Music notes: Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and more

Britney Spears knows a thing or two about iconic VMAs performances. The singer took to Instagram Thursday to give her commentary on Sabrina Carpenter's space-themed VMAs performance, which included a reference to Britney's "Oops…I Did It Again." "Why is she kissing an alien onstage?" Britney said after watching the performance on YouTube. "I adore her. I love her to death. I didn't understand that part. Why didn't she kiss a girl?"

Lady Gaga is reminding her fans not to let the haters get them down. The singer commented on a TikTok that featured a screenshot of an old Facebook group titled "Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous." "Some people I went to college w made this way back when," she said of the group, which used her birth name. "This is why you can't give up when people doubt you or put you down—gotta keep going."

Taylor Swift's Instagram post endorsing Kamala Harris is already having an impact. According to the U.S. General Services Administration, Taylor's post prompted over 400,000 visitors to vote.gov through the link she shared within the first 24 hours, and 700,000 visitors overall. Last week the site was averaging around 30,000 visitors a day.

Lauv's got a new song called "First Heartbreak," which he calls "one of my favorite songs I've ever written, because it's so heartbreaking but it's also so uplifting and hopeful." He adds, "While there really is nothing like that first heartbreak, this song has also reminded me that love is always right around the corner if you just stay open to it." Next up for Lauv, he kicks off a mini fall tour in Boston on Sept. 21.