+ Project Runway winner Christian Siriano just launched a new makeup line for Victoria's Secret Beauty and he wants to give you a downtown makeover, and not in the hot-tranny-mess way. (NYMag)

+ Kylie Minogue, touring North America next month, is looking (what'd you say, Christian?) fierce on the cover of Instinct magazine. (We Are Pop Slags)

+ Big Boi is coming out with another solo album, but Andre 3000 fans don't fret. Outkast will also release another album of crazy soon after. (AllHipHop)

+ Hip-hop power couple Ashanti and Nelly called it quits this week. Truly a sad day. Even more sad than Michael Jackson not being buried for the last two months, though that comes in at a close second. (Rap-Up)

+ Just another caaaaaasual travel day for Lady Gaga, wearing nothing more than a g-string onesie. Comfy and caaaasual. (Bossip)

+ Mariah Carey has covered Foreigner's "I Want To Know What Love Is" and is releasing it as the official first single off her forthcoming album "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel." (Neon Limelight)

It was either the French, the Afghans, Mario Puzo, or the Quentin Tarantino who said "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Were they right? Who knows? Everything I needed to know I learned from pop culture and music videos, which have taught me that when it comes to getting even, nothing beats the ass-kicking, window-smashing, good old-fashioned REVENGE video. (And leaving a horse head in someone's bed.)

Check out 10 classic videos where artists get mad, get even and get revenge by trashing their ex's place, taping themselves in naughty situations (right, Justin Timberlake?), putting the hurt on someone else's credit cards, or howling like a she-wolf in the middle of the desert like your name was Alanis Morissette. (Exactly like that, actually.)

PUBLIC DISPLAY OF REJECTION

Alanis Morissette -- "You Oughta Know"
Nothing says "woman scorned" like the wrath of Alanis Morissette and all. that. hair. Her 1995 video, "You Oughta Know," quickly became a b+tchfest manifesto for the maligned and scorned the world over. Thinking of getting "exploratory" in a movie theater? Um, yeah. Don't. Also, learning corner: Flea and Dave Navarro played on the original recording!
+ Watch "You Oughta Know"

BREAK STUFF!

Carrie Underwood -- "Before He Cheats"
If you cheat on Carrie Underwood, you've got an even bigger problem than the major hike in car insurance you're about to experience once you discover she's beat the LIVING S+++ out of your truck. In her 2006 "Before He Cheats" video, Carrie Underwood not only takes aim with a baseball bat, but she also BLOWS THINGS UP WITH HER MIND, bringing new meaning to "smash hit." Ever see Carrie the movie? Coincidence? I think not.
+ Watch "Before He Cheats"

Lily Allen -- "Smile"
Crafty Lily Allen recruits a band of local thugs and no-goodniks to mug her ex -- played by EastEnders' Elliott Jordan -- wreck his place, smash his records, and stuff his shirts in the toilet in her 2006 video, "Smile." Also he gets mugged and a horbs case of the Hershey squirts after Lily spikes his coffee with Ex-Lax. Smooth moves all around!
+ Watch "Smile"

AYO TECHNOLOGY

Justin Timberlake -- "Cry Me A River"
What happens when you cheat on Justin Timberlake? Nothing creepy or anything. Duder just pulls up to your driveway with Timbaland in the car, sneaks into your house when you leave, films himself banging an INCREDIBLY HOT CHICK, and leaves the evidence rolling and ready for you to watch when you step out of the shower. No big deal. (It's extra creepy if you happen to look like Britney Spears. ALSO: Fun fact -- the girl who plays Britney in the video is Lauren Hastings, who dated Shia LaBeouf. She also claimed that Lindsay Lohan stole an $11,000 coat from her.)
+ Watch "Cry Me A River"

Backstreet Boys -- "The Call"
Now pay attention because the Backstreet Boys' 2002 video for "The Call" may confuse people less intelligent than me. In the "The Call" video, one if not ALL of the BSBs are progressively cheating on their girlfriend/s, who MAY or may not have SET UP the guy/s to cheat on them in the first place. Total BSB sting operation! With a girl who may or may not be a transvestite. (Note: that's speculation on my part, but she kinda does look like a drag queen. Which is FINE if she were a tranners, but it'd take the video in a totally different direction.) Anyway, they're all cheating, or it's symbolic cheating or whatever, and the old-school 2002 cell phone (hence the phone sound effects!) becomes THE VESSEL through which the cheating travels. Symbolic BSB girlfriend however PWONES and sets up the whole operation to completely fail, thus flipping the script and using the cell phone and "the call that changed my destiny" as the vehicles that drive the whole sordid affair into the ground. Technology wins, cheaters lose! (Not-so-fun-fact: In 2003, AJ McLean revealed to Oprah that he first tried cocaine the night the "The Call" video was shot.)
+ Watch "The Call"

