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  1. Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.

    Contact us as buzzworthy@mtv.com and follow us on Twitter at @MTVBuzzworthy.

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The 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards are happening now in New York City -- a mash-up of music's famous faces, and on-point performances. And we're liveblogging it all on the MTV Buzzworthy blog. Stay here for the backstage, birdseye, and middle-of-it-all 2009 mtvU Woodies report. And watch the 2009 mtvU Woodies Friday, December 4, at 10 p.m. ET on mtvU, MTV, MTV2, and Palladia.

10:51pm -- We're off to the after party, see ya, it's been a blast! For more Woodies gossip, party reports and general madness check in with Buzzworthy tomorrow or check out highlights from the show on the Woodies site right now. We have tons of photos, red-carpet looks, rehearsal performances (some of which you saw here earlier today) and more. PEACE!

10:23pm -- Matt & Kim can't go anywhere without throngs of admirers following them. They're pretty much the Brangelina of the Woodies. Except they don't own several kids and possibly hate each other.

10:14pm --  is swaying along to "Treat Me Like Your Mother." Jack White looks like a cross between a pissed-off vampire and The Crow. In a way that works, though.

10:09pm -- is taking the Woodies to the church of bad news on all-white instruments. Allison Mosshart's on a square guitar, and I'm pretty sure it's got the devil inside.

10:04pm --Mary-Louise Parker drops an eff-bomb while intro-ing the Dead Weather! RAWK!!!!!!

10:02pm -- and Kim (of Matt & Kim) are exchanging phone numbers on the floor, David Cross is catching up with Matt Pinfield, and and , present, and they're each dressed totally future-forward. They're dropping Woodie of the Year.

9:51pm -- Jamie Tworkowski wins the Good Woodie for To Write Love On Her Arms, and dedicates the award to people battling depression and drug addiction.

9:43pm -- drops some knowledge on the Clipse. The vibe is straight-up old-school -- no tricks, no autotune, no stunts. Just hype hip-hop. And , bossin' behind shades, centerstage. Appropriately the crowd is dancing on barstools.

9:37pm -- The men of are launching tiny burgers into each other's mouths and ordering extra whiskey shots. A saucer-eyed, autotuned Janelle Monae intros the Clipse as the crowd yells out "You're beautiful!"

9:33pm -- Matt & Kim win Video Of The Year, and as their friends in the crowd toss their drink about 40 feet in the air, M&K bypass the stairs, crawl on top of the crowd, and rush the stage. They accept the award, thank pretty much everyone in one swoop, and Kim takes another dive off the stage.

9:27pm -- Death Cab just performed meet "Meet Me On The Equinox" to a mesmerized crowd but pretty much got the U2 reception when they did "Sound of Settling"

9:23pm -- MTV alumni Jon Norris and Matt Pinfield are catching up on the floor.

9:18pm -- David Cross has crown shoved into his pocket, and he's telling a Tom Cruise Scientology joke, for those of you who don't know what Dianetics is.

9:12pm -- Overheard, P.O.S telling someone "I just hope I looked cool," after someone congratulated him on his performance.

9:10pm -- P.O.S.just rapped over live flipcup percussion.

9:06pm -- Asher Roth gives out the Best Performing Woodie to Green Day. They're not here to accept so Asher stagedives instead.

9:04pm -- I'm down on the floor where all of the talent's seated, not at tables but at dozens of narrow glittery bars. There's a 1:2 ratio of kegs to celeb bar, and Oh The Story has their own personal shot waiter. Wisely, one member of Oh The Story cut himself off and ordered a diet coke.

9:00pm -- A production assistant carrying the next Woodie just rushed the award backstage.

8:59pm -- David Cross and the Clipse are having a heart-to-heart. Intense!

8:57pm -- Just walked by David Cross, who's dressed like he's going to a Superbowl party.

8:55pm --  gives out the Best Music On Campus Woodie -- an award she promises will lead to getting laid more -- to an ecstatic Hotel Of The Laughing Tree whose friends are freaking out on the floor behind me.

8:46pm -- Amber Tamblyn intros via Twitter. Passion Pit is clearly a crowd favorite -- we've got people on top of people's shoulders, air drumming (like the Rush scene in "I Love You, Man," but far far cooler...)

8:42pm -- 3Oh3! is presenting the Left Field Woodie... DRESSED AS LADY GAGA AT THE VMAS!!!! The red dress and the white bird's nest mask thing! Reference was made to soiled panties! :O  wins it and makes a Woodie joke and drops a KRS-One lyric!!!

