Does Kanye West's "Heartless" emit "cover me!" pheromones? There's Idol winner Kris Allen's acoustic version that, shall we say?, sealed his victory; there's the Lady GaGa live concert cover, along with Ace Hood's "Ruthless" take on the number... The "Heartless" melody and lyrics must strike fellow musicians as somewhat of a non-fit in the dreary, AutoTuned oeuvre that was 808s and Heartbreak, begging for modification. Or else everyone just can't get enough of that effing song.

I'll be the first to say, "Heartless" lends itself to several genres; and The Fray's latest cover -- as an aching, earnest pop-rock ballad -- takes on a solid life of its own. The Fray first covered "Heartless" at Live Lounge,  which begat other fantastic covers, such as Leona Lewis' cover of  Snow Patrol's "Run" (get out the tissues and download that now), but has since released a proper single and music video.

As you might expect, the music video is an extremely bleak and lonely affair: a lovesick schoolboy doodles in his math notebook, and a forsaken, bleeding heart trudges in a defeated journey to nowhere, which instantly recalls Gnarls Barkley's video for "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" as well as Spoon's "Everything Hits At Once" video.

I didn't quite expect this song to work with kids as subjects, but the solitary, cerebral aspect of doodling is somehow painfully sad here - and the video becomes lovely, if a bit disturbing, when doodles morph into elaborate and nightmarish theme-park monsters...

+ Watch Kanye's version of "Heartless" after the jump! And by the way, Kanye approves. Phew.

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You're probably too young to remember this, but in 1971, the "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)/ I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad campaign blurred the line between advertising, propaganda, and pop music, and made the entire globosphere DESPERATE for an icy-cold soda. (I'm not old enough to remember it PER SE, and GOD KNOWS if I were old enough to remember it, I'd be running off to my weekly Botox appointment later today.)

Anyway, the songvertisement, also known as Coca-Cola's "Hilltop" commercial, sold over 1 million copies in a year, was donated to the Library of Congress in Washington DC in 2000, and was selected by British TV channel ITV as the greatest TV ad ever made.

Fast foward to now, and "Open Happiness" -- a collaborative Coca-Cola spot recorded by Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo Green, Panic! At the Disco's Brendon Urie, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Janelle Monae, and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes -- could be this generation's "pop" music (excuse the pun) for the offspring of "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" set.

Will "Open Happiness" have the same monumental impact of its predecessor? We're about to find out.

Watch a 30-second sneak peek of the "Open Happiness" video, directed by Alan Ferguson, starring Cee-Lo Green, Brendon Urie, Patrick Stump, Janelle Monae, and Travis McCoy, and stay tuned for the full-length video, coming soon.

+ Watch the 1971 "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) commercial after the jump!

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Madcon's blazing runaway funk single "Beggin" is so good it's about to make American rap stars of two Norwegian dudes. How often does that happen? Tshawe Baqwa and Yosef Wolde-Mariam have been churning out funk-soul hip-hop since 1992, owning European charts with sultry, half-rapped / half-sung party anthems like "Liar" and "Back On The Road."

After establishing themselves as Norwegian celebrities with their own music-related TV show, Tshawe went on to win Norway's Dancing With The Stars! And "Beggin" was already topping Norwegian charts almost two years ago. But it's taken until now for anything to break big overseas on a mainstream level.

With a jazzy sound somewhere between The Roots and Gnarls Barkley, it's no surprise Madcon's getting some major American attention. In fact, I can't believe it didn't happen sooner.  Shame on us.

Watch "Beggin" below, and find out what we've been missing all these years!

At this point, the conflict in Darfur and the resulting humanitarian crisis are more than six years old. It is common knowledge in conscientious circles, that hundreds of thousands have died and millions have been displaced by the horrors -- and I do mean horrors -- of the Sudanese army's systematic decimation of the region's native people. But, after six years of activism, it is easy for our outrage to cool off and devolve into uneasy acceptance. Well, Waxploitation -- the L.A. management company that handles Gnarls Barkley, Black Moth Super Rainbow and Danger Mouse -- just ain't havin' that.

On the verge of releasing his second Causes record to raise money for relief in Darfur, Waxploitation founder Jeff Antebi had this to say about the project:

"It's easy for fatigue to set in when a crisis goes on for a number of years, but no one has given up hope that things can change for the better in Darfur. There are untold numbers of people committed to changing the outcome. It takes humanitarian assistance, tenacity and political will."

