At the 1998 VMA 's , Brandy and Monica performed " The Boy Is Mine " together live for the first time , putting an end to the media speculation that the two were rivals . During the original broadcast of the show , a commercial faded in the Nine Inch Nails NIN logo on a black screen while playing a combination of music that started as a solo piano piece and morphed into an electronic/industrial beat ( which would later found out to be the songs " La Mer " and " Into the Void , " which share many melodic components and can be considered variations on a theme ) and ended with Trent Reznor screaming " Tried to save myself , but myself kept slipping away " and the word " ninetynine " in the trademark NIN reversed-N font . This was only shown once during the original broadcast , was edited out of all repeats , and generally seen as a sign that the long-awaited follow-up to '' The Downward Spiral '' would be released early in 1999 . Work was continued on the album through the first half of 1999 , and Nine Inch Nails performed the title track " The Fragile " off the double-CD at 1999 MTV Video Music Awards almost one year to the day of the " ninetynine " commercial . It can be found as an Easter Egg or on the " Beneath The Surface " menu on the live NIN DVD '' And All That Could Have Been ''
1998 VMA 's
1998 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Award