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.

Panic At The Disco's Beatles-inspired "Nine In the Afternoon" video also inspired a 2008 VMA nomination for Best Direction.

Panic will be at the 2008 VMAs. And if they win, director Shane Drake -- he also directed two videos up for a 2008 Best Rock Video VMA -- Paramore's "crushcrushcrush" and Fall Out Boy's "Beat It" -- will share the honors. Shane, one of the most creative and prolific directors of the decade, also directed Panic's "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" video, which won them the Video of the Year award at the 2006 VMAs.

In the Best Direction category, Panic's up against Erykah Badu's "Honey," Linkin Park's "Shadow of the Day," Rihanna's "Take a Bow," and Pussycat Dolls' six-time-nominated "When I Grow Up" video. Do you think "Nine In the Afternoon" retro-nuevo style can beat out the competition?

Watch "Nine In the Afternoon," check out Buzzworthy's behind-the-scenes footage of Panic at the video shoot, and tell us if you think Panic can pull it off.

Also, please tell us which member of PATD -- Brendon, Ryan (happy day-after-your-birthday, by the way), Spencer, or Jon -- will show up to the VMAs looking the most like George Harrison/ Devendra Banhart?

I don't know WHAT Chris Brown did to deserve that type of cruel and unusual punishment, but if I were him, I'd definitely do it again.

Yes, that's Ciara, looking very "Black Cat"-era-Janet Jackson, putting Rihanna's man in his place at the BET Awards back in June. (For the record, five years before Ciara was born, Janet opened the 1990 VMAs with "Black Cat.")

Yes, Ciara recently signed with Wilhelmina Models and is in talks with Victoria's Secret to start rockin' their barely-there gear.

Yes, Ciara looks hotter than ever, and yes, she'll be presenting an award at the 2008 VMAs. And while I'll be bloggity-blogging away from the red carpet on the big night -- Sunday, September 7 -- as a non-famous person, I'm definitely glad I don't have to actually share the carpet with her. Not that the red carpet's a competition. But really though, um, it is.

So, who do you think's even got half a shot at looking as hot as Ciara on the red carpet next Sunday, or will Ciara outsex the whole show like she did at the BET Awards?

For a little inspiration, check out her "Like a Boy" video, which earned her a 2007 VMA nomination for Best Choreography, and check out more photos of her striptastic pas de deux with Chris Brown, and watch the performance here.

Two years ago, Chris Brown showed up to the 2006 VMAs in New York City looking like a flyer version of Ronald McDonald. Fly, but still -– dude was dressed a few fries too close to burger royalty, landing him on nobody’s best-dressed list that year.

But the following year, at the 2007 VMAs, he owned the show, and his explosive performance -- which included a rendition of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" -- caused many people who keep track of that sort of thing to cite that night as a major moment in his career. The night that catapulted him from pretty-sure-I-know-who-that-guy-is status to that-guy’s-pretty-much-everywhere.

This year Chris Brown's nominated for four VMAs -- Best Video, Best Male Video, Best Dancing In a Video, and Best Choreography, and he’ll be at the show, so if he wins, he’ll be picking up his Moonman/-men in person. And I bet you four or five Happy Meals that he won’t be wearing baggy jeans and hip-hop Hamburgular gear.

Which brings me to my next question: will he show up to the 2008 VMAs with Rihanna, who’s performing that night?

Absolutely no one buys that song and dance that they’re not a couple, and while I GUESS we should all respect their privacy and their “no comment” policy, they’re just too freaking attractive to ignore. Plus it looks like they’re moving in together. And, they’ve got an uncanny knack for showing up separately, denying, denying, denying, playing cat-and-mouse with inquiring minds, sneaking out a VIP back door, and then spending the rest of the night getting all “lovey dovey, kiss kiss” on each other’s laps at an after party. SO ANNOYING!

Watch their 2007 VMA performance, and place your bets -- will Chris Brown and Rihanna will show up to the VMAs together, or will they roll solo and act like perfect strangers?

Pretty much every song on The Academy Is...'s new album (Fast Times at Barrington High) reminds us of the glorious in-between months of summer, when school is out, tanlines are in, and all your favorites shows are in reruns. But none of the tracks scream end-of-August blowout quite like "Summer Hair=Forever Young" -- and not just because the aforementioned season made its way into the title.