8:28pm -- Never Shout Never has the shortest acceptance speech ever: "Power to the people!" Talks least, says most!

8:26pm -- Zooey Deschanel, darling as always in a darling dress, cracked a joke about not taking off her clothes as they swept up Matt & Kim's castoffs. She's presenting the Breaking Woodie Award, which goes to Never Shout Never!

8:23pm -- Pete Wentz, red solo cup in hand, is going rogue. Give that guy a mic and he'll take a mile. He just cracked a swine flu joke and dropped the "douchebag" bomb as he kicked off the 2009 Woodies!

8:21pm -- How'd do you get to college parties? BIKE there! Matt & Kim just biked here from Brooklyn straight into the lobby of the Woodies. They brought some friends who aren't just singing backup, they're stripping down to their skivvies for lessons learned. Undies party!!! Extra points to Kim -- she jumped up onto the drumkit and WALKED ON TOP of the crowd!!!!

8:15pm -- Jack White and the didn't walk the red carpet -- they basically ran it. Jack White needs a role in "Eclipse." Dude is whiter than a natural-born Cullen.

8:10pm -- Never Shout Never's Christofer Drew wins Best Dressed at the Woodies. Hands down. That Mickey Mouse sweater deserves its own award.

8:03pm -- Woah... just ran down the red carpet! No sign of ...

8:01pm -- What's a college party without flipcup! The mtvU Woodies have their very own flipcup game going on at one of the bars. , just took aim. Isn't that how you get swine flu?

6:58pm -- The red carpet is under way, and I just caught up with breaking band Sparks The Rescue, who informed me that votes aliens are the new vampires.

Apologies in advance for the bad food analogy I'm about to make. Clearly I'm bitter about the free bag of generic popcorn I just inhaled for lunch (with "insert brand name of prescription drug you can't pronounce" printed on the bag). Anyway, you could kind of liken the Florida music scene to a Cracker Barrel menu. Don't get me wrong: I am ALL for some Hickory Smoked Honey Glazed Ham (Backstreet Boys) and cheese grits (Matchbox Twenty).  And who knows? Maybe I want to wash down my chicken 'n dumplings (2 Live Crew) with some box wine (Dashboard Confessional).  But Miami synth-rock/electro-pop act Awesome New Republic seems to have just the right amount of pop amazingness without sounding trite (think the electronic bits and driving beats of Miike Snow blended with the psychedelic sweetness of Passion Pit).

Earlier this year, Awesome New Republic -- John Hancock, Brian Robertson, and newly-added-for-tour Jorge Rubiera -- had a Perez Hilton pop moment when P'rezzers posted a Leighton Meester cover of their track "Birthday." Side note: Leighton seems to have a knack for hanging with the boys (not that way, pervtown), as evidenced by this summer's smash Cobra Starship collabo "Good Girls Go Bad" to the literally just-released video "Somebody To Love," featuring Robin Thicke.

Now, with their brand-new album Hearts, just released on October 27th, and their song "Magic City" (from the previously released EP Rational Geographic Vol. 1) appropriately featured in tomorrow's Miami-bound episode of The City, Awesome New Republic just might be the best band you've never heard of. You're welcome.

It's hard to believe that even slithering around in leathers and feathers and barely-there body suits, Leighton Meester still can't find someone to love up on her hotness. Seriously, what hope do the rest of us have if no one's loving Leighton?

Watch Leighton Meester's new video, "Somebody To Love," directed by Zoe Cassavetes. Leighton's video is so high-fashion it practically makes the Gossip Girl wardrobe closet look like a Kmart dressing room. Oh, and PS: "Somebody to Love" features Robin Thicke, who adds sultriness to Leighton's smolder.

Aside from the fact that tonight's VMAs will feature stage performances from some of the sickest artists in the universe, we online folk are giving you a birds-eye-view of everything goin' down inside, outside and all around Radio City -- and that includes the backstage chaos, red carpet glamour and all of those private celeb convos taking place at the water cooler open bar. (Uh, helloooo best buds Steve-O and Al Gore!?)

So check out the live streaming VIP View (the stahhhs are already rolling in!) while you take in all the amazingness of the main event, and while you're on the homepage, get a peek at what everyone's saying on Facebook and Twitter. (Don't be shy to post your own comments, predictions, professions of love for the JoBros, whatevs.) And as always, stay tuned to Buzzworthy throughout the evening -- we'll be bringin' you in-depth interviews with all the beautiful people and MUCH much more!

