I could never package 20-year-old Esmee Denters as a charity case -- if Justin Timberlake signs you as his record label's flagship artist and touts you left and right, you've got your foot in the door -- yet my initial reaction to Esmee's "Outta Here" was, Is she scared? Having watched the video several times (I have my rewind-worthy segments, but we'll get to that), I've felt instead a vulnerability and a guilelessness in Esmee that makes me totally root for her -- even if she doesn't need me to.

If you'd like a little back story before joining up with Team Esmee, well, she's from Oosterbeek (sorry that's just fun to say), The Netherlands, and she's one of them YouTube phenoms the kids like to talk about. Esmee became somewhat of a viral giant from her bedroom thanks to her effortless covers of Mariah Carey, Brandy and, in particular, Justin Timberlake. JT took notice, signed Esmee to Tennman Records and produced, along with Polow da Don, her debut track "Outta Here."

There's a lot to like about the "Outta Here" video, which you can watch below: First off, I know it's a staple, but I love the wind machine on the dance floor; really, all dance floors should have wind machines. Also, Esmee's crumbled poses and her pained, sleepy eyes actually enhance the song's effects -- it's not a break-up track; it's a downward spiral track -- but then it's cut with Polow's beats, which make it totally listen-able.

"Outta Here"'s pretty major in The Netherlands right now, but, as we all know, I'm rooting for Esmee -- and she needs to get her footing Stateside!

+ Looks like Brandy is making her way back to sitcom land with a new show on ABC called This Little Piggy. We've been racking our brains trying to figure out how the title of the show relates to the storyline, but all we keep picturing in our head is Christina Ricci in Penelope. Is that bad? (SingersRoom)

+ Ok. This has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but let's be honest. We can't pass up a brand-new, ree-DIC-ulously H-O-T picture of David Beckham. "I can't DO it Captain. I don't have the POWER!" (PopBytes)

+ Rihanna's May 28th concert in Dubai will be her first performance since she accidentally ran into Chris Brown's fist. Do you think she can headline her own concert for 25,000 people? (E! Online)

+ While Britney's out on tour desperately trying to make money so her cash-hogging daddy can spend it all keeping her locked down, strange women dressed in camo are sneaking around her property and getting arrested. Wait for the mugshot -- it's soooooooo worth it. (Pop On The Pop)

+ On a side note, maybe if Britney wasn't worried about crazy women sneaking around her property, she could have made a more focused effort to beat Ashton Kutcher and CNN to 1 million followers on Twitter. It's okay Brit -- you'll always have Sacramento -- we mean San Jose! (CNN)

+ And speaking of all this Twitter bizniss, FINALLY! The JoBros are FINALLY getting the hang of updating their Twitter account. (Buzzworthy -- that's us!)

+ Hmm... is this Beyonce's way to fill up an arena, or is she just a sellout? (NME)

+ Lily Allen (aka "fat" Katy Perry) is, perhaps, a little jealous of all the attention Britney Spears' #1 single "Womanizer" seems to be getting.  So, what better way to steal some of the Pop Princess's thunder than to do a remake!  Of Britney's two month old song!  What the ... ? (Evil Beet)

+ Speaking of Katy Perry, she's very, very, very sorry for calling Lily Allen fat ... she meant "pleasantly plump." (Pop on the Pop)

+ Who was naughty and who was nice at New York radio station Z-100's annual Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on Friday night?  By our count: Rihanna and Chris Brown = def naughty (treating the crowd to some playful PDA). Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Lady GaGa, Brandy and Leona Lewis = def nice (that is, if "nice" means not making out with anyone else on stage during their performance). (Celebuzz)

+ Kanye West was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Some people ... uhm ... wish that he wasn't. (D Listed)

+ In case you're keeping track, here's our up-to-the-moment status on bump watch '08: Avril Lavigne = not preggo. Janet Jackson = maybe preggo. Mariah Carey = *probably* though no confirmations yet preggo. (Jewssip)

+ It's a Christmas miracle! Guy Ritchie and Madonna decided to make nice-y with each other so the whole fam could be together for the holidays. Guess A-Rod's stuck lightin' the menorah on his own now. Oy. (Jezebel)

+ Diddy helped Jamie Foxx celebrate his 41st birthday on Saturday night at TAO in Las Vegas.  No word on whether or not he was wearing his new cologne I Am King ... you know, the one that was inspired by his own breath? (Rap-Up)

+ Nicole Richie is apparently hard at work on a new album, and she's bringing in Rihanna and Kelly Osbourne to collab.  Guess Paris was too busy with her new BFF. (Perez Hilton)

+ Here's an evil collection of songs that will mos def get stuck in your head (S-O-R-R-Y!) (Buzzfeed)

(Credit: Gregg Delman)

We already told you we've been down with Brandy since the days when she was sittin' up in her room, dating B-baller Kobe Bryant and challenging Monica to an angry duet-slash-duel over some playa who was probably out two-timing (three-timing?) them both. And while we seriously regret our self-imposed Brandy hiatus, we've since reformed our ways by giving her new album, Human, a listen -- and FYI, we love, love, LOVED it.

Turns out, Brandy's still got the same ability to rock a mic, the same wispy, little-girl voice and the same ability to get her sticky-as-superglue songs stuck in our head all frickin' day. Head over to MTV.com's The Leak to check out the record Brandy calls "my most personal album to date," and keep your ears peeled for already-released singles like "Right Here (Departed)" and hot new tracks like "Fall," (a collab with Natasha Bedingfield!)

