Remember this, Britney? Vintage clip of Spears' cringingly bad Vegas show goes viral as it emerges she's 'lip syncing in new residency'

PUBLISHED: 18:11 EST, 19 October 2013 | UPDATED: 18:20 EST, 19 October 2013

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It's a moment she probably wishes to forget.

But an online video from Britney Spears' live HBO performance for her Dream Within a Dream Tour at the MGM Grand in 2001 has resurfaced with the audio from her microphone isolated - revealing her incredibly off-key vocals.

The flashback to that notoriously bad performance comes as she is reported to be ‘lip-syncing’ for her upcoming two-year run of shows in Las Vegas next year.

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Bad press: Fans of Britney Spears have taken to revisiting some of her more embarrassing live performances, pictured in September in Las Vegas

The video, initially posted by LiveLeak, shows Britney prancing around belting out her song Boys in an off-key pitch.

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Later she attempts to sing Lucky but her vocals are nearly unbearable, not even resembling anything close to a trained singer - prompting many online fans to deem it both 'horrible' and 'embarrassing'.

Despite the less than amateur rendition of her own material the then 19-year-old did showcase her knack for nailing her mark when it comes to dance choreography.

Less than stellar: Britney pictured during her notorious 2001 live HBO performance singing a rendition of Boys

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old's upcoming Piece Of Me stint at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas is plagued by rumours that she will be lip-syncing.

But the star denied the claims, telling Chicago's 103.5 KISS FM earlier this month: 'I'm definitely going to be singing live. I always sing live. It doesn't sound so great all the time, but I do my best.'

An insider previously revealed that the blonde beauty and her team have given staff - who will have to sign a confidentiality agreement - a detailed 'cheat sheet' with strict instructions about how to respond to concerns or queries ahead of the star's 'Britney: Piece of Me' show at Planet Hollywood.

Not all bad: While the pop star's vocals were lacking her dance moves were on spot

The source recently said: 'We have been given a sheet which gives answers to questions that potential customers and such may ask when they book, like whether or not Britney will be singing live ... The answers are twisted and far from the truth.'

Her big year: 2001 was a highlight in the singer's career, pictured at the MTV VMAs

The insider added: 'At the moment, she's set to pre-record vocals to use on stage rather than sing live.'

Britney's manager Larry Rudolph also insists her new shows, which kick off on December 27, will prove what an incredible performer she is.

He said: 'She does choreography and vocal coaching every day.'

Britney's Las Vegas show Piece Of Me, was announced last month on Good Morning America to 1,000 screaming fans, and will run at Planet Hollywood through February 22.

She's set to sing 21 hits over a 90 minute show and her salary is said to be $30m for two years.

But a source at the time told the NY Daily News that 'Britney does not sing' and added, 'She is being paid a lot of money to lip-sync. Her fans are none the wiser, but it is disingenuous of her to take their cash and not deliver a proper performance.'

If this sounds familiar it's because four years ago audience members walked out of one of Britney's Circus shows in Australia and demanded their money back because they said she was lip-syncing.

However, Britney has since spoken out and denied the claims.

The singer has also revealed that she put her foot down when it came to Work B**ch, cutting half of the original footage because she believed it was far too racy for her taste.

Does not bode well: The 31-year-old's upcoming two year stint at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas is plagued by rumours that she will be 'lip-syncing'

Britney said she wished she could go back to the 'old days', when videos were more focused on music and dancing rather than sexy outfits and raunchy antics.

‘A lot of sex goes into what I do.

'But sometimes I would like to bring it back to the old days when there was like one outfit through the whole video, and you’re dancing the whole video, and there’s like not that much sex stuff going on,' she said.

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Diddy, Parker, United States, 6 hours ago

Proof positive anyone can be a rockstar (with the right background voice synthesizer).

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steveraxx, albuquerque, 7 hours ago

It is sad when people make excuses. If you are going to claim that she is moving around too much to be able to sing, that is a truly dumb excuse. If you go to see a singer, you are in fact going to hear them sing. If you wanted to simply listen to them, you would just buy the CD. So... if you cannot maintain a tune by having to jump all around, then do not jump all around and be still and sing. Also, it is really obvious to anyone with a modicum of taping experience, this is Britney's voice, it is very obvious that it is. The inflections, the breathing, this audio is not faked. But there will always be apologists, even lance armstrong has them.

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steveraxx, albuquerque, 7 hours ago

Britney is not a singer, obviously, this audio proves it. As well now with the release of new videos, her videos have been computerized to make this person look thin. There is nothing about this entertainer that is real. A complete fabrication.

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thatmiserablemoo, Stevenage, United Kingdom, 8 hours ago

Britney can't sing. This is news to nobody with functioning ears.

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Sam, Atlanta, 8 hours ago

Oh dear. This sounds very unfortunate.

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Buzzymuzzwelle, Vienna, 8 hours ago

Vegas is not Broadway. Everything is computerized and timed to a split second. Sets sweep in and out. people could die if there is the slightest error. Liberals fighting Liberals. Now that's a fun show!!

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Faye-Face, London, 10 hours ago

Am a fan of Britney Spears and that is her singing but I do think it's been messed around with to make her sound worse than it was. In her defence look how much she's dancing, she's not gonna sound perfect because she's moving around a lot. She's not talentless and when she was younger she had a really decent voice and put on great performances. Even when she was not singing live the performances basically was the replacement of the singing because she used to put on a show. I heard apparently when she first came out she wanted to show of her voice and that she actually wanted to do R&B; music but her manager and record label got her to do pop and be a sex symbol. The thing with her now is that she's just not the same Britney like how she was before the breakdown and the kids and she'll never be that Britney again. She clearly doesn't want to perform anymore from her body language and lack of effort when performing and even her music is just nowhere as good as it was before.

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Faye-Face, London, 9 hours ago

I haven't heard her real voice since the In The Zone album and since then her voice has been heavily autotuned to the point she doesn't even sound human anymore. I feel for her because it's obvious she's performing now because she's making her handlers money. Personally I think if she had a choice she would just quit showbiz and be with her children. She only looks generally happy when she's around them.

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Samantha Ueno, Honolulu, United States, 10 hours ago

"It's so hard to sing live and do those elaborate dances at the same time" Elvis. Michael Jackson. oh, and EVERY SINGER IN ANY BROADWAY SHOW, NATIONALLY TOURING MUSICAL, or COMMUNITY THEATER. go and see a production of Les Mis, Rent, Phantom, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, or another musical where there are no breaks for spoken dialogue...then come back and try that line again.

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Julie, Seattle, 11 hours ago

This girl CAN sing. I've heard and seen videos of her singing in Church at 14 and she has a beautiful voice. It's not hugely powerful and no way could she dance her heart out and belt out songs at the same time. She isn't that strong ,but she can dance and she can SING!