By James Dinh

By now, it's clear that Lady Gaga is one of the most — if not the most — fashion-forward pop star working today. She even has a song called "Fashion" (which she co-wrote with RedOne for Heidi Montag before re-claiming it last year). So the short film that premiered exclusively on Dazed Digital earlier today is no different.

The two-minute film, a collaboration between the singer and fashion filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson, has pop's favorite fashionista striking poses and waving her arms while a dramatic piano composition — one she wrote specifically for this project — plays underneath.

"I believe in a glamorous life," Gaga says as the camera pans to various blue-tinted shots of her face and outfit.

As the short goes on, the music shifts and the cutting between angles becomes more jittery and violent. Gaga's heavily made-up face becomes the centerpiece, and a kaleidoscope effect takes hold. Wearing shoulder pads and sitting in a chair, Gaga stands in front of a backdrop of stars. In a blend of color, light and glitter, the singer caresses her body while dangling what looks like a star pendent until the music fades black.

Gaga is no stranger to bold pieces of eye-catching cinema — after all, she did win three Moonmen at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Director Ferguson certainly taps into Gaga's edgy aesthetic, and hopefully the collaboration will yield more fashion-forward results in the future.

By Ben Hockin

Heidi Montag made headlines and turned heads by appearing on the cover of Playboy's September issue. When you saw the "Hills" star wearing that white bikini and covered in dirt, you couldn’t help but think, "Wow!" Well, good news for all you Heidi fans: Montag recently told MTV News she would consider posing for Playboy again.

There was some discussion around the office about whether she should pose again. To end the bickering, we took to the streets to see what the people of Times Square thought.

What our informal poll discovered is that if Heidi poses again, there would be very few complaints: 90 percent of our interviewees said Heidi should appear in Playboy again. Only 10 percent said she should not appear again. (One of those nay voters was a guy — who would have ever guessed?)

Would you want to see Heidi Montag in another issue of Playboy? Let us know below.

We like to keep it lighthearted here in the MTV Newsroom, but this week seemed to run at all sorts of extremes. Even amidst the excitement of a handful of euphoric concert experiences, tragedy repeatedly crept up to remind us that there is always balance in life. As you pour a little liquor out for DJ AM, Ted Kennedy or anybody else you may have personally lost this week, take a look at the week that was.

» Superstar record spinner DJ AM was found dead in New York, and we have his final MTV interview.

» The country lost a great statesman this week in Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, who always championed the rights of young people and taught MTV some interesting things about government back in 2000.

» In another flashback, we revisited the tragic anniversary of the death of Aaliyah, who left behind an amazing legacy of forward-thinking pop.
Read more...

It's a little bit strange to think about, but "Weird Al" Yankovic has been scoring hits with song parodies for nearly 30 years. How has he managed to maintain a full career while other novelty songwriters fall by the wayside? He kept ahead of the game and stayed incredibly sharp. His commentary remains clever and biting, and he has been drifting away from parodying actual songs ("Smells Like Nirvana" and "Amish Paradise," for example) and getting into stuff that mocks things stylistically. (Not that he hasn't completely given up attacking specific tunes — his "Trapped in the Drive Thru," a fun-poker at R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet," was brilliant.)

His latest work is an Internet-only EP called Internet Leaks, which collects five singles Yanokovic has dropped in the past year. There's the Doors parody ("Craigslist"), a tribute to actor Charles Nelson Reilly ("CNR") and a sharp play on art school ("Skipper Dan"). The newest single is called "Ringtone," which is about people who have terrible taste in phone-related music. The video is an especially cool animated adventure that features a bunch of cartoon celebrity cameos. Can you spot them all?

I found Sean Connery, Jonah Hill, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Perez Hilton, Owen Wilson, Diddy, Shaquille O'Neal, David Hasselhoff, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Hanks, Ice-T and Spedi. Did I miss anybody? Leave your other observations in the comments below. The EP is available on iTunes and is the first collection of new music since Al's Grammy-nominated Straight Outta Lynwood, which spawned the hit "White and Nerdy."

Last night, I did something I never thought I would do: I left the office, took the subway to Madison Square Garden and showed my ticket to an usher so that I could be let into the Britney Spears concert, the second of her three Circus stops in New York this week. The idea was to get the perspective of somebody not used to big spectacles, and I walked away educated and confused but — ultimately — pleasantly surprised.

Not only had I never seen Britney Spears live, but I also have very little experience with giant pop shows or even arena acts. I've lived in New York for 10 years and have been to Madison Square Garden countless times for basketball games, but prior to last night the only concerts I had ever seen there were R.E.M., AC/DC and an ill-advised Barenaked Ladies show (that one was for a girl). Britney certainly blew away each of those groups (even the heavy-on-pyro AC/DC) with the spectacle that is the Circus tour.

(Click here for more photos from Britney Spears' wild summer!)

For the complete blow-by-blow, you should really check out Jocelyn Vena's full show report from Monday night as well as Jim Cantiello's reactions and highlights, but here are a few things that stood out to me.

» Britney Spears Knows Showmanship
Even during the best rock shows, there will always be a song or two that don't mean as much to you as the rest of them (there are always exceptions). Usually, that's the time to go back to the bar, hit the bathroom or text your friends about what a great show it is, but Britney gives you options. Not a big fan of "Piece of Me"? There are plenty of dancers to distract you. Can't stand "Ooh Ooh Baby"? No worries — magician and former "Saved by the Bell" cast member Ed Alonzo is here to perform some magic. Also, I was seriously impressed with how she covered all areas of the stage so that no corner of the arena could say they got any more or less Britney than anybody else.

