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(Credit: Adam Elmakias)

Post-hard core can bring out the screaming hair-puller in most of us, so it's great to see a post-HC band like Pierce The Veil, who knows how to have fun with the dark side of music.

Formerly known as Before Today, Pierce The Veil has made two albums of cathartic, highly technical heavy rock. On its recently released Selfish Machines, the group mixes the glam and gloom of My Chemical Romance with the prog-rock fireworks of Dillinger Escape Plan and Coheed And Cambria.

On stage, however, (PTV are road warriors, touring with the likes of Mayday Parade and Devil Wears Prada), the band mixes in contemporary pop classics into its songs, as anyone who has witnessed its takes on Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" and Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" can attest.

Check out Pierce The Veil's video for the 2007 single "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides," off the album A Flair For The Dramatic. You can listen to a stream of Selfish Machines and check out all their Warped Tour dates at their MySpace page.

Tags Coheed And Cambria, Devil Wears Prada, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mayday Parade, My-Chemical-Romance, Pierce The Veil, video

In these dog days of summer it can be pretty slim pickings in terms of celeb news. The Biebs is on tour. Rihanna and Ke$ha are out on tour. The Jonas Brothers are acting up a storm. Christina's not on tour. Gaga's always on tour. Not a lot goin' on.

Psyche! Britney Spears is in the studio, y'all. Check out that photo of Britney Spears, heading into a Los Angeles recording studio, presumably to begin work on her SEVENTH studio album. Two years! Can you believe it's been two years since Circus came out?

Britney is looking healthy and happy, if you don't mind me saying so (and who cares if she's got something on her shirt -- she's a busy mom! It happens!) She's seemed pretty chipper on Twitter too (@BRITNEYSPEARS), giving away signed pics to some of her 5 million followers. And everybody knows Twitter is an exact representation of how someone is actually feeling.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, let's revisit a classic Britney track: "Slave 4 U."

Tags Britney Spears, Star Spotting, video

Neon face paint stilt walkers, contortionists, confetti and balloons. No, this isn't a Ke$ha video. And it's not a Katy Perry video, either. It's a sneak peek of The Maine's new "Inside Of You" video, off of its new album, Black & White. We're only 30 seconds in (because that's all we've got), and the contrast between a psycho circus and turn-of-century sepia-toned little boy have us beyond intrigued.

Check out this exclusive sneak peek of The Maine's "Inside Of You" video, directed by Mike Jones and Jim Sullos, and don't miss the full-length premiere on MTV this Monday, July 19.

Tags The Maine, video

Now that they can tweet about their comings and goings, most celebs have left the land of blogging behind them. Believe me when I tell you it's much easier to whip out your BlackBerry and punch out, "LOL! @justinbieber! WTF!?" than it is to grind out an eloquent, well-reasoned blog post (with a photo!).

That said, some celebrities out there are still punching their card at the blog factory. So let's take a look at the best in the celebrity blogging biz.

+ Kanye West -- KanyeWest.com
The king of kings. Kanye West's old site, KanyeUniversity, was an unparalleled, all-caps view into the mind of one of mainstream music's most unique personalities. Kanye's new site loses a lot of the zany charm, but is no less an intimate look at what makes 'Yeezy tick -- namely Mario Testino photo shoots of almost-naked models and Big Sean videos.

+ Drake -- Octobersveryown.blogspot.com
Much like his friend Kanye, Drake and his blogging minions use OVO to highlight things Drake thinks are cool, thereby giving a peek into what Drake is actually like. This blog features vids, music and candid picks taken from the "Find Your Love" singer's BlackBerry.

+ Lourdes Ciccone -- blog.materialgirlcollection.com
The most famous of Madonna's various children (adopted or otherwise) has become something of a fashion blogging maven. In promotion of her and her mother's "Material Girl" fashion line, Lourdes has been writing about everything from Buzzworthy fave Nneka to the New York graffiti she finds inspiring.

+ Radiohead -- Radiohead.com/deadairspace
Radiohead's connection with their fans has served them well over the years. And one of the tools of that connection is their long-running Dead Air Space blog. The members of Radiohead take turns blogging playlists, plus there's Thom Yorke's sociopolitical musings and Jonny Greenwood extolling the virtues of the video game Red Dead Revolver.

+ Tegan And Sara -- TeganAndSara.com
While there's nothing out of the ordinary about Tegan And Sara's blog--it features the usual show announcements, photos and general tidbits of news -- it's one of the better written musician blogs out there.

+ Honorable Mentions: Courtney Love recently began fashion blogging at What Courtney Wore Today (this will surely be entertaining), Lil Wayne's defunct but awesome sports blogging for ESPN and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino's new blog that will review showers across the world (amazingly called Get Clean Or Die Trying).

Tags Best Coast, Bethany Cosentino, Courtney Love, Drake, Jonny Greenwood, justin bieber, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Lourdes Ciccone, Madonna, Nneka, Radiohead, Tegan & Sara, Thom Yorke

MTV's PUSH Artist of the Week is the inimitable, intoxicating La Roux. You're probably already familiar with the twosome's severe beauty and alluring, infectious electro-pop. But now it's time to get to know singer-songwriter Elly Jackson a little more intimately, with these fascinating interview clips.

