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Back before Britney was feeding herself a steady diet of tranqs, fraps, husbands, court cases, and fame-whoring paparazzi, she attended five consecutive VMAs in outfits that would make absolutely nobody's mother proud (with the exception of maybe Mom of the Year Linda Hogan), constructed of fine fabrics featuring nary a thread of natural fibers, each tied (barely) together by the same common bond; from 2000's "You-Tarzan-Me-Asymmetrical" black mini-dress to 2002's Village She-People get up to 2003's Frederick's of Ho-llywood bridal collection, every outfit suggested an unfortunate encounter with a car door, pinking shears, and/or a paper shredder.

That said, all of the aforementioned cropped, tattered, and torn fashion offenses can be forgiven for her 2001 VMA performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U," when she graced the stage wearing the ultimate fashion accessory -- a live, seven-foot albino python. (Paging PETA!)

+ Check out more red carpet photos of celebs who got a little older, stopped doing their own shopping, and smartly hired stylists. Case in point, Gwen Stefani, who stopped dressing like a club-kid Smurf at a yoga retreat and is now the prettiest blond beauty in all the land (sorry Britney -- but there's still hope!)

Tags Britney Spears, Celebrity, Gwen Stefani, Music, Photos, Style, TV Shows, VMAs, VMAs

These days you never know which Miley Cyrus you're going to get. Will it be the oversexed/underaged vixen we saw posing coquettishly between the pages -- and the bedsheets -- of Vanity Fair? Or the meticulously choreographed Disney automaton, who's so squeaky-clean she even has her own line of Hannah Montana bath products? In Miley's new vid, "7 Things," off her upcoming album, Breakout, it appears to be more of the latter. This Miley's cheekiness is entirely PG, tapered by waist-length argyle shirts and a preponderance of teddy bears. And, undoubtedly, this Miley's Disney approved. Meanwhile, her peppy (and only mildly aggro) lyrics bring to mind a watered-down version of Avril Lavigne's kid sister, and Lindsay Lohan's pseudo-rebellious character in Freaky Friday -- minus the eyeliner.

+ Think Miley hit all the right notes? We're not 100% convinced, but we do know two things for sure: 1) This girl sure knows how to put on a show. And, 2). Annie Leibowitz had absolutely NOTHING to do with the making of this video.

Tags Celebrity, Miley Cyrus, Music, video, Videos

Remember the days when villains invariably sported giant handlebar mustaches, everyone wore suspenders and no train tracks were complete without a damsel in distress draped artfully across the railroad slats? If not, allow Alkaline Trio to take you back to a bygone era none of us was around for with "Help Me," the first video off their pioneering new album, Agony and Irony.

So grab your malt whiskey -- the kind that comes in the giant jug labeled "XXX" -- and watch as the dark-but-cheery rockers attempt to rescue reality TV tat queen Kat Von D. Then, forget everything you ever knew about punk, and allow Alkaline Trio to take you where no other hardcore band has ever gone before: The Wild, Wild West.

Tags Alkaline Trio, Celebrity, Music, video, Videos

No, Timbaland isn't the only superproducer in the R&B/hip-pop game. And while you may not have heard of Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, we guarantee you know by heart three quarters of the songs he's produced, and we're thinking he's about to seriously blow up once and for all like he should.

The one-man hit factory who's masterminded mega-singles like Michael Jackson's "You Rock My World," Destiny's Child's "Say My Name," Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine," Keyshia Cole's "Shoulda Let You Go," and the Pussycat Dolls most recent hit, "When I Grow Up," is working his magic again, producing tracks for Beyonce, Ciara and Britney's new albums. (More on Darkchild's involvement with Britney's new album here.)

And so, in honor of the man who's about to own radios and ringtones from here and back, we're paying Darkchild his properties with some of our favorite videos of Darkchild's hits, which also happen to be some of our all-time favorite songs too. And, for the record -- we always thought "That Boy" was Monica's...

