Britney Spears: 'Performing with a snake was so dumb!'

Britney Spears is not a fan of her "dumb" performance at the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2001, when she famously performed with a live python.

The 34-year-old singer insists she would never repeat the risque stunt again, which saw her belt out her hit I'm A Slave 4 U dressed in nothing but a green bikini top, bejeweled shorts and the albino snake draped around her neck.

"It's insane! Why did I do that?" the mother-of-two told E! News while promoting her upcoming new single, Make Me.

And when asked if she would ever dance with a snake again, her reply was straight to the point. "Hell, no!" Britney laughed. "It's so dumb. No! Never!"

Next year (17) will mark the singer's 20th anniversary of her signing with Jive Records, which led to the release of her debut single, ...Baby One More Time, the following year, and the pop superstar jokes the milestone makes her feel "so old".

She is set to release her new single Make Me next month (Jul16), ahead of a new album later this year (16). Britney teamed up with rapper G-Eazy for the track, and David LaChapelle directed the video.

The singer teased fans with behind-the-scenes photos from the promo on Friday (03Jun16).

In one image, Britney poses alongside G-Eazy while wearing a green bikini covered in beading, which is reminiscent of the outfit she wore during her iconic MTV VMAs performance 15 years ago. Another snap also showed the musician wearing a bondage-style black cut-out swimsuit surrounded by scantily-clad male dancers.

Despite not releasing an album since Femme Fatale in 2011, Britney revealed she's excited to be working on new music again.

"I've been working on this project for a year and a half now, almost two years so it really means a lot to me. It's my baby," she explained of her ninth studio album. "(It's) a little melodic, a little more not so poppy. It's kind of chill. Very chill."

And the star, who has had a well-documented troubled personal life, reveals she has just one piece of advice for her younger self: "Be fearless," she said.