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It's been an active couple of days for Katy Perry: She celebrated her birthday with the help of Russell Brand and Taylor Swift on Saturday (October 24), and today it's possible she celebrated the official "AMTV" premiere of "Starstruckk," the new video from 3OH!3 that features Perry both on the song and in the clip. It's an excellent slice of jittery, dance-infused alt-pop that gets a very nice boost from Perry's presence. The whole clip revolves around a large public fountain and features a handful of slow-motion shots of busty models, but the most eye-catching female is Perry herself, who dances with the 3OH!3 guys while wearing some sort of strange leotard, and changes into a strange pink and black dress for a frolic in the fountain herself.

The men of 3OH!3 are currently on tour in Europe (their next show in the United States is a spot on the KIIS Jingle Ball in Los Angeles in December). Meanwhile, Perry is recovering from her birthday party and also hard at work on her second album, the follow-up to her debut smash One of the Boys. A number of collaborators have come by Perry's recording studio, including Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, producer Greg Wells (who worked with Perry on her first album) and songwriter Cathy Dennis (who penned "I Kissed a Girl" and the Jonas Brothers' "Paranoid," among other hits). She'll also be releasing an album commemorating her "MTV Unplugged" performance on November 17, which will feature two new recordings: A Perry original called "Brick by Brick" and a cover of Fountains of Wayne's "Hackensack" (from their 2003 album Welcome Interstate Managers). In the meantime, Perry's performance in "Starstruckk" will keep us well distracted until she surfaces again.

Tags 3OH!3, Katy Perry, photo

Last week, David Archuleta and I serenaded MTV staffers with Christmas carols in celebration of his new holiday album Christmas from the Heart. Needless to say, Archuleta's fans were happier than Ryan Seacrest at a tanning salon. Aside from the expected flailing we received from the Archie-Angels, we got a lot of questions about the Christmas sweaters he and I donned during the shoot. Where did they come from? Is he going to wear that on his upcoming Christmas tour? Did you have to twist his arm to play dress up?

So, by popular demand, here's the sweater song. (Cue Weezer.)

As I mentioned in my recent blog, the "American Idol" runner-up was a sweetheart, but convincing him to wear that silly Christmas sweater involved a little bit of begging.

At the end of our sit-down interview — where we discussed both the Christmas record and his upcoming "more personal" pop album — it was time to get our yule on. Although David knew we were going caroling for the shoot, I'm not so sure he knew it involved props and a specific wardrobe. His defeated "Christmas ... sweaters ..." says it all. (Note the desperation in my voice mere nanoseconds after he sounded less-than-enthused.)

Being the gracious young man that he is, though, it didn't take too much cajoling to convince David to play along. He even added a scarf for flair! By the end of the shoot, Archuleta was so comfortable in the itchy old sweater that he almost left the building still wearing it, along with our microphone. Whoops! (Fun semi-related "Idol" journalist trivia: After a recent interview, Kris Allen left Z-100 wearing Entertainment Weekly's microphone, forcing EW.com's Michael Slezak to race out of the building and chase down Kris' car. Now that I think of it, I'm 99 percent sure Slezak did that on purpose to score an extra couple of seconds with the "Idol" winner. Sneaky!)

It pains me to admit it, but the red and green snowflake sweaters are all mine. Read more...

Tags American Idol, Christmas, David-Archuleta, video

For a band made up of three old-school rock and roll veterans, Them Crooked Vultures have chosen a very 2009 way to debut their first single as a band. "New Fang" is the first studio recording unleashed by the supergroup that consists of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on drums, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on guitar and vocals, and the trio unleashed it on the universe via Twitter. Though the group has been touring sporadically since last month and plenty of heavy-sounding performance footage has made it to the Web, "New Fang" represents the group's first entry into an actual recording, and the results are impressive. Buoyed by a loose, insistent drum beat, a crunchy riff and a slightly psychedelic guitar lead, "New Fang" presents Them Crooked Vultures as a classic power trio and often recalls the Eric Clapton projects Cream and Blind Faith.

The turnaround for everything has been pretty quick for Them Crooked Vultures. They only revealed their existence over the summer, played their first shows in early August and quickly recorded an album that will be released on November 17. (We're especially excited about the track titled "Interlude with Ludes.") The three haven't necessarily left their old bands behind, though, as Homme is working on remastering his band's self-titled 1998 debut as well as a new QOTSA album, while Grohl just released the new single and video from his main band's upcoming greatest hits album. As for Jones, it seems unlikely that Led Zeppelin will get back together any time soon, but in all honesty, Them Crooked Vultures is a pretty excellent alternative to anybody looking for a bit of heaviness.