No, it's because their new vid is, in essence, a four-minute instructional guide to soaking up every last ounce of vacay. And trust us, you'll want to get in all the co-ed pillow-fights, backyard bacchanals and PG-13 makeout seshes you can. Because, before you know it, you'll be back-to-school shopping for No. 2 pencils and wishing you hadn't wasted the last days of summer watching ANTM marathons and stressing out about your nonexistent fall wardrobe.

Happy Labor Day, kids.

What could we possibly tell you about the Jonas Brothers that you don't already know? It was only a couple of weeks ago that we took you along for the ride as we embedded ourselves deep within the Jonas juggernaut as they took over New York City. We were there with them when they woke up. We walked on their stage and behind every possible scene with them. And we asked them your probing questions.

But, because you're insatiable, we're giving you more. We sat down with the Jonas Brothers again (OMJ!) before a recent show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey to discuss the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards (like, who do they want to run into at the VMAs? Are they nervous to perform?), making music videos, touring and the importance of mega-fans like you. And, like the non-stop pros they are, they just kept giving. And giving... And giving.

All this week, you'll be seeing the hysteria-inducing faces of Joe, Nick and Kevin all over MTV as we count down to their big night at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. They're up for Video of the Year and Best Pop Video Moonman trophies. And, like we said, they're performing live. Of course you're already convinced that they're the greatest thing since Instant Messenger. But will Sunday, September 7 be the night they convince the rest of the world that Jonas completely rule?

Here's a few of the interview clips we shot with the Jo Bros in New Jersey. Watch 'em and you'll get their innermost thoughts on the VMAs, their love for their fans and oh so much more.

Also, while you're here, check out their live performances of "Burnin' Up" and "S.O.S" from FNMTV. And, of course, spill that OJD.

Although your parents probably remember Bret Michaels as the lead singer of Poison -- and the man behind such headbanging hits as "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Nothin' But A Good Time" -- you probably know him best as the star of VH1's Rock of Love. (You know, the over-the-top, Tila Tequila-esque reality show in which desperate middle-aged women -- or women who look middle-aged -- compete for the ultimate prize: the chance to bang an aging, headband-wearing rocker in the back of his musty old tour van).

But whether you're more familiar with Bret's vocal chops or his propensity for strippers, you'll be surprised by how much you may secretly enjoy the latest video off his new album, Rock My World. Check out "Fallen" for a softer, cuddlier side of Bret. (Just like the one from "Every Rose Has Its Thorn!") Then remind yourself that he's actually a sex-crazed self-promoter who gets his kicks by forcing surgically enhanced groupies to play tackle football in the mud. Swoooooon!

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.

Here we have Pamela Anderson at the 1999 VMAs, and it looks like we caught her during one of her on-again periods with both Tommy Lee and with her breasts. This outfit is bad, even by Pam Anderson standards, if you could call them standards. The top is like some kind of bastard bridal Renaissance Faire creation. And while her outer-galaxies-go-Middle-Eastern pants are beyond odious, perhaps we should just be grateful that she wore pants in the first place. (This is, after all, the same woman who wore a bikini to her wedding.)

And to top it all off, some poor mall Easter Bunny died for that hat. At the very least though, it helps conceal the bustedness that is all that blue eye shadow. (Seriously, not even your grandma gets a free pass out of that one.)

Meanwhile Tommy Lee looks like a cross between a boozy old flasher and a stoned Inspector Gadget. Go go, gadget PUT SOME FREAKING PANTS ON.

Speaking of pants and stuff, see who looked even worse and who looked better (not hard to do) at the VMAs. And if you're not eating, check out photos of the gruesome twosome sucking each other's faces off at the 2007 VMAs. And then, check out the money shot: Tommy Lee and Kid Rock (who's performing at the 2008 VMAs on Sunday, September 7) throwin' 'bows over Pam later that same night. Easy boys! There's plenty enough Pammy to go around!

Plus:
+ Trashbag Tuesday With Ice-T's Wife, Coco!
+ Michael Jackson's Mayhem Monday!

The first best thing about this LL Cool J clip? LL's impression of soccer moms shouting out Apple Bottoms and shearling knee-highs in Best Hip-Hop Video nominee Flo Rida's co-opted clip, "Low."

The second best thing? LL totally cheesing out over his own joke.

Watch it below, and check out photos of LL shooting his VMA promos with host Russell Brand.

Then, check out LL's live performance of "Mama Said Knock You Out" from the 1991 VMAs, complete with leather pants, matching vest, sick horns, and pyro.