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If you haven't already heard, Lady Gaga released a country version of "Born This Way," which features an all-new verse:

"If we want it make it country, baby, it's okay/'cause I was born, I was born, I was born this way/from London, Paris, Japan, back to U.S.A./I was born on the road, I was born to be brave."

So in the original song, "Born This Way" was widely interpreted as a gay anthem, considering her shoutout to "gay, straight, or bi / lesbian, transgendered life" and the repeated mantra, "Don't be a drag, just be a queen"). Not only is the country version of "Born This Way" really fun, trading the synth echoes and thumping disco beats for harmonica interludes, electric guitar twang and down-tempo percussion, but it can easily be seen as an anthem for the good ol' U.S.A.

Perhaps Lady Gaga was just having fun when she released the song, which is primed for an old-fashioned hoedown. But maybe she was also trying to prove a point by saying that pride extends beyond all different walks of life, from gay youth crusading against intolerance to country music fans.

Sure, Gaga was born and bred in the middle of liberal metropolis New York City, but it's nice to see that she can go out on a limb and turn a gay anthem into a source of pride for the same people who may feel ostracized for their taste, background and location. Why should anyone feel weird about loving two ladies: Gaga and Antebellum? This is America, dammit, land of the free, home of the brave! Raise your iPods and rejoice, for we are one people, and our beloved forefathers would argue that, yes, we were born this way.

Tags Lady Gaga, We Have To Say Something

Seventeen-year-old singer-songwriter Trevor Dahl, who records as Plug In Stereo, made a gutsy move dropping out of high school to pursue a career in music, but it looks like all his hard work is paying off. The Portland, Oregon, native wrote his first song in the sixth grade, but it was only recently that Dahl began posting demos, finished tracks and EPs online. (We're partial to Mixtape, Vol. 1, an EP covering songs by Kid Cudi, New Boyz and B.O.B., among others.)

2011 has already been the biggest year of Dahl's career. Even before his debut album, Nothing To Something, is released April 12, the bushy-haired songwriter -- dude's got some crazy curls -- was recently nominated for Best Video on mtvU's The Freshmen and is preparing to go out on the Glamour Kills tour with The Ready Set, Allstar Weekend and The Downtown Fiction. Not bad for someone who can't even vote yet.

The video for his first single, "Oh Darling," featuring singer Cady Groves, is a stop-motion walk around the city for Dahl, who explained the concept of the video to mtvU: "I think this video highlights the whole process of creating a love song," Dahl says. "From sitting alone in your apartment writing lyrics, to meeting, to telling your friends about your newfound interest, to spending all your time thinking about that particular person."

Watch Plug In Stereo's "Oh Darling" video and his nostalgia-filled track "But I Can't" below.

Related Content JSYK Talks With Plug In Stereo

Tags Plug In Stereo, The Buzz On, video

(Credit: Usmagazine.com)

Listen, we're all for fitness. But let's be real with each other. We think the puzzling thing about Justin Bieber's workout situation is that he even HAS to work out. Isn't it, like, a universal truth that teenaged boys burn more calories, like, watching TV than most people do running a 10K?

(Credit: Usmagazine.com)

We mean... really. First the haircut, then the mustache "news," and now we have to deal with the fact that Justin Bieber is evidently slimming down? We're pretty sure his 17-year-old constitution will yield major results just by his changing one modicum of his diet, like switching from drinking heavy cream to whole milk instead.

(Credit: Usmagazine.com)

Or perhaps Bieber's looking to bulk up? Is the "One Less Lonely Girl" singer looking to wow Selena Gomez with his rock-hard biceps? Seen here in UsMagazine.com, with his trainer Dolvett Quince, he seems committed to weight and strength training. Word on the street is that this dude's packing a six-pack.

Belieb it! Bieber's buffing up. Next thing you know, he's gonna look like The Rock. What do you think? Are you psyched for Justin Bieber to unveil a new bod for summer? Or would you prefer that he stay as-is? Weigh in (ha!) in the comments.

Tags justin bieber, We Have To Say Something

Some might argue that you can credit Lady Gaga with the new photo stills from Katy Perry's upcoming video for "E.T." (featuring Kanye West). From what we can tell, in the photo stills from her "E.T." video, Katy is putting her paws up, Gaga-style, and adopting a sort of intergalactic look reminiscent of Mother Monster's in the video for "Born This Way."