Tags Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones, Josh Homme, Them Crooked Vultures

Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

On Saturday night (October 24), the Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Los Angeles' Staples Center for the first time since 2006 for UFC 104, a pay-per-view event headlined by Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a match for Machida's light heavyweight championship. (The champion retained in a unanimous decision despite the fact that Rua did far more damage and was the aggressor for most of the fight. It was one of the greatest robberies in UFC history.) Because UFC often attracts celebrities and because the show was in Los Angeles, there were a number of famous attendees at Saturday night's show. Fight enthusiast Ashton Kutcher was there with wife Demi Moore, and "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven was in attendance as well. Also spotted in the crowd? Janet Jackson, whose late brother Michael was also a UFC supporter (he was sometimes spotted at shows in Las Vegas). And sitting behind Jackson was fellow musician and grappling fan Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas.

Jackson and Will.I.Am weren't the only stars out in Los Angeles over the weekend. Katy Perry celebrated her birthday with boyfriend Russell Brand at a costume party in West Hollywood on Saturday night, while Sunday saw Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato visit the Nokia Theater for Disney's annual Concert for Hope. Click here for these photos as well as the rest of the "Spotted!" archive, which includes over 300 candid shots of Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyoncé, Drake, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, Adam Lambert and Tokio Hotel!

Tags black-eyed-peas, Janet-Jackson, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, photo, UFC

This year, Joe Jonas stopped straightening his hair, a life choice we approved of as soon as we noticed it. We loved him going au naturale and embracing his hair's natural curl (a move all his brothers had already been doing). However, with his new do, we are crushing even harder on the 20-year-old pop star.

In new photos that have popped up online over the weekend, Joe is rocking a new shorter haircut. We are calling it babelicious. The messy shorter hairstyle is probably the most mature and dishiest way the singer has worn his hair yet.

Although the other two Jonas Brothers have yet to tweet about Joe's latest style choice (although they did remember to tweet about their show in the Dominican Republic, the Yankees victory and wrapping up "Camp Rock 2"), we do remember fondly an interview we did with Joe and his brothers over the summer where Kevin briefly touched upon his brother's decision to change his hair from his once signature pin-straight locks.

"You know what happened?" eldest brother, Kevin explained to MTV News. "One day he went to the beach and just like the salt water I think it messed up your hair because it all of a sudden became curly."

So, what happened this time? Did he walk into some hedge clippers and suddenly have shorter hair?

What do you think? Is Joe's new, shorter hair a step in the right direction, or do you miss his curly locks? Leave your thoughts below or head over to Your.MTV.com to make your voice heard!

Tags hair, Joe Jonas, Jonas Brothers, photo, video

By Rya Backer

Thursday night, I had the privilege of seeing Suckers, a band I had a fondue party with the night before (you'll see footage of our melted-cheese exploits on this very Web site quite soon). They were incredible, and it was the best show I've seen since I saw Tanlines last month.

First of all, the show immediately took an unusual turn because a dude climbed up on the Studio at Webster Hall's stage and tried to punch lead singer in the face. That wasn't the only bit of extra-curricular weirdness, as later on a couple began ... let's just say they it was inappropriate.

It was a testament to how great Suckers are as a live act, because even with all distractions they still managed to turn in a signature show. Singer Quinn Walker wears makeup but applies it in a way that a seven-year-old on acid might. Quinn and the rest of the quartet — drummer Brian Aiken and multi-instrumentalists Austin Fisher and Pan — form a cohesive, oft-harmonizing unit. I can attest to how genuinely nice they all are, and their live set is well thought-out and passionate.

The band's music is unique, often sounding like a collection of forgotten Purple Rain b-sides. Quinn's vocal range is gigantic, stretching as high as Mariah Carey on "Emotions" and as deep and soulful as that Enigma song where everything's played backwards in the music video. And though opener "Save Your Love for Me" had gorgeously haunting harmonies, the night's one standout was the evening's powerful closer "It Gets Your Body Movin,'" which featured a spaced-out guitar solo, whistles and trumpet.

Suckers will continue to criss-cross the country with the just-as-great White Rabbits for a little while longer, and you should catch them now, because they won't be playing cramped rooms like the Studio at Webster Hall for much longer.

Tags CMJ, Concerts, Festivals, Suckers

Last night (October 25), U2 took the stage at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, for the latest stop on their U2 360 tour (in support of their latest album No Line on the Horizon). But the crowd wasn't limited to the 96,000 or so who filled the home of the University of Southern California football team last night, as they streamed the show live on YouTube. It was an unprecedented event for both the band and the video hosting site, and it allowed millions of people on all seven continents to watch the show live. (The show will also be archived at the site, so if you missed it live you can still experience it.) The band's 24 song set included hits like "Vertigo," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "One" and an absolutely stunning rendition of the Achtung Baby track "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)." During the show, Bono often played directly to the cameras capturing the concert for the Web, turning a long-distance stream into an intimate experience.