And, of course, it takes money. A whole lotta spending money. And, while 15 indie gems clearly aren't going to fund a revolution, Causes 2 does provide everyday people like us with an easy means of contributing to the betterment of the world.

The compilation -- whose profits go entirely to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America -- includes rare tracks, remixes and live cuts from Devendra Banhart, Diplo, My Morning Jacket, RJD2, LCD Soundsystem, Gnarls Barkley, The Decemberists, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and many others.

The compilation doesn't hit shelves until May 5, but you can listen to Causes 2 right now, for free, only on The Leak. Get hooked here, then shell out $9.99 for the good of humanity in May.

+ If you pre-order Causes 2 now, Waxploitation will throw in Causes 1 -- including tracks from Animal Collective, Bright Eyes and The Shins -- for only $6.99!

Rumors are swirling that persona non grata Chris Brown has a maybe-girlfriend, and it's either his former girlfriend Erica Jackson OR Girlicious "star" Natalie Mejia.

Recently, Chris Brown's been spotted out and about with both Natalie Mejia and Erica Jackson, which begs not one but TWO questions...

1.) If either Erica or Natalie Mejia (or, GOD FORBID, BOTH!) are dating Chris Brown, have they been living in a media-free vacuum since February 2009, WHEN CHRIS BROWN (ummm... "allllllegggedddddllly") beat the crap out of Rihanna?

2.) WHY GOD, WHY!? WHY WOULD ANYONE DATE CHRIS BROWN? If you need publicity THAT badly, walk into a 7-11 naked, or go shoe shopping somewhere fancy in L.A. and call Perez, or make an amateur p0rn video with Ray J or something, but seriously, if you really are dating Chris Brown, take Gnarls Barkley's unintentional advice and RUN!

No matter what Katy Perry does for the rest of her life, she'll be hard-pressed to escape her rep as the girl-kissing, cherry Chapstick-abusing, slightly lesbian-leaning pop star.

However, she's also quite the style icon amongst fashion bloggers, and her name is even popping up on eBay as a style search term.

Her looks are undeniably unforgettable -- peel-away banana boob, anyone? So if you wanna bust out like Katy, here are the top 5 style steps you need to take, prontos!

5. Wear Short Skirts...VERY Short: Finish this sentence: Lady GaGa is to leotards what Katy Perry is to_____ Here's a hint: It's SHORT SKIRTS. Like, old-school Cher micro minis. They are CRUCIAL.

4. Smiley Faces: Apparently smiley faces aren't just for your Facebook chats or Twitter status updates or Gnarls Barkley anymore. Attach them to as many articles of clothing as you can, pls! : ) ;P

3. Get Inspired By Other Celebs & Eras: Like Michael Jackson! Or Carmen Miranda! Or '80s glam!

2. Pants = Tight: As the Beastie Boys once put it, "Her pants were tight and that's okay!" So with their blessing and Katy Perry's endorsement, make sure your pants are as tight as possible and/or leather. Both? You're golden!

1. Baby Pink! Katy Perry loves her some pink. Espeshers pink dresses. In fact, if you don't like pink, none of this is going to work at all. Embrace it.

NOTE: We do not, however, under any circumstances, condone the Zebra pantsuit... please proceed with caution. Good luck!

Obviously Gnarls Barkley aren't the kinda dudes who just phone in a video of, say, kicking it in overly bright overalls and five o'clock shadows on the beach, Color Me Badd style. And since they've already scratched Rorschach tests ("Crazy"), cable access dance shows ("Run"), portals into alternate dimensions ("Going On"), insect metamorphosis ("Gone Daddy Gone") and heartbreak ("Who's Gonna Save My Soul") off their list of possible video themes, they had to think big for their latest single, "Mystery Man."

Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green took the project to Walter Robot (Modest Mouse, Cute Is What We Aim For), the fake director who's actually artist-writer team Bill Barminski and Christopher Louie. In their hands, the video went straight off the deep end of dazzling art project insanity (does that make you crazy?). Watch the folk-arty animation wizardry of Walter Robot in Gnarls' newest one, "Mystery Men."

With only two weeks standing between us and the Woodie awards (well, two weeks and two days for those of you keeping track) we figured we'd take a closer look at one of our favorite categories: Best Video Woodie. And since we have this thing about waiting (as in, we don't like doing it) we thought we'd help kill the time finding out who you guys think deserves to win. So take our informal survey now then watch it Wednesday, November 19, on mtvU.com to see how your picks match up with the actual results.

Bonus: For those of you need a refresher course (or a mid-afternoon work distraction), we're posting all five videos! Check out Gnarls Barkley and Erykah Badu's vids below, then catch the one from Vampire Weekend, Adele and Motion City Soundtrack -- after the jump.