» Britney Spears Is Adored
I've spent my entire life going to concerts and sporting events, but rarely have I heard the sort of sustained frenzy that I heard last night. Read more...

Last night on the broadcast of the Miss Universe pageant, MTV star Heidi Montag took her next step toward building her career as a pop singer. Montag performed her new single "Body Language" during the show, and she brought a fully-choreographed (albeit lip-synched) show to the Bahamas for her television debut. The performance received mixed reviews, though there's no denying the hook of the song, which borrows a sample from Yaz's 1982 hit "Situation."

But now that MTV has weighed in on Montag's performance, it's time to turn to the fans and find out what the public thinks of the song and dance at last night's show. So we hit the streets in Times Square to talk to a handful of people (including a few standing in line to see Montag's sister-in-law Stephanie Pratt on today's episode of "It's On with Alexa Chung") and asked them their opinion.

These results are nowhere close to scientific, but the numbers show that 83 percent of the respondents gave the whole package a thumbs down. The reasons were all over the map, too. Some simply didn't like the tune, while others were thrown by her dance choices. And more than one person brought up the fact that her outfit resembled one that Britney Spears wore at the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2000. Still, the 17 percent who endorsed Montag's show cited her beauty and her charisma as reasons to love the budding pop star. Regardless, Montag is just letting the criticism roll off her back.

What do you think: Did Montag steal the show, or did she spoil it? Leave your comments below or head over to Your.MTV.com to make your voice heard!

In any given year, there isn't a whole lot of buzz surrounding the Miss Universe pageant. After all, does anybody really need to know that a bikini-clad woman from Croatia likes Julia Roberts movies? But the buzz for last night's show was much larger, not just because everybody was curious if Miss Venezuela would repeat (she did!) but because MTV reality star Heidi Montag would be making her live debut with a performance of her new single "Body Language," from her forthcoming album.

Following an introduction by pageant co-host Claudia Jordan, the Yaz-borrowing intro to "Body Language" kicked in and Montag stormed the stage wearing a black blazer and flesh-colored pants. She quickly doffed the jacket to reveal a flesh-colored top, creating an almost-nude effect not unlike Britney Spears' outfit at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Montag lip-synced the song and stayed in step with her backup dancers, all of whom had been furiously rehearsing in preparation for the show, which broadcast from the Bahamas. During the performance, the broadcast frequently cut away from Montag to show clips of various contestants in bathing suits on the beach, and when the camera was on Heidi, it was more than a little zoom-happy. Still, she got across the sexiness of the song despite a few dancing missteps.

By the time the song wrapped up, Montag was clearly out of breath but looked satisfied. We didn't get the chance to hear how her voice sounded live in person, but there will likely be more chances in the future. General sentiment was that the dancing was a little off, but it was honestly hard to tell considering the production and camera choices. Montag earned herself a passing grade, which means that the jury is still out on whether or not her music career will take off.

"I think that my Playboy photos express very strongly my nature as a woman. They were classy, they depicted the parts of my body that I love, and I felt completely beautiful and secure and empowered by them. There's been so much speculation and competition between the two MTV girls, and I had heard that Spencer made a statement about it, but, I don't know, I think mine's still the winner."

-Former Danity Kane member Aubrey O'Day discussing how her Playboy pictorial stacked up against that of fellow MTV star Heidi Montag. Unlike Montag, O'Day got completely starkers for her shoot, and she suggests that if Montag goes back to Playboy again (a suggestion she is open to), then she should go the full monty. "You know you can take a million pretty pictures, every celebrity girl has taken a million pretty pictures," O'Day told MTV News. "But it's like: Which pictures are really going to stand out and be iconic, and which pictures are just pretty pictures that are here today, gone tomorrow?"

The release of Heidi Montag's first full-length album is about a month away, and the star of "The Hills" and "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" is ready to dive headlong into the next stage of her career. First up is her new single "Body Language," which is now available on iTunes and will get a music video treatment next week following Montag's performance at the Miss Universe pageant this Sunday night (August 23). "Body Language" is a dance tune built around a sample of Yaz's "Situation" that features Montag cooing Auto-Tune-assisted lines like "Come and take control over me/ Show authority." You can listen to the track here.

But what do the people think? As always, we took the elevator down to the street and stuck some microphones in front of a random sampling of people in Times Square (including a handful of fans waiting to get in to watch Alexis Bledel on today's episode of "It's On with Alexa Chung") and asked them what they thought of Montag's new song.

The mind-blowingly unscientific results are in, and they're not so good for Montag. 64 percent of the folks we talked to gave "Body Language" the thumbs down, many citing the weakness of her voice as their reason for voting nay. Interestingly, the 36 percent who endorsed the track were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the beat and the effectiveness of the hook.

What do you think: Is "Body Language" a hit or a horror? Leave your thoughts in the comments or head over to Your.MTV.com to make your voice heard!

MTV star Heidi Montag rehearsed for her big appearance at the Miss Universe pageant, which airs live this Sunday (August 23) from the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. She worked through moves for her hotly-anticipated dance number that will accompany her performance of her new single "Body Language," which was just released on iTunes. The Miss Universe pageant will also feature performances from Kelly Rowland and Flo Rida.

"Body Language" borrows a sample from Yaz's "Situation" and features the chorus "Read my body language/ I do what you like/ So prove that you're right/ Control me." It comes from her upcoming self-titled album, which is due out at the end of September. Montag is also currently on the cover of Playboy.

Also spotted around the world yesterday: John Mayer exits a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles, the All-American Rejects rock a gig in Sydney and the cast of "Glee" visit a mall in Philadelphia. Click here for these photos plus "Spotted!" shots of Beyoncé, Madonna, the Jonas Brothers, Paris Hilton, Russell Brand and Bono!