A blatant departure from her Mayor Of Candyland pastiche (mmm, pastiche pistachio!), it appears Katy is doing what Gaga knows best: going weird. Maybe it was when Gaga clawed her way out of a bathtub with gigantic eyes in the video for "Bad Romance," or when she contracted a case of protruding, angular horns in "Born This Way," (and in virtually all appearances since then), but whatever the case, Katy Perry has definitely taken note, if these pictures are any indication.

Maybe Katy thinks that the sweet-toothed pin-up look has been exhausted, or maybe she just wanted to try something new, but given the neon veins, feline pupils, and Medusa-style braids atop her pretty head, Katy Perry is definitely embracing a new, extraterrestrial look (appropriate, considering the song is called "E.T."), similar to Lady Gaga, who, incidentally, sleeps in an egg chamber now.

+ See more photos of Katy Perry as an "E.T.," and watch a teaser of the video, which premieres Thursday, March 31, after the jump.

Read more...

Tags Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Star Spotting, video

(Credit: FilmMagic)

+ Lady Gaga released the "Country Road Version" of "Born This Way" on Twitter this morning. A little less dance club, a little more harmonica, y'all. Yeeee-haw. (@ladygaga)

+ Check out another one of Britney Spears' Femme Fatale promotional images, revealed via Facebook yesterday. Big surprise -- it's kinda perfect. (ONTD)

+ Despite his recent troubles, Chris Brown isn't slowing down. The singer guest stars in Keri Hilson's new video "One Night Stand." (Neon Limelight)

+ The '90s called...and told Limp Bizkit we missed them. The band's new album Gold Cobra, the follow-up to 2003's Results May Vary, is due out this summer. (NME)

+ Wiz Khalifa always knew his name would be a big deal -- that's why he got it tattooed on him when he was only 17. (MTV News)

+ Rihanna proves yet again that she's the most photogenic woman on Earth. Check her out on the cover of Fabulous magazine. (Buzznet)

+ Only Katy Perry could make alien-chic look good. The singer looks flawless in new photos from the set of her upcoming "E.T." video. (Idolator)

Tags Britney Spears, Buzz Bites, Chris Brown, Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, Lady Gaga, Limp Bizkit, Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa

As part of MTV's Indie Music Month, we're premiering videos from some of the most exciting artists in the indie music scene. Today, Italian electro/house DJ and producer Benny Benassi teams up with British pop singer Gary Go to bring you to the "Cinema."

In the futuristic, sci-fi-themed video that's either an homage or rip-off of Kathryn Bigelow's 1995 dystopian film Strange Days, the duo, along with fellow Benassi Brother Alle, relives their most cherished memories via a virtual reality helmet. Remember those? Watch as the pair reminisce about their recent charity work micro-financing third-world villages. Kidding. It's just about getting laid.

"Cinema" is taken from Benassi's upcoming fifth full-length album, Spaceship, to be released later this year.

+ Watch Benny Benassi's "Cinema" video, featuring Gary Go.

Related Content Watch MTV's Indie Music Month Videos, The Buzz On: Gary Go

Tags Benny Benassi, Gary Go, Indie Music Month, video

(Credit: Getty Images)

Who would've guessed that award-winning country-pop crossover superstar Taylor Swift went antiquing, of all things? Considering that she's only a year above the drinking law stateside, it's a little puzzling to see the leggy 22-year-old going shopping at an antique store in London because, y'know, that's, like, Mom's thing. Or your gay uncle's thing.

Granted, we know Taylor Swift has a flair for interior design... and can shop wherever she damn well pleases, given the circumstances, but catching her exiting a shop that looks like it was tailor-made (get it?!) for old English ladies who just need "one more embroidered throw pillow to make the flat look bloody fantastic" (that's how they talk over there) is both jarring and, well, actually kind of cute.

Because even as we poke fun at antiquing (as Taylor pops her head into a store that probably sells way too many crocheted things), it's refreshing to see a young starlet make a left turn from only going couture, instead opting for something a little more old-timey. Musty and Victorian, even!

As long as she doesn't start wearing orthopedic shoes, we think Taylor's making all the right choices.

Related Content 5 Things Taylor Swift Should Obsess Over Instead Of Boys, Watch Taylor Swift Videos

Tags Star Spotting, Taylor Swift

(Credit: Brian Appio/MTV)

We were already fans of The Ready Set here, but we have to let you in on why we're even bigger fans now. We just discovered that Jordan Witzigreuter has a Twitter account... FOR HIS CAT. And he probably has more followers than you.

(Credit: @wallacethecat)

Wallace (@wallacethecat), seen here in the ballin'-est cat pic to ever hit the Internet, tweets from the comfort of "Jordan's house," as listed on his Twitter bio. (Hint: It's actually Jordan and his bandmates, but let's just pretend, OK?!) "I am the Casanova of cats," Wallace reveals. "I shed a lot and I want to eat your food. I also like to open-hand punch. No opposable thumbs."