Also? We STILL can't believe Audrina Patridge slipped out in the middle of Brandy's studio sesh on The Hills this season! Hmm, it's almost like she was too busy thinking about Justin Bobby (a.k.a. her commitment-phobic sometimes-boyfriend) to pay attention to "Long Distance" (a.k.a. Brandy's song about totally impossible relationships). Crazy, huh??

+ Ashlee Simpson has finally given birth to the world's first Fall Out baby Boy: Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Yeeesh, and Johnny Cash thought "Sue" was rough! (MTV News)

+ Brandy is sorry she purposely lied about her marriage and accidentally ran over a lady with her car. (Usmagazine.com)

+ This just in! Michael Jackson has reportedly converted to Islam and changed his name to "Mikaeel," thereby inspiring the best newspaper headline ever: "The Way You Mecca Me Feel." (The Sun - UK)

+ Is Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy "too artsy and overproduced?" And if so, does this mean you won't be buying/illegally downloading it? (MTV News)

+ Madonna and Guy Ritchie's marriage may not be intact -- in fact, their divorce was finalized yesterday! -- but Madge's estimate $450 million fortune is. Despite the nonexistent pre-nup, Ritchie reportedly wants none of the Material Girl's material wealth. (Gawker)

+ Meanwhile, all this talk about divorce must've made Madonna a wee bit nostalgic! Earlier this week, she grabbed drinks with her first ex-husband, Sean Penn. (Page Six)

+ Taylor Swift's a little bit country, a little bit rock n' roll. And a lot successful. (The Boot)

+ Is Danity Kane castoff Aubrey O'Day on the verge of getting her own spinoff? (Remote Control)

+ Kanye West's new album, 808s & Heartbreak, doesn't hit stores til Monday, but it'll be up on his MySpace as of midnight tonight! Have a listen, won't you? (Kanye's MySpace)

(Credit: Gregg Delman)

True confession time: I haven't paid a ton of attention to Brandy since the "The Boy Is Mine" -- her 1998 dueling duet with Monica. And allow me to tangent for a second and declare that aside from Elton John and George Michael's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me," Warren G and Nate Dogg's "Regulate," and Mariah Carey and Jay-Z's "Heartbreaker," "The Boy Is Mine" is one of the finest duets of the 1990s.

Anyway, shame on me for sleeping on Brandy, because she's hilarious, has a passion for Skittles akin to that of Tokio Hotel's most hardcore fans, and is as addicted to "World of Warcraft" as your ex-boyfriend. For realsies.

Watch this exclusive MTV interview with Brandy to find out more about her upcoming album, Human, out December 9, check out some brand-new photos of the model-turned-singer-turned-gamer -- and watch her latest video, "Right Here (Departed)," after the jump.

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+ A toy company has just introduced the Katy Perry doll! Sadly, critics lament that the foxy figurine (designed by Jason Wu and priced at a semi-affordable $49.99) "looks nothing like Katy Perry, or even Zooey Deschanel." (Rolling Stone)

+ Janet Jackson was hospitalized yesterday due to "unspecified causes." Jackson, who is currently in Montreal on her RockWitchu tour, "got suddenly ill during the sound check" and had to be rushed to the hospital. (MTV News)

+ Meanwhile, DJ AM and Travis Barker are both out of the hospital and on the road to recovery. Yesterday, AM attended a memorial service for his friend -- and fellow plane crash victim -- Chris Baker. (Usmagazine.com)

+ Britney Spears unveils plans for an "around the world" tour in 2009! Better reserve your seats now. (PopCrunch)

+ Pink reveals the scents that make her wanna get frisky: "diesel fuel" and "canine." Yep, nothing says "aphrodisiac" quite like the intoxicating aroma of tractor exhaust...with a hint of dog poo. (Scandalist)

+ Apparently, 50 Cent isn't satisfied with being just a top MC and a Vitamin Water mogul. The rapper has a new song on his website outlining his latest career aspiration: "50 Cent for President." (MTV News)

+ Good thing Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins isn't the jealous type. The super-producer is all about Brandy's new album -- and totally over that LP she dropped with his work nemesis, Timbaland. (Rap-Up)

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.

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We just finished watching "Gifts," the latest non-pornographic video release from Ray J, and we gotta say, it's no "Sexy Can I." Well, that's not exactly true. It sounds an awful lot like "Sexy Can I" (the melodies are, in fact, frighteningly similar) except instead of the flashy, orange sports cars and bottles of Cris, it's basically just Ray J rolling around on his duvet. That said, the song's still slightly stuck in our head, and we enjoyed watching Brandy's pot-smoking little bro do the two-step while hammering home "gifts" as a vague metaphor for ass and bedroom prowess.

+ According to Jay-Z, Kanye West might actually be as awesome as he thinks he is. (MTV)

+ T.I. shows us that his knowledge of all things fashion extends well beyond the realm of orange prison jumpsuits. (MTV)

+ New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits. As of now, however, "Summertime" isn't one of them. (Idolator)

+ According to Ron Sexsmith, rumors of Feist writing "Brandy Alexander" by herself are greatly exaggerated. (Stereogum)

+ Coldplay admits their upcoming new video could be a "disaster." (NME)

+ After a couple years of no spontaneous name-changes, Diddy decides to revert back to being "Puff Daddy." (Usmagazine.com)

+ And finally, a new leaked video shows Amy Winehouse and a friend singing "a racist version of 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'" (???????) and pleasuring her husband. Unfortunately. (NYDN)