+ After winning three awards, not flubbing her lines and looking beyond gawgeous, Britney Spears is already being hailed as the 2008 VMAs' official "comeback kid." Which explains the three shiny silver Moonmen and pageant-worthy smile. (MTV)

+ Needless to say, over-the-top VMAs host Russell Brand enthusiastically agreed. "Consider this the resurrection of Britney Spears," he told reporters. "If there was a female Christ, it's Britney." What's more, Brand predicts this is just the beginning. "This could be the dawning of a new age for America," he mused. (MTV)

+ Meanwhile, Brand's big mouth got him into some trouble when he poked fun at the Jonas Brothers' chastity rings, prompting celebs to take sides. Natch, we already know where Jordin Sparks stands. But now? Paris Hilton surprises us by affirming she's Team Purity, all the way. GO JO! (MTV)

+ And now onto the fashion! Find out how Rihanna, Lindsay and Lauren Conrad stood out from the crowd plus read our VMAs Red Carpet Rewind to catch up on this year's hot new trends. (MTV)

+ Speaking of The Hills gals, LC and Audrina Patridge were all smiles at the official VMAs afterparty -- never mind the dramatic mascara-dripping showdown you saw on last night's episode. (MTV)

+ 'Course, that doesn't mean Audrina has to understand LC's appreciation for all things Kid Rock. (MTV)

+ Meanwhile, Good Charlotte held court at the In Touch Idols and Icons afterparty, while Samantha Ronson deejayed, Lindsay supervised and Mischa Barton fended off unwanted advances. (E! Online)

+ Plus, here's a few things you didn't see on the red carpet pre-show. Like the fact that nobody knows how to make an entrance like T-Pain. Nobody. (MTV)

+ And Kanye West explains why he gave the VMAs another chance. (MTV)

Apparently, nobody told Jack's Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon that you should never, ever ride the steel deathtraps at the Minnesota State Fair. Yep, instead of the raging kegger he promised us last week, McMahon's second tour diary is all about mingling with carnies, triggering our ungodly fear of heights and putting his far-too-precious life in the hands of a rickety yellow crane-like contraption.

Feeling daredevil-ish? Take a trip to the Twin Cities and go along for the ride. And when it's all over, feel free to kiss the ground and watch JM's (thankfully!) landlocked first installment one more time.

OK, so the VMAs strategy seshes may not be the epitome of glitz and glamour (or even have working air conditioning) but that's probably because they're saving all the REAL perks for this weekend's star-studded awards bash. Right? (RIGHT??)

At least, that's what we keep telling ourselves (when we're not too complaining about being sleep-deprived and explaining how Pete Wentz helped us perfect our upchuck reflex). But now that we hear Lupe Fiasco will be joining the perpetually growing list of VMAs performers, we're finally starting to believe that our time in the oxygen-deprivation chamber was TOTALLY worth it.

The former Artist of the Week -- who's also up for Best Hip Hop Video honors -- will be making like the Ting Tings and performing with the VMAs' official house band (DJ AM and Travis Barker). Get yourself revved up by re-watching our fave LF vid (that would be "Paris, Tokyo") and taking a second (Or third? Or fourth?) look at the Hype Williams-directed video that might just win him a Moonman.

Stay up-to-date on everything about the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards at vma.mtv.com, and don’t miss the big show Sunday (September 7) at 9 p.m. ET/PT or the pre-show red carpet coverage that starts at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

+ Underage driver Miley Cyrus gets (herself) an early Sweet 16 present. (Scandalist)

+ It's the end of the world ... and the All-American Rejects know it. (Rolling Stone)

+ You know you're Katy Perry when you have to actually TRY to not be sexy. (MTV)

+ Pepa (of Salt-N-Pepa fame) has just written her memoirs! Word has it, they just might make you wanna shoop. (BWE)

+ Slipknot beats out The Game on the latest Billboard 200 album chart. Weirdest rivalry ever? (Billboard)

+ New Kids on the Block are still refusing to fade into pop culture obscurity. (Idolator)

+ Fashion experts explain how to rock the VMAs red carpet without looking like something the cat -- or worse, Lil' Kim! -- dragged in. (MTV)

No matter how hard they beg, how loudly the yell or how many times they ask, we simply will NOT shut up and let those persistent little Ting Tings go.

Fortunately, they're not exactly flying under the radar these days. In addition for battling Britney for Video of the Year at next week's 2008 VMAs, they'll also be joining VMA house band DJ AM and former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker on stage for some crazy collabo fun. 'Kay fine, honestly, we're not sure exactly what they'll be doing -- performing their VMA-nominated hit? Breakin' with the ABDC crews? Miming their way out of an invisible cardboard box?? But since we loves us some Ting Tings, we certainly plan on finding out...

Don't miss them on the VMAs this Sunday, September 7 at 9p.m. ET/ PT, and see what these two crazy, iPod-hocking Brits have up their sleeve. But first, brush up on your Ting Tings trivia with five things you never knew about them PLUS the real story behind their name.

That's JFK Airport at 4:48am this morning. No human being should have to suffer the burden of experiencing any airport at that ungodly hour...

