Britney Spears is the undisputed queen of the MTV Video Music Awards, and at tonight’s ceremony, several high-profile nominees referenced some iconic looks and moments from their careers.

First up was Tate McRae, who walked the red carpet in a pitch-perfect recreation of Spears’ unforgettable Dolce & Gabbana outfit from the 2001 VMAs. Aside from a few changes—Spears’ ensemble was navy blue, McRae’s black; Spears opted for bando-style shorts, McRae for a fancier slip—the resemblance was unmistakable.

McRae and Spears have been mentioned together a lot in the news recently, such as in the passionate fan cast of the upcoming Britney Spears biopic. McRae stands out among other contenders like Sydney Sweeney and Dove Cameron because of her excellent, Britney-esque dancing skills.

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Megan Thee Stallion took over hosting duties tonight and was the next artist to reference Spears. Between performances, Megan appeared in an exact replica of Spears’ iconic “I’m A Slave 4 U” performance ensemble from the 2001 VMAs.

She even draped a giant albino python around her shoulders, just as Spears did midway through her 2001 performance. “Okay! Okay! Stop the music!” Stallion joked, her voice more than a little genuine fear. “I’m just playing, come and get the snake,” she pleaded. “I don’t know the snake, the snake doesn’t know me.”

“I tried to hold it for Britney,” she said, admitting that after just a few seconds she asked for the snake to be removed, after which Spears walked a full lap around the stage with the snake wrapped around her arms.

Finally, Sabrina Carpenter celebrated her first round of VMA nominations with a fitting space opera medley of her Short & Sweet Hits, “Espresso,” “Please Please Please,” and “Taste.” At the beginning of the performance, she made another Britney reference.

Carpenter staged a nod to Spears’ iconic music video for “Oops… I Did It Again” after descending from the ceiling in a diamond-shaped seat. Before segueing from “Please Please Please” into “Taste,” Carpenter looked back at an astronaut with his hand outstretched while a line of dialogue from the “Oops” video played quietly over the track.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that,” Spears was heard saying. Carpenter then went into cheesier territory than Spears’ original, ditching the astronaut for an alien in a white minidress, kissing it and then shoving it off the stage.

There was another Spears reference on the red carpet, but it wasn’t clothing-related, but rather a name-dropping by Addison Rae. “My favorite VMA looks of all time are probably the ones where Britney Spears performed and performed.” She particularly praised Spears’ rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” which she sang in a medley with “Oops” at the 2000 VMAs.