+ More videos after the jump.

Read more...

Tags Beyonce, Brandy, Britney Spears, Celebrity, Ciara, Janet Jackson, Keyshia Cole, Michael Jackson, Monica, Music, News, Pussycat Dolls, Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins, Timbaland, video, Videos

Fall Out Boy is better known for Pete's emo bulldog, Hemingway, than the girlie little puppy Victoria's Secret's PINK offshoot (you know, those candy-colored sweats and booty shorts with stuff written across the butt?) employs as its mascot. But that isn't stopping the band from playing the brand's Pinkapalooza party in Santa Monica in July.

We can't really blame Pete for saying yes to the gig -- he's got another mouth to feed since soon wifey Ashlee (she also shilled for PINK when she performed at "The World's Largest PJ Party" in 2006) won't be able to fit into any booty shorts or cropped hoodies. But the irony of drummer Andy Hurley using the paycheck from a mammoth corporate gig to help fund his own clothing line -- the wholesomely titled F--- City -- is just too rich to ignore. PINK is the new red-and-black!

+ Relevant video: The Psychedelic Furs, "Pretty in Pink."

Tags Andy Hurley, Ashlee Simpson, Celebrity, Fall Out Boy, Music, News, Pete Wentz, Style

(Credit: Mel D. Cole/Villageslum.com)

MTV staff writer/ resident hip-hop historian/soothsayer timmhotep aku sees the future of hip-hop in Wale. Knowledge is dropped accordingly:

This is Wale. His name is pronounced "Wah-Lay." Familiarize yourself with his face, learn his songs, be an early adopter, because in the coming months you’ll be seeing a lot of him. And when you do see him, you'll be able to brag that you were up on him before anyone else was.

Hailing from Washington, D.C. and reppin' the whole DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia), Wale is basically where hip-hop is going. While've all been worrying about stuff like gas prices, the recession, and a presidential election, rap has been in the midst of a renaissance. Tough-guy posturing and stereotypes are being supplanted by a new breed emcees of who pride themselves on eclecticism and lyricism.

Wale loves Seinfeld, rhymes over go-go music and has a jones for streetwear and sneaks. He's got the co-sign of folks like Jay-Z, Lindsay Lohan, the Roots, and Mark Ronson, who signed him to his Allido Records label. And best of all, the dude can rap. Watch when he blows up -- we'll be standing here arms folded like "toldya so."

+ Watch Wale below in the Roots' new "Rising Up" video with Chrisette Michele and in Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" video (minus Amy), check out Wale's MySpace page and The Mixtape About Nothing and catch him on the Rock the Bells tour this summer.

Tags Amy Winehouse, Buzz Bands, Celebrity, Chrisette Michele, Jay-Z, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Ronson, Music, The Roots, Videos, Wale

+ Amy Winehouse proves mild to moderate emphysema can't keep her down by punching her own fans. Meanwhile, she also disses Kanye on stage, much to the singer-turned-blogger's delight. (E! Online via MTV)

+ And in other random Glastonbury feuds, Jay-Z totally "disses" Oasis by proving he's incapable of performing "Wonderwall." Beyonce, meanwhile, looks on patiently. (Stereogum)

+ Meanwhile, mom-in-training (and rumored VMA "Comeback-Comeback Kid") Britney Spears has a court-sanctioned sleepover with her boys while Kevin "Father of the Year" Federline parties it up in Vegas. (Usmagazine.com)

+ Music Week "praises" the Jonas Brothers by comparing them to a forgotten child band of yesteryear. Because nothing says success like becoming "the highest-charting fraternal trio since Hanson." (Music Week)

+ And next in line to replace Tim Russert is...Young Jeezy? The MC proves he's got mad skillz as a political analyst by pronouncing Barack "ahead of his time" while dismissing McCain by saying "He's cool, but he looks like a fraud to me." (MTV)

Tags Amy Winehouse, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Buzz Bites, Celebrity, Jay-Z, Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Music, News, Oasis, VMAs, Young Jeezy

We're pretty sure this is the only hip-hop video set in a mid-century locomotive. It's also probably the only one to feature a rapper wearing clothes that, y'know, fit. Such is the unconventional world of Chi-town MC Lupe Fiasco.

