Britney Spears landed seven nominations at the 26th Annual MTV Video Music Awards, including the top category for Video of the Year, but a number of industry insiders are questioning whether or not the pop princess and the video accompanying her hit single “Womanizer” really deserve the nominations.

“We were surprised she got so many nominations because she has been ‘lip synching’ and while she is talented, the terrain has changed so this may be sympathy nominations because she is getting well,” one baffled industry insider told Fox News on Wednesday.

Some bigwigs in the music world have even suggested that MTV simply handed Britney the massive number of nods to encourage a boost in the VMAs lagging ratings. Britney’s almost career-ending performance at the 2007 Video Music Awards sent viewership sailing up from the year before by more than 41 percent.

“Every network is hurting for eyeballs. Britney always draws an audience.”

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Radio Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, September 13.