What does Wallace tweet about, you ask? Oh, just regular cat stuff:

+ "Anyone need cat advice, hit me up!"

+ "Dear stupid-flying-bug-thing, don't toy with me. I can go from paws to claws in NO TIME!"

+ "Trying to find some pajama jeans so I can look super fly when I sleep too."

Cat advice? PAJAMA JEANS?! We are IN LOVE with Wallace. But that may or may not have something to do with our enormous disturbing tiny obsession with cats here at Buzzworthy... OK, fine -- we love cats! Leave us alone!

Follow The Ready Set on Twitter at @thereadyset and become one of Wallace's 3,000+ followers at @wallacethecat.

Related Content Watch The Ready Set Videos, PHOTOS: The Best Cat Album Covers

Tags Cats, Jordan Witzigreuter, LOL, The Ready Set

(Credit: FilmMagic)

Chicago punk outfit Rise Against has never shied away from being confrontational or tackling current events. For their video for "Help Is On The Way," off their new album, Endgame, Rise Against offers their take on Hurricane Katrina, putting aside politics and focusing on the human element of the natural disaster and government response.

Along with acclaimed director Alan Ferguson, Rise Against -- who took themselves out of the video to focus instead on the story -- traveled to New Orleans to re-create the onslaught and aftermath of the deadly hurricane and filmed, according to a message posted to their Facebook, "a dramatic and compelling narrative of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a family."

Natural disasters unfortunately have a tendency to fade in people's minds over time, especially if they weren't directly affected, so it's good to see bands like Rise Against remind us that there are still people dealing with the effects of Katrina to this day.

+ Watch Rise Against's "Help Is On The Way" video.

Related Content Watch Rise Against Interviews

Tags Rise Against, video

(Credit: Getty)

Yesterday, Russell Simmons took to his site, GlobalGrind.com, to voice his feelings and opinions about Chris Brown's recent outburst. The hip-hop mogul sat down for an exclusive chat with the R&B star, who is riding high on his the success of his new album, F.A.M.E., while also receiving backlash for his violent outburst on the set of "Good Morning America," where, this past Monday, following an interview in which Robin Roberts brought up his highly publicized abuse of Rihanna, Brown threw a tantrum backstage, tossing a chair into a window and storming into the streets of Times Square shirtless.

Russell Simmons summarized his opinions about Chris Brown's troubles by saying this:

"I know that this young man’s dancing, singing and art are his prayers. Without them, he’s left to deal with a cluttered world in a way that is far too complicated than he imagined when he was a 13-year-old kid with a dream of being famous...This is the freedom Chris knew as a child, but as he rose to fame, finding freedom became a lot more complicated. ...When fame snatches your freedom, the ability to control your own life becomes much more difficult.

Russell Simmons makes a salient point: Chris Brown has not seen normalcy in most of his life. He, like many young kids, dreamed of being famous. But unlike most, his dreams came true, as his voice, style and almost prodigal dancing abilities cemented his place as a young star in the spotlight. And with that success, Russell Simmons argued, comes the "loss of perspective inside happiness because the outside pulls you to work on the album’s marketing and promotion, the business deals, the corporate dinners, the groupies, the rest of the world." Needless to say, fame has gotten to Chris Brown. (His album name even spells "fame," which he uses an acronym for Forgiving All My Haters.)

One of the questions here is, at what point do we forgive? Considering the outpouring of support Chris Brown's fans have shown on Twitter and the fact that his album sits in the No. 1 spot on iTunes, for some, the process of forgiveness is definitely in full swing. The problem, it appears as though Chris Brown feels that enough time has passed that he shouldn't have to discuss that infamous night that led to a restraining order and his serving community service, a sentiment with which Russell agrees:

"Having lost control, some of these young artists, sometimes, do an unspeakable thing at a moment of time. And they pay the price. But...what’s not fair is artists paying the price of the sins in their young lives for the rest of their lives. Again, and again, and again. That’s just not fair. If we insisted on that there would be no art. There would be only shame; there would be no learning, no redemption, there would be no road for millions of fans to travel the journey of the artist to enlightenment.

So, do you agree with Russell Simmons? Is it unfair of us -- the fans -- to hold a grudge? At what point -- if any -- do we forgive those in the public eye for their actions? Weigh in in the comments, and tell us if you think Chris Brown is ready to be back in the spotlight.

Tags Chris Brown, Rihanna, Russell Simmons