For his globe-trotting new video, "Paris, Tokyo," (the ying to the yang of Estelle's "American Boy"), Lupe -- the only other person allowed to appear on stage with Kanye West during his set on the "Glow In the Dark" tour -- takes us on a world tour so thorough that we suspect National Geographic had a hand in the production. And though the settings are exotic, it's the track's home-grown jazz sound that really cements its refined appeal. That, and the fact that Lupe's lookin' more fly than Farnsworth.

Tags Celebrity, Estelle, Farnsworth Bentley, Lupe Fiasco, Music, video, Videos

Young gun Tyga's so confident you know his name that he went ahead and titled his debut LP No Introduction. But for the small handful of you who've only been listening to NPR or something and haven't read Buzzworthy or Friendsorenemies in a minute, here's what you need to know about the newcomer.

Tyga came up in Compton and was weaned on Busta Rhymes. He possesses an old-school spitfire style, a la early LL Cool J, with the pop appeal of Will Smith back when was still a young MC. After opening for Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes -- and performing with the latter, Panic At the Disco and Lil Wayne in a guest spot at the 2007 VMAs -- an awed Weezy signed the rap rook to his Young Money Entertainment imprint. Barely a year later, No Introduction was born, and now Tyga's getting hands everywhere up in the air with his breakthrough party anthem, "Coconut Juice," in addition to flavor-enhanced fresh twists on time-tested themes like young love, money-makin' abilities, and the epic magnitude of one's own rap skills (and more millennial topics, like meeting chicks online).

These days, Tyga's life is a three-ring hip-pop circus of events ("What's today's date? I don't even know the date, we do so much s---" he confessed to the camera on a YouTube video he posted this past Friday) involving appearances, mixes, and remixes with Lil Wayne, Travis McCoy and Pete Wentz, all of whom appeared in his star-studded "Coconut Juice" video. And with the amount of collabos and side hustles he's dealing in, he's pretty much in the running to become the next Akon.

The next thing you need to know: he's got more chains than a bike shop. And finally: he's got more tats than Sturgis Bike Week.

Watch Tyga step into the boxing rink, and indulge in even more ink, all this week as Artist of the Week -- check out his videos here -- sample his "Coconut Juice" if you somehow haven't yet, watch Tyga interviews and live performances, and check out exclusive photos from his Artist of the Week shoot.

+ UPDATE: More Tyga videos here!

+ More Tyga photos after the jump:

Read more...

Tags Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Lil Wayne, MTV Featured Artist, Panic At The Disco, Pete Wentz, Travis McCoy, Tyga, VMAs, Will Smith

Though it sometimes seems like Phantom Planet just can't shake their insta-affiliation with the piano tinkle of The O.C. theme song and former drummer Jason "Rushmore" Schwartzman, the boys are working hard to give everyone something new to talk about.

The less-pop-more-Brit-rock sound of their latest album, Raise the Dead -- their first release both on Fueled By Ramen and without Schwartzman -- brings them one step closer to maturity. But before you reluctantly delete "California" from your iPod, we should point out that Phantom Planet 2.0 holds no ill will toward their past. In fact, in an apparent homage to, well, themselves, their new single, "Do the Panic," was heard on an episode of The O.C. knockoff Gossip Girl.

We sat down with Phantom Planet to find out what life's been like since their celeb drummer departed and they joined the Fueled By Ramen family and hit the road with labelmates Panic at the Disco on the Honda Civic Tour.

+ Plus, watch what the band had to say about leaving "California" behind and how -- and why -- cult leaders influenced their new album here.

Tags Interviews, Music, Phantom Planet, Videos, Videos