+ Keep reading to watch the rest of the Best Video Woodie nominees! And don't forget to go to the official Woodies website to cast your vote for realz!

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We're still recovering from that crazy, sleep-deprived time in our lives we like to call the 2008 VMAs (and, more recently, from VH1's Hip Hop Honors bonanza), but that doesn't mean we're not already gearing up for the next big televised awards show. Fortunately, we don't have long to wait, seeing as the mtvU Woodie Awards kick off Wednesday, November 19th.

And whether you're a sorority girl (like Elle Woods!) a pre-frosh (like Serena and Blair!) or someone who religiously watches Hannah Montana, we have a feeling you're not gonna want to miss THE definitive college awards show (where all the nominees are chosen by poor, ramen-noodle-eating university types!) And since the polls are officially open from now through November 7th, here's a painstakingly complete list of the categories and nominees. You're welcome!

+ Lil Wayne, Paramore, Tokyo Police Club, MGMT and Santogold duke it out for Woodie of the Year. Note that as much as we would love to see the nominees breakdance fight, the winner for this category (and all subsequent categories) will be chosen solely on the basis of your votes.

+ We love charity. Just today, we selflessly scarfed down three oatmeal raisin cookies (purchased from a Breast Cancer Bake Sale!) all in the name of good health -- and late-afternoon sugar rushes. Now, cheer on your fave do-gooders as Eddie Vedder, Ludacris, Jack's Mannequin, Mary J. Blige and Emmanuel Jal fight for the right to take home the Good Woodie.

+ Ever heard that song "Video Killed the Radio Star?" Yeah, that's a bunch of bull. So hit the polls to see Adele and Motion City Soundtrack take on heavy hitters like Gnarls Barkley, Vampire Weekend and Erykah Badu for the Best Video Woodie.

+ We've always had a secret soft spot for the New Kid. So we'll definitely be checking back to find out which of these rookies (All Time Low, We The Kings, There For Tomorrow, Lykke Li and Tyga) is gonna walk out of here with the title of Breaking Woodie.

+ You know those amazing can't-live-without artists you never heard of 'til, like, yesterday? Well, you still have three more weeks to choose between No Age, Chromeo, Yelle, She and Him and The Cool Kids for Left Field Woodie.

+ And you gotta give it up for the performers who ALWAYS know how to put on a good show. Or as we like to call them, "the Michael Jordans of music." Yeah, we're talkin' about you, Kanye West, Atmosphere, N.E.R.D., The Ting Tings and Simian Mobile Disco. May the best one win! A Performance Woodie, that is.

****Psssst! Not only can you vote for your favorite artists -- you can also campaign for them on your Facebook/MySpace pages(!!) For more details about voting, campaigning and general Woodie goodness, go to mtvU's official Woodies Awards site. GO WOOD!

Attention budding directors, design nerds, After Effects tinkerers and Tay Zonday fans. Six new 2008 VMA categories have just been announced, and you'll be glad to know (or at least I am), that Erykah Badu, Death Cab for Cutie, and Weezer did not get overlooked.

Erykah Badu's "Honey" homage is up for three out of the six new categories, Death Cab for Cutie's meat locker love song "I Will Possess Your Heart" is up for two, and Weezer's "Pork and Beans" squeaked in too. Good damn thing too, because it would've been a crime if that gem had been overlooked.

The new categories focus on video design, direction, and ... DANCE! They're sorta like the technical Oscars, but more exciting. And speaking of the Oscars, the new categories are:

+ Best Art Direction: Welcome, MGMT and White Stripes!

+ Best Choreography: Two Chris Brown videos up in here. Big shocker there. And Adele and Gnarls Barkley make an appearance!

+ Best Cinematography: Breakneck competition here between Badu, Death Cab, Katy Perry, White Stripes and Pussycat Dolls, who now have SIX nominations -- the most of any artist this year.

+ Best Direction: Panic At the Disco, and Rihanna pick up their second noms of the year. Link Park picks up their third.

+ Best Editing: Will Katy Perry, Erykah Badu, Death Cab, and Ne-Yo get served by Weezer's "Pork and Beans"?

+ Best Special Effects: Coldplay enters the race with "Violet Hill," and so Kanye doesn't throw a fit, his "Good Life" video's in there too.

Check out the full list of new categories and nominees, check out Buzzworthy's interview with "Pork and Beans" director Mathew Cullen, and watch the epic meme montage yet again.