MURDER WAS THE CASE

Kanye West -- "Flashing Lights"
Spike Jonze directed Kanye West's 2008 "Flashing Lights" video, which is his most dramatic and definitely his most gruesome to date. While the song and lyrics are haunting, they completely belie the video's drastic measures: Playboy model Rita G shoves Kanye in a car, duct tapes his mouth shut (ahem!), and beats the life out of him with a shovel. All for the leaving the toilet seat up!
+ Watch "Flashing Lights"

+ Ashley Tisdale, Aerosmith, and credit card revenge after the jump!

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Ashanti thinks of Plies on two occasions: that's when she wants it and when she needs it. Dirty, huh? The brand-new video for Plies' mellow jam, "Want It, Need It," tracks the ups and downs of a long-distance relationship. Well, mostly the downs. In it, the Fort Myers, Florida-based rapper does his best to keep love alive on his cell phone, but has to come up with a big surprise when that falls short. And although the video doesn't quite deliver on the steaminess of the lyrics, it's got plenty of Ashanti action (not to mention the afore-ermm-mentioned surprise!) to keep you warm. "Want It, Need It" is the second single from Plies third album, Da REAList. Watch the video right here, whenever you want/need it.

I don't wanna shatter any illusions here, but if you're looking to a professional blogger for advice on anything romantic, you have some serious thinking to do. That's why I'm handing this Valentine's Day post off to a pro. John Vesely, aka Secondhand Serenade has more magnetism in one frosted tip than the whole rest of the Internet combined. Can the Internet play piano and sing with its eyes closed? No. It doesn't even have feelings (or eyes). All it can do is make a heart out of a bracket and a three. Weak. John Vesely was born to tell you he loves you. Stick with him. Here's a special Valentine's Day message and a crazy romantic love-playlist from the man himself:

I've always been a lover, not a fighter which is why I love this time of year. And one of my true loves is obviously music. So to come up with a list of long songs/videos is no problem for a guy like me. It's the time of year where you hear songs you may have heard 100 times before, but you suddenly realize they have a special meaning or remind you of someone close to your heart. So hopefully you can take a look at the videos I decided to go with, and let it remind you of whoever may be that certain someone for you.

+ Jason Mraz, "I'm Yours" - A simple song and a simple video. Both are undeniable.
+ The Fray, "You Found Me" - The video showcases both a great band and a beautiful city.
+ Thriving Ivory, "Angels on the Moon" - These guys are good friends of mine. They went all out on this video.
+ Plain White T’s, "Hey There Deliah" - One of the biggest songs and best videos of a few years back.
+ Katy Perry, "Thinking of You" - I love her retro style, which is overly evident in this video.
+ Kanye West, "Love Lockdown" - Kanye is always evolving and this is a colorful, left-of-center display of his art.
+ Justin Nozuka, "After Tonight" - He's a great new young talent, which is clear as day in this, his first video.
+ R. Kelly, "Real Talk" - Because the video is just as real as the song.
+ We The Kings, "Secret Valentine" - Travis's hair turns me on.
+ Augustana, "Sweet and Low" - I love how the song was written it was written very personally.

Wow ... Thanks, John!!

Want more Valentine's Day playlists? OK. I got those, too. Do you love me yet? Please...?

+ V-Day Playlist: Let Me Count The Ways (Dashboard, Bright Eyes, Beyonce, etc)
+ V-Day Playlist: Love SUCKS (Alanis, Ashanti, Incubus, etc)
+ V-Day Playlist: Celebrity Wedding Songs (Lonestar, Marvin Gaye, Edwin McCain, etc)

<3<3<3

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The Gap's celebrity holiday ads are almost as much of a cold-weather tradition as spiking your egg nog, and/or returning that sweater that same clueless family member got you yet again. This year, celebs like Jennifer Hudson, futuro-Billie Holiday singer Janelle Monae (shown below with Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder) plus Flo Rida, The Dixie Chicks, Ashanti, and Trey Songz, and actors... including Saturday Night Live cast members AND Twilight's Cam Gigandet... are starring in print ads and in online videos featuring jingles, remixed carols, and lots of knitwear. Trust me, your friends will be bombarding your inbox with these Flash-heavy vignettes as soon as the puppy cam gets old.

