It felt like we were right back in 1998, the year Britney Spears released “… Baby, One More Time.”

At 34, there she was pole-dancing and bending over to touch her toes and give the crowd a clear view of her backside.

There was the pop star  — clearly lip-syncing her breathless hits of yesteryear — as she kicked off Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards. She started off in a red jacket that she quickly discarded to reveal a bikini-and-beaded costume that showed off her body, as though she were trying desperately to prove she’s still got it. This was all while singing, “You better work, b****.”

Performing a 10-minute medley of songs including “I’m a Slave 4 U” and “Toxic,” Spears showed off those same signature dance moves she used when she burst onto the scene back in the day wearing her (offensive to many) Catholic schoolgirl outfit and braids. And she was obsessed with flipping her long hair extensions with every step she took, every thrust of her hips.

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While fans went nuts on Twitter supporting her, and most mainstream entertainment media outlets said she “slayed” the night, it was really just pathetic — especially when compared to Céline Dion and Adele, singers whose performances included long gowns and obvious musical talent.

There was something awkward about it, too, as Spears was passed around by her male dancers, hoisted in the air, helped up and down steps. At 34, there she was pole-dancing and bending over to touch her toes and give the crowd a clear view of her backside.

Note: This was all the opening number of the show, right at 8 p.m. — which means that plenty of little girls were up and watching as she sang her “b****” song. Yes, this is someone who is seen as a role model.

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Oddly enough, Spears didn’t sing her very first hit single — the one that famously established her as a sex kitten in the first place. But that didn’t stop her from putting on her best sex kitten act.

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The whole point of the performance was supposedly to give her a chance to debut her new single, “Make Me (Oooh),” during the medley, but according to the Las Vegas Sun, the song and its video were postponed to a summer launch due to production difficulties.

Basically, the sad striptease act and sex-charged moves were all a nice advertisement for her recently renewed residency at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood. She’s been performing her “Britney: Piece of Me” there since 2013.

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And after all that, we never saw her actually receive the Millennium Award — the other reason she was there. It’s an award that has only been given twice before — to Beyoncé and Whitney Houston. Spears never spoke.

If the Billboards Awards are supposed to showcase the best of music right now, it’s a dismal  commentary on our pop culture, because along with Spears, we were treated to Justin Bieber showing off a buzzcut and grabbing his crotch during his number, co-host Ciara falling out of her dresses and showing off sky-high thigh, Ariana Grande, 22, singing about “touch my body,” and Fifth Harmony gyrating to their song about “Work[ing] from Home” — which is not about telecommuting.

The words:

Let’s put it into motion
I’mma give you a promotion
I’ll make it feel like a vacay, turn the bed into an ocean
We don’t need nobody, I just need your body
Nothin’ but sheets in between us, ain’t no getting off early.