Britney Spears’ new CD drops today, she opens VMAs on Sunday; plus, Burning Man

Let’s quickly flashback to her memorable stunners: the near striptease act danced to “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones in 2000 before she took off the tuxedo to show a sexy, two-piece nude look for “Oops!…I Did It Again.”

Twelve months later, it was the slithery white python for “I’m a Slave 4 U,” then in 2003 it was the tonsil-tongue tango between Britney and Madonna that made headlines around the world. Finally, her last VMA performance was “Gimme More” in 2007 here at The Palms.

Now comes her first live TV appearance for the new single “Make Me” with G-Eazy from her new album “Glory” out today, although it did spring an Internet leak last weekend via a Mexican record store that received its shipment in advance. It’s Britney’s ninth studio album and also features “Private Show,” “Clumsy” and “Do You Wanna Come Over.”

Britney closes out the 12 tracks with a nearly three-minute club song, “Couture Electrique,” that she sings in French. Additionally, there’s “What You Need,” “If I’m Dancing” and “Just Luv Me.”

In the 60-second promo video Britney voiced over for the official announcement of opening the VMAs, she says, “It’s not just a stage. It’s a story,” as that silvery snake slithers through her backstage dressing room wardrobe of her previous VMA outfits.

Britney performed Wednesday at Axis at Planet Hollywood and flew to New York early Thursday for three days of rehearsals. After Sunday night’s broadcast from Madison Square Garden, Britney has a day off in Manhattan before returning to the Strip for next Wednesday’s resumption of her residency through Sept. 10. She returns again Oct. 19.

Burning Man Festival

We’ve already watched in horror at the damage caused by the California fires and two-day closing of I-15 at El Cajon Pass, and now a part of our Silver State near The Golden State is going up in smoke! The annual Burning Man Festival starts Sunday in Black Rock City with 70,000 revelers expected before it ends Sept. 5. The race to Reno is on.

This year in a nod to innovators such as Leonardo Da Vinci, the Burning Man art theme of “Da Vinci’s Workshop” will be inspired by the 15th and 16th century Italian Renaissance, in all five square miles with more than 300 exhibits in the Black Rock desert. This is truly art for art’s sake. The exhibits will allow people to walk up to them, touch or climb on them, go inside them —

interactive art with fire and sound effects.

I was moved by the backstory when I toured the Da Vinci exhibit at The Venetian a year ago studying his Vitruvian Man, which set out the amazing ratios of the human body with outstretched limbs on a universal circle.

This year’s Burning Man will salute that Vitruvian Man when the image before being set alight is slowly rotated 360 degrees vertically by an elaborate concoction of gears and pulleys powered by Burning Man festivalgoers.

Our Nevada Highway Patrol will be busy watching over the state highways headed into Gerlach near Black Rock City. These single-lane highways have maximum 25 mph speed limits, so watch out for wildlife on highways 447 and 34 into Black Rock City. Once you reach Gerlach, there’s only 8 miles remaining on Route 34 into the manmade Black Rock City.

Full details: BurningMan.org. Remember: Take your trash as you head home so that there’s no evidence of Burning Man — like it never ever happened.