Now doesn't that make you wanna go buy a holiday sweater (by the way, "Holiday Sweater" by Pas/ Cal is such a great song) or at least some socks? No? Too much crass commercialism for you? 'Kay. Watch Weezer's "Undone (The Sweater Song)," you big Grinch! And thanks for RUINING CHRISTMAS!

+ Although Travis Barker and DJ AM sustained significant second and third-degree burns from Friday night's plane crash, both are slated to make full recoveries. Hospital officials delivered the good news at a press conference held yesterday, adding that the two men are currently in "critical but stable" condition. (MTV)

+ Meanwhile, famous pals like Fall Out Boy, Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson want AM, Barker and their fellow crash victims to know their thoughts and prayers are with them. (MTV)

+ Radiohead is challenging fans to remix "Reckoner" from their latest album In Rainbows. Let the games begin! (Radionhead Remix)

+ George Michael reenacts his infamous lavatory arrest! This time, the bathroom bandit (who was once slammed for soliciting stall-sex from an undercover officer) was nabbed on more boring charges of drug possession. (Scandalist)

+ Is Pharrell Williams the next Jerry Seinfeld?? (MTV - UK)

+ What do Metallica and Run DMC have in common? Not much, other than both might be headed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (Rolling Stone)

+ For those of you who (wisely!) missed the 2008 Emmy Awards, here's the 3-minute recap. (Best Week Ever)

+ It's Ashanti, like you never heard her before ... literally! (Billboard)

While the 2008 VMAs were going down in Hollywood, Fashion Week totally took over NYC. And, as always, the front row was the only place to see and be seen. And since a picture's worth a thousand words, we've put together a pictorial peek of the action for your voyeuristic viewing pleasure. Check it out and see which music-minded celebs bombarded NYC's Bryant Park, presided over the promenade and triumphed at The Tents...

John Legend pulled double duty, racing back from the VMAs red carpet in time to take in Tommy Hilfiger with a pixie-haired Hilary Swank. Meanwhile, Ashanti peeped Reem Acra with actress Perry Reeves and Danity Kane's Aubrey O'Day held court at Custo Barcelona with socialite (and Gossip Girl guest star!) Tinsley Mortimer.

Elsewhere, R&B star Mario came out of hiding to mingle with The Veronicas at G-Star, while Jennifer Lopez dazzled at Oscar de la Renta and Day 26's Q got dangerously cozy with fellow Making the Band-er Dawn Richards at Aurelio Costarella.

Plus, Kelly Osbourne and Bow Wow were total suckers for Betsey Johnson while Natasha "I Wrote The Hills Theme Song" Bedingfeld joined the rest of the fashion world in blowing air-kisses at Max Azria.

+ Want to see more of your fave artists dressed to impress? Check out our VMAs Fashion Flipbook or catch the 30-second recap in our Red Carpet Rewind.

When you think of hip-hop and R&B, gender equality isn't exactly the first time that comes to mind. Sure, there have been a smattering of successful female artists (Eve, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown to name a few almost all) but for the most part, the industry still operates like one giant Boys' Club. Which is why we're so proud of the lovely and talented Ashanti for becoming the first woman to get signed onto the Murder Inc record label, not to mention the first singer-turned-actress to snag a role in John Tucker Must Die. At least, as far as we know. Anyway, check out this all-new "Ladies First" video and find out more "firsts" from the Nelly-dating, platinum-selling former choir girl.

Inspired by Ashanti, who takes a turn in the tub in her new video, "The Way That I Love You," Buzzworthy done did a little deep dive of our own... for our favorite videos soaking in bathtub cliches, from sexy -- George Michael's billion-dollar bathing beauties in "Freedom" -- to pseudo-suicidal -- Britney's (eerie) rebirth in "Everytime" -- to downright dirty -- Fiona Apple's "Criminal" classic.

(More videos after the jump) Read more...

As promised, Ashanti made her triumphant return to MTV today with a stop on TRL. Oh, and the backstage report, by the way: Ashanti rolled up into the studio -- with Momanger Tina, natch, and no sign of Nelly -- in some totally "they're just like us" comfy sweats and Uggs, and then turned it out like a full-on fashionista in some smart plaid pants and two-tone up-do. After the show, she spotted tiny Christina Ricci and gave her some famous-people props. Cute!

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