really visual moments that were all...beautiful, artistic, elegant and, most important, unique - things MTV hasn't seen in music.

'Beautiful, artistic, elegant' evidently sounded like too much hard work for the pop mess, who opted for a simpler, shoddier routine that was panned by fans and critics alike.

Angel blames Brit’s lack of commitment for the shelving of his ideas: "Britney is really strong with her own ideas. And what I had planned wasn't an easy thing to do and would have required a lot of rehearsals.

"Ultimately, I told her I needed 100 per cent commitment or I wasn't going to be able to do this. I told her that, 'You have to feel comfortable.' So, we explored it and she decided it wasn't for her, and I completely understand."

Click here for a reminder of what actually happened.