In the videos below, Elly Jackson talks about being the face (and voice) of La Roux (which, in the studio, functions as the duo of Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid), the history behind her increasingly famous and always fabulous hair, some of her celeb sightings (Jennifer Lopez!) and her biggest musical influences (Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie).

So buckle up for a four-pack of La Roux greatness.

Tags David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, La Roux, Michael Jackson, MTV Push: La Roux, Prince, PUSH, video

Trey Songz, sex inventor. Nicki Minaj, Harajuku Barbie. A duet between the two. It's getting hot in herre (aaaaaand shout out to my 2002 Nelly reference).

The aforementioned inventor of coitus, perhaps feeling the burden of such a title, has adopted a new moniker for himself: "Mr. Steal Your Girl." And when Trey Songz isn't booty-snatching/robbing people of their significant others, he's making lithe, cocky R&B, like this track, "Bottoms Up," taken from his forthcoming album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure.

Much like Trey's earlier ditty, "Say Aah," this one is about the joys of enjoying a frosty beverage at the nightclub of your choosing. It's got a real R. Kelly vibe to it, which will probably annoy Trey to read (assuming he's reading ... what up, Trey!) since Songz has had a checkered past with The Closet Man.

Nicki Minaj has an unquenchable thirst on this track, ticking off a bar's worth of cocktails in her inimitable baby-talk flow.

It's happy hour, folks. Check out "Bottoms Up" as well as Trey's "Say Aah" video, all below. And watch Trey Songz's "MTV Unplugged" performances here.

+ Listen to Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj, "Bottoms Up," here. WARNING: NSFW LANGUAGE

Tags Nelly, Nicki Minaj, R.-Kelly, Song You Need To Know, Trey Songz, video

It's been a while since we had an honest to goodness, choreographed dance move performing, multipart harmony singing, tabloid headline-making girl group to feast our eyes and ears on. Well, the wait is over, folks. Meet The Saturdays.

This five-gal, Irish/English combi has been taking the U.K. by storm with their slick-pop sound and chic look for more than a year, and now they're planning an invasion of these shores. Their sound won't be unfamiliar to those who count themselves as Danity Kane fans; it's well-executed, sugar-rush R&B/dance-pop.

When The Saturdays -- Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman -- aren't making news with their music, they're making it some other way. The group have become a favorite beat for the notorious Brit tabloids. A recent story documented the Sandford's "upstaging" (shock! horror!) of her bandmates at a recent concert.

After releasing two albums already, The Saturdays are making their sound even more U.S.-friendly by employing the talents of Ne-Yo and Jason Derulo on their upcoming album, Headlines. You can hear a bunch of The Saturdays' music at their MySpace page, and check out the first single and video from that album, "Missing You," below. Headlines is out in August.

Tags Danity Kane, Jason DeRulo, Ne-Yo, The Saturdays, video

+ M.I.A. has finally succumbed to Bieber Fever and pledged her love to the "Baby" singer. (MTV News)

+ Ashley Greene held her own against Tracy Morgan last night, presenting an award at The ESPYS with the comedian. Check out what she wore. (JustJaredJr)

+ Carrie Underwood's wedding was also something of an "American Idol" reunion. (PopEater)

+ Check out some sneak peek pics of Christina Aguilera's upcoming "You Lost Me" video. (Idolator)

+ Enrique Iglesias is going to water ski naked through the Biscayne Bay to fulfill a World Cup bet he made. (TheFabLife)

+ Check out M.I.A. talking Justin Bieber below

Tags American Idol, Ashley Greene, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, justin bieber, M.I.A., Tracy Morgan, video

Here we have a nice little Star Spotting featuring two of America's sweethearts: Demi Lovato and soccer star Landon Donovan. The photo was snapped late last week at a Dodgers game where Donovan was being celebrated for his World Cup performance and Demi Lovato, who recently bought herself a fancy diamond ring, was singing the National Anthem.

Only one person really brought their style A-game to the event. Landon, probably still a bit jet-lagged from his South African adventure, rocked a Dodgers jersey over jeans:

While Demi kept it really classy with a black dress, heels (on grass and dirt!) and a mini-leather-jacket.

You know the old saying: you can take the boy of the soccer field... but if you put him on a different athletic field he will dress like he belongs. Trust me, it's a very famous saying.

Check out Demi's "Remember December" video below.

Tags Demi Lovato, Landon Donovan, Star Spotting, video

When you're Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, composer and performer of the music that follows the citizens of this world through their daily lives whether they like it or not, you can pretty much wear whatever you want.

So if Will.i.am wanted to jump out of a boat and hit Club 55 in St. Tropez wearing a romper and a bonnet, screaming "BOOM, BOOM, POW," people would just have to deal. And if he wants to hit the same beachside club rocking navy blue socks and a chain mail man-purse, then we're not in any position to stop him.

I mean, that's just sheer bravery. That's having the courage of your convictions. That's someone who thinks to himself, "I got a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night, regardless of my socks and murse combo."

Maybe this is simply the look of a man who's made millions upon millions of dollars touring this summer. Regardless, let's just applaud Will.i.am's fearless style.

Tags Black Eyed Peas, Buzzworthy Style Files, Star Spotting, video, wi, Will.i.Am