Six hours later, one movie (Speed Racer -- I slept through most of it, but I did wake up once to Susan Sarandon's face -- I had no idea she was in that!), and one car upgrade (what up, Lincoln Navi? And don't freak, enviro types -- four seven of us are sharing it), and I'm sweatin' bunnies out here in Los Angeles. No, I haven't seen Heidi or Spencer or Lauren. (Yet.)

But more importantly, it looks like the VMA billboard squad got a jump start, because VMA signs are all over every part of town I've seen so far. Look who greeted us at the corner of Santa Monica and Vine. 'Sup, Jonas Brothers?

Okay, so I'm all credentialed, and I'm checked into the Paramount lot, which is the size of about seven amusement parks and a few regulation Olympic-sized pools. And as I was hiking through the production jungle to get to the MTV.com offices, effing Pete Wentz cruised by on a golf cart. JERK!

'Kay, enough chatter, more meetings. You think these "VMAs" just make themselves?

More bloggity tomorrow. Until then, a few L.A. videos:

Paramore's been the little band that could since the release of 2005's All We Know Is Falling (one of my favorite go-to, in-lieu-of-coffee albums). And they've only gotten bigger since their sophomore album Riot!, nabbing magazine covers, a platinum album, best-of lists, sold-out tours and festivals, and even a Grammy nomination.

But one music milestone Paramore hasn't tackled yet is the VMAs. This year's will be Paramore's first, and they'll be pulling double duty as performers and nominees -- they're up for Best Rock Video against rock veterans like Foo Fighters and Slipknot and contemporaries Fall Out Boy.

VMA performances are known for taking careers -– from Madonna, to Nirvana, to Rihanna -- to the next level. Could Paramore be poised to break through to game-changing level after their VMA performance Sunday night?

Watch Paramore's live performance of "That's What You Get" from mtvU's Spring Break 2008 and "crushcrushcrush" from MTV's New Year's Eve party, and check out photos of legendary VMA performances from the past 24 years.

Alright, we admit it. We're still slightly obsessed with Gym Class Heroes and their heavily tattooed frontman, Travis McCoy. And not just because he's dating this summer's bicurious It-Girl, Katy Perry. Or because he's only been to rehab once. Or even because he does crazy, spontaneous, unpredictable things (like hit unruly fans with microphones! And write angry, all-caps missives on his Tumblr!) yet refuses to confirm/deny reports that he and Tyga are tangentially related.

No, our one-sided infatuation with Travis and GCH stems all the way back to last December, when we first discovered they shared our massive (equally unrequited) fascination with Hall & Oates. Since then, we've been counting down the days until September 9th, when their new album, The Quilt, would simultaneously hit stores and gain its rightful place in our Shrine To All Things Travis.

Except, turns out today's our lucky day, because the album is ALREADY AVAILABLE ONLINE. Meaning now you won't have to wait until post-VMAs to hear all those crazy compilation tracks! So head over to "The Leak" to test-drive the guys' latest set and get your Hall & Oates fix by listening to Track 10 -- "Live Forever (Fly With Me)" on permanent repeat.

Then close your eyes and try not to think mean thoughts about Katy Perry. (We're trying. It's not working, but we're trying.)

+ The Jonas Brothers rock out in street meat-inspired clothes, set themselves up for a litany of "Hey! Nice buns!" jokes. (Jonas Updates)

+ Meanwhile, Taylor Swift appears to have come down with a nasty case of Jonas fever. (MTV)

+ Coldplay announces plans to release a Viva la Vida leftovers album! (Rolling Stone)

+ Weirdest couple ever alert! Pamela Anderson and...Michael Jackson?? (Scandalist)

+ Remember those "This is your brain on drugs" commercials? Amy Winehouse doesn't! (NY Daily News)

+ New Kids on the Block swear their comeback tour will have all the right stuff. (Billboard)

+ Should Britney get a VMAs do-over? We say: Absolutely! And Perez Hilton totally agrees! Except he has a few pointers for the recovering pop star. "Have the hair looking good, wear something that fits [and] don't be allegedly drunk before you're onstage." (MTV)

Yes, that's Lil Mama, and no, sadly, this photo wasn't taken at Heidi Klum's annual Halloween party. Lil Mama actually arrived at the 2007 VMAs dressed like she'd just crawled out of the womb. And as if purple satin and puffy babydoll sleeves weren't criminal enough, Lil Mams had the gall to top it off with a matching bonnet and bejeweled passy. Classy! We get it, we get it. You're the voice of the young people. And the voice of the sippy cup set too, apparently. Except we can't really understand what the hell you're saying because you've got a DAMNED PACIFIER IN YOUR MOUTH, which makes us wonder if you were wearing a diaper under there too.

Thankfully Lil Mama's grown up and glossed up a bit in the past year on America's Best Dance Crew and hopefully will restrict he whole voice-of-the-young-people thing to metaphor.

But, that leaves room for someone else to take home an unofficial Moonman for worst-dressed celeb at this year's VMAs. Who do you think will show up to the 2008 VMAs in an outfit that, well, totally sucks?