The MTV VMAs go big before they even start. That means over-the-top outfits, and arrivals so big that the VMAs might as well be called the VBAs for Very Big Arrivals. It's the VMAs. You don't have your dad drop you off in his crappy Buick banger. Case in point: At the 2008 VMAs, Tokio Hotel rolled up to the red carpet in a larger-than-life monster truck tricked out with their faces on it. And T-Pain rode an elephant to the red carpet.

This year's VMA red carpet, located right outside of Radio City Music Hall, will get hit with tons of all-star action and over-the-top arrivals in the form of live animals and extremely noisy modes of transportation. See if you can guess which VMA artists might be arriving at the red carpet via the following vehicles.

Your choices are:

+ Taylor Swift
+ Pink
+ Leighton Meester
+ The All-American Rejects

And...
+ Fire truck
+ Horse and carriage
+ Parade float
+ Jaguar Convertible

Watch the VMA Preshow at 8pm tonight to catch all of the VMAs' Very Big Arrivals! Plus, watch the VMA red carpet live, and get more secrets of the 2009 VMAs!

+ We're having (slightly nightmarish) flashbacks to our uber-Christian, ultra-conservative childhood after stumbling upon this gem, a duet with gospel group Mary Mary and R&B songmaster Ne-Yo. (Rap-Up)

+ Celebrity Twitter fights are fun for the whole family, especially when they're brought to you by parenting gurus Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler. (Evil Beet Gossip)

+ If you haven't seen the VMA promos that MTV has been running for this year (the full-length West Side Story-themed ones that feature Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Cobra Starship, Leighton Meester, and Russell Brand all singing their own verses...) then stop what you're doing right now (unless you're searching YouTube looking for fan vids of Britney's performance last night at MSG like we've been doing all morning) and WATCH the full length version here!

+ Oh -- and how cute are Katy and Taylor having dinner together the other night in England?? (Socialite Life)

+ It was just announced today that Paula Abdul's first post-Idol gig will be hosting VH1 Divas later this month, which will star Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis and more. (Pop on the Pop)

+ And in case you missed yesterday's totally fun NYC scavenger hunt hosted by Britney via Twitter, check this out! (Perez Hilton)

+ File this one away in the "Whitney, what were you thinking?" category: Until the August 31 street release date, Whitney Houston is leaking her entire brand-new CD on, QVC.com??????

Never seen West Side Story? Seriously? Shame on you. But I'll wait to chastise you until after you've watched this brand-new MTV on-air spot that Cobra Starship filmed for the 2009 MTV VMAs. The new video features Cobra Starship -- and Leighton Meester -- reenacting West Side Story's "Tonight," a cinematic and theatrical behemoth.

The Cobra Starship VMA video was choreographed by Wade Robson (let that sink in for a minute...) and filmed at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn. The museum is completely underground, and the promo was shot in a vintage New York City subway car, which is why it looks a little like something out of Beat Street. My only complaint: Not enough Ryland. Apparently Courtney Love was on set too. (Let THAT sink in...)

Watch the Cobra Starship 2009 VMA promo video, and stay tuned for more videos featuring VMA performers and presenters.

+ See more photos of Cobra Starship from the set of their 2009 VMA video shoot after the jump.
Read more...

The bar has been RAISED and the stakes are now even higher as the list of 2009 MTV VMA performers grows bigger with today's mega announcement that hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and Pop Art princess Lady Gaga will perform!

Jay-Z and Lady Gaga join the already-majah roster of 2009 MTV VMA performers: Taylor Swift, Green Day, Pink, and Muse.

Jay-Z appearances aren't ubiquitous happenings -- He's not exactly a hermit, but he's not the kind of guy to show up to the opening of a door and pimp himself out to anyone who'll listen. Why? BECAUSE HE'S JAY-Z. HE DOESN'T HAVE TO. To say that Jay-Z's 2009 VMA performance is going to be the stuff of pop culture legend is like saying Madonna's arms are only somewhat bananas.

Now speaking of bananas, Lady Gaga, who's up for a MIND-REELING nine VMAs, will be busy that night, to say the least. Gaga also said that she's "simply gutted to be both a performer and nominee at the 2009 VMAs. In fact, I'm so happy, I could die." Hopefully Lady Gaga was speaking figuratively because she's got a BIG show to put on that night. And after she shot fire out of her breasts at the Much Music Awards in Canada this past June, we expect very big things of her VMA performance! She'd better crawl out of the mouth of a live camel or something. (JK, PETA.)