Though No Line on the Horizon represents U2's least successful album (both based on sales figures and critical reaction) since their experimental 1993 album Zooropa, the 360 tour is being touted as perhaps one of the biggest concert events of all time. They've spent a huge amount of money on constructing the "claw" stage (full figures have not been disclosed), which allowed them to bring in record crowds at stadiums across the world. The tour wraps up Wednesday night in Vancouver before the group goes on hiatus to launch again next June.

It wouldn't be shocking if the group managed to grind out another release during that time, as they've openly expressed disappointment with the performance of No Line on the Horizon. Though it has sold over a million copies (making it one of the more successful albums of the year), it has not had a breakout hit like "Mysterious Ways" or "Beautiful Day." However, Bono says the band wasn't "in that mindset" when they crafted the record. "We felt that the album was a kind of an almost extinct species, and we should approach it in totality and create a mood and a feeling, and a beginning, middle and an end," he told the Associated Press. "And I suppose we've made a work that is a bit challenging for people who have grown up on a diet of pop stars."

Tags U2

Last night, the New York Yankees shook off a weight that has been around their collective neck since 2004. In defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by a score of 5-2, the Yanks won their first American League pennant since 2003 and overcoming their growing reputation as choke artists since they blew a three game lead against the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 playoffs. For the first time in years, the World Series (which kicks off at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Wednesday) will actually pit the two best teams in either league against each other for total dominance of baseball. Their opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, match up pretty well, sporting a similarly dangerous lineup and a deep pitching squad. Philadelphia might have a bit of a leg up on the Bronx Bombers, as by the time the first pitch of the World Series is thrown on Wednesday night, the Phils will have had over a week off. In any event, it should be a memorable tilt between two of baseball's most storied franchises.

At the end of every Yankees victory, the song pumped into Yankee Stadium is "New York, New York" (sung by Frank Sinatra), a tradition that dates back decades. But since the brand-new Yankee Stadium is a 21st century marvel that may have cost over $1 billion, it needs a new celebration song for the future — a badass track from a modern New York artist who knows how to represent for sports. So here's the Newsroom's vote for a new tradition: Every time the Yanks score a victory, the fans should exit to Busta Rhymes' "New York Sh--."

Tags baseball, Busta Rhymes, George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees, video, World Series

On the massive timeline that is the universe, five days doesn't seem like an awfully long time, but consider how different the world was on Monday morning: Soupy Sales was alive, Lil Wayne was a free man, people were still wondering what Rihanna's new single would sound like and the content of "Michael Jackson's This Is It" was still relatively mysterious. But now that we're five days older and that much wiser, it's time to take a look back at anything you might have missed in the Newsroom.

» Rihanna unveiled her new single "Russian Roulette," which also came with an edgy album cover that immediately put it in rare company.

» Adam Lambert also had a busy week of debuts, as his made its way to the Web, along with the epic video for that same song.

» Drake added "college basketball coach" to his ever-growing list of occupations.

» Whitney Houston performed on TV in the U.K., busted out of her dress and still managed to absolutely kill "Million Dollar Bill."
Read more...

Tags adam lambert, bon-jovi, drake, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, whitney-houston

By Rya Backer

Growing up in Manhattan, the annual CMJ Festival was always a staple, providing a lot of fun gigs in between Yom Kippur and Halloween. This year's CMJ has kind of been a bummer — or maybe everyone who used to be really psyched about CMJ is getting old and boring. But there are still good acts to be seen!

One of which is another born-and-bred Manhattanite, Samuel. Samuel played on Wednesday night (October 21) at the party hosted by Spin magazine (along with the Temper Trap and the Clipse — pretty classic eclectic CMJ booking). According to his MySpace page, Samuel has a musical pedigree, and his live show makes it really evident that entertaining is in his genes. Backed up by two DJs and a drummer (two of whom make up his production partners, the Knocks), Samuel sang through a high-energy (I go tired just watching him dance from one side of the stage to the other) set full of sunny, soulful and sad songs that were all ultimately pure pop.

Song standouts included the Motown-y "Coincidence" (it's a song about a girl, as are most of his tunes), the Postal Service-y "Say Goodbye" and the dance-friendly "Neverland." The crowd responded to the latter the best, shouting along with the chorus: "Until I find my way back to Neverlaaaaaand."

Like a lot of this year's CMJ artists, Samuel is already signed to a major label (Columbia) and has created a grassroots following in NYC, but with a tour scheduled for next year and an album scheduled for release next spring (executive produced and mixed by Greg Wells, who has also worked with Katy Perry and Mika), Samuel may already be on his way to Neverland.

Photo by Ian Witlen

Tags CMJ, Katy Perry, new york, Samuel