Also, AWKWARD alert -- she's up against Beyonce (MRS. Jay-Z!) for nine VMAs. Wonder if this will be awkwardsville backstage that night.

ALSO, just added to the growing list of 2009 VMA presenters are Nelly Furtado, Leighton Meester and iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove, who is so teensy and adorable.

+ See the full list of 2009 VMA nominees, and stay tuned for more VMA news!

Don't miss the 2009 VMAs live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sunday, September 13 at 9pm!

+ Jessica Simpson has landed her first magazine cover, post-breakup with Tony Romo. (Glamour)

+ Hey girl hey! Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester loves to wrap her lips around a foot long! (Skinny Girls, Big Sandwiches)

+ Wanna enter for a chance to win a VIP trip for two to L.A. to see Morningwood at Six Flags Magic Mountain? DO IT NOW! (LogoOnline)

+ Check out this interview Kid Cudi gave recently, talking 'shrooms and being more than just Kanye's little sidekick. (Complex)

+ Up-and-coming MC/pop songstress/crazywoman Amanda Blank is launching a coast-to-coast tour with Matt and Kim to close out the summer and support the launch of her new CD 'I Love You,' with dates from L.A. to D.C. (MySpace)

+ Brit Brit's back to her old tricks again, and by old tricks we mean Lindsay Lohan. The two were spotted partying into the wee morning hours at an L.A. hotspot last night. Come on now, girl -- we're almost rid of Daddy-o. Don't spoil it now!! (Life & Style Weekly)


The 2009 MTV VMA nominees are OUT! And sorry, Britney fans, but Lady Gaga and Beyonce are the big earners so far with NINE NOMINATIONS EACH for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It)," "Poker Face," and "Paparazzi" leaving Britney in the dust with a "paltry" seven nominations for "Womanizer."

Also, WTG, Drake! What up, dude. Hope that knee heals. He's up on the leaderboard with his first-ever nomination for Best New Artist!

Check out the 2009 VMAs categories below, and go vote!

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Britney Spears: "Womanizer"

BEST NEW ARTIST
3OH!3
Lady Gaga
Kid Cudi
Drake
Asher Roth

BEST MALE VIDEO
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Jay-Z: "D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)"
T.I. featuring Rihanna: "Live Your Life"
Ne-Yo: "Miss Independent"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Taylor Swift: "You Belong With Me"
Kelly Clarkson" "My Life Would Suck Without You"
Katy Perry: "Hot 'N Cold"
Pink: "So What"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West: "Love Lockdown"
Flo Rida: "Right Round"
Asher Roth: "I Love College"
Jay-Z: "D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune)"

BEST POP VIDEO
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Womanizer"
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester: "Good Girls Go Bad"
Lady Gaga: "Poker Face"
Wisin y Yandel: "Abusadora"

BEST ROCK VIDEO
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Kings Of Leon: "Use Somebody"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Fall Out Boy: "I Don't Care"
Paramore: "Decode"

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake: "Love Sex Magic"
AR Rahman & Pussy Cat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger: "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)"
Kristina DeBarge: "Goodbye"

BEST DIRECTION
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester: "Good Girls Go Bad"
Britney Spears: "Circus"

BEST EDITING
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Miley Cyrus: "7 Things"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Eminem: "We Made You"
Kanye West ft Mr. Hudson: "Paranoid"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"
Green Day: "21 Guns"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"

BEST ART DIRECTION
Beyoncé: "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)"
Britney Spears: "Circus"
Lady Gaga: "Paparazzi"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida"

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO
Death Cab For Cutie: "Grapevine Fires"
Gnarls Barkley: "Who’s Gonna Save My Soul"
Anjulie: "Boom"
Cold War Kids: "I've Seen Enough"
Chairlift: "Evident Utensil"
Bat For Lashes: "Daniel
Major Lazer: "Hold The Line"
Passion Pit: "The Reeling"
Matt & Kim: "Lessons Learned"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "Heads Will Roll"

BEST VIDEO (THAT SHOULD HAVE WON A MOONMAN)
U2: "Where The Streets Have No Name"
Dr Dre: "Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang"
Beastie Boys: "Sabotage"
Bjork: "Human Behavior"
Radiohead: "Karma Police"
George Michael: "Freedom"
Foo Fighters: "Everlong"
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: "Into The Great Wide Open"
OK Go: "Here It Goes Again"
David Lee Roth: "California Girls"