By Rya Backer

Being an MTV employee has its perks: Access to concerts, meeting famous people you like, spending your day just yards away from Tim Kash. But the greatest gift MTV has given its workers is a large room on the seventh floor with a balcony the length of half a city block. It may look like little more than a cafeteria, but it's called the Lodge, and sometimes it's like a second home.

For those at 1515 Broadway, the Lodge has become the place to eat in midtown Manhattan. The staff is friendly, there's an amazing mac and cheese station, and most importantly, they have a wing bar every Friday which has made me gain approximately 40 pounds solely because of my blue cheese dressing intake.

So when my co-worker Steven and I hit the red carpet for the grand opening of the American Eagle store across the street from our building in Times Square, we had the chance to talk to fellow MTV-er Adrienne Bailon for her thoughts on the corporate canteen.

It turns out that while she enjoys some of its offerings ("I'm actually a fan of the pizza section and the sandwiches. I'm really into that," she told us), she's a bigger fan of Times Square Bagel, a hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop store right across the stree. I can order from there every single morning when I'm in hair and makeup," she revealed. "I order a bagel every morning. I try to go pumpernickel. It's less carbs."

Check out the clip below. And seriously Adrienne: I'm on 29, and any time you get bored of wearing that top, I'll happily take it off your hands.

"There was a first phone call, and Jay hit me up like, 'I feel like I have this record that's going to be the anthem of New York.' He's like, 'The piano, the way the style [is], the whole flow, and it couldn't be the anthem of New York without you.' Obviously, I'm very grateful to him for reaching out to me and for that type of ability to represent my hometown, like, that was crazy. So we went to the studio. I went to the studio, and ... I fell in love from the jump."

-Alicia Keys, talking about how "Empire State of Mind," her collaboration with Jay-Z, got started. The song, which the duo will perform before tonight's World Series game in Yankees Stadium, took a bit of time to create, but that was because Keys knew that she had to nail it perfectly. "I did try it a couple of times, but it was more about capturing the kind of grand feeling of it," she explained to MTV News correspondent Tim Kash. "With the way I sang it the first time, I was actually kind of sick, and I knew that he needed the record, so I was like, 'Let me get to it.'" Keys' own new album The Element of Freedom will be released on December 15.

It's a busy day in the MTV Newsroom today. At the moment, Tim Kash is sitting down for a chat with Alicia Keys (she says her new album The Element of Freedom will be a big, synthesizer-heavy departure from her past work). But there's another interview happening just around the corner: "Gossip Girl" and "Mercy" star Michelle Trachtenberg is here to talk about straddling two hit TV shows.

Trachtenberg is probably best known for playing Dawn on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a show created and produced by Joss Whedon. In the past few months, it seems as though we've had a regular rotation of alums from Whedon shows stop by to hang out and chat about their new projects. They are all members of a tightly-wound, closely-followed community known as the "Whedonverse," which represents the various projects that Whedon has worked on in his two-decade career.

For example, just a few weeks ago we were visited by Eliza Dushku, who is the star of Whedon's current show "Dollhouse." She also got her biggest break in Hollywood when she picked up a recurring role in the third season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She talked a lot about "Dollhouse" but also about "WET," the video game she recently lent her voice to.

Before that, we were visited by David Boreanaz, who stopped by to talk about his hit show "Bones" but is best known as the heroic vampire with a soul from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." Boreanaz talked about the joys of working with Cyndi Lauper and the current vampire trend that he was way head of the curve on.

Earlier in the summer, "Castle" star Nathan Fillion sat down with Multiplayer editor Russ Frushtick to play a little "Halo 3: ODST" (he provided voices for both that game and for "Halo 3"). But what was Fillion's original claim to fame? He was Captain Malcolm Reynolds on the short-lived but much-loved Whedon sci-fi western "Firefly" (as well as the film "Serenity").

So to any members of the Whedonverse who want to sit down for a talk with MTV News — including Alyson Hannigan (Willow from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Neil Patrick Harris (the titular character from "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Amy Acker (Fred from "Angel"), Adam Baldwin (Jayne from "Firefly") or Alexis Denisof (Wesley from "Buffy" and "Angel") — just drop us a line and we'll carve out some time for you at the center of the Whedonverse.

It's Tokio Hotel week at MTV News, which means that everywhere you look there will be four glammed-out Germans and their groovy new album Humanoid. You should check out the MTV News Extended Play on the band, which will be updated daily with more tidbits from our exclusive video interview. And be sure to stay tuned to Newsroom for all the behind-the-scenes news from Tim Kash's time with the band. Humanoid represents the next step in the band's development, as they've taken the format that made them infamous (heartfelt lyrics matched with sleek riffs and anthemic choruses) and added bits of electronic music, dance beats and a bit of orchestration. It's a huge, widescreen album that perfectly matches the band's attitude.

Even though Humanoid is only the band's second English album, it's actually their fourth overall, and throughout their near-decade together, their appearance has evolved profoundly from album to album. Frontman Bill Kaulitz started out onstage with a sleek, almost aggro look (in this photo, you could probably convince somebody that he was actually Adam Lambert). Along the way, they've added futuristic fashions and a lot more hair (though Tom Kaulitz's signature dreadlocks have changed very little in the past eight years). Click here for more photos that detail the evolution of Tokio Hotel, from their beginnings as a Germany-only phenomenon to their breakout with Scream to the worldwide sensation that is Humanoid.

When John Mayer premiered his new single "Who Says" (the lead single from his forthcoming album Battle Studies), it appeared on the surface to be a simple ode to hanging out by yourself and getting high. But as Mayer told MTV's Tim Kash, the track is meant to make you reconsider its meaning several times.

"It sort of plays with your perception a little bit," Mayer said. "It starts out and it's like, 'Oh, is he being campy? Is he exploiting something?' But if you stay with the song long enough, then you start to realize that it's not about marijuana. It's actually about freedom and living your life."

Mayer told Kash that the tone that takes over later on in the song helps to broaden the meaning. "It starts out where you go, 'Oh, I get it, you're going to be like the male Amy Winehouse here.' But then it gets sweet, and the sweetness takes over and you begin to trust the message." He never intended to make a song that was provocative for the sake of being provocative — in fact, that's something he tries to avoid. "People don't like things that are purposefully shocking. They start to feel abused by it," he said.

He has faith that his message will get through, provided that listeners invest the necessary time to the track. "By the time the solo kicks in, you think 'Okay, I think this guy might be from the heart right now,' and by the last chorus you're like, 'Okay, I get it.'"

Floyd "Money" Mayweather calls himself a living legend in the boxing game, and it's hard to argue with him. He has yet to lose a fight in his career and has held world championships in five different weight classes. He's as much an icon outside of the ring as in, known for flashing around giant stacks of money and wearing flashy bling (it's no wonder he fit right in as a character on WWE programming back in 2008). So when MTV News' Tim Kash asked Mayweather who in the music world most inspired him, his answer made perfect sense.

"Michael Jackson," the former champ said. "Flashy. Diamond socks. Glitter glove. Just like I brought to the sport of boxing, he brought something totally different." For a tough guy, Mayweather's take on Jackson's greatness is awfully poetic. "He was an artist who painted a picture when he danced," he said. "Today, you still play his songs and you get a chill through your body. Just like me in the fight game — I do the same thing."

Like a lot of other athletes, Mayweather draws a lot of inspiration from a number of musicians. During his sit-down, he called Drake "tough" and also praised the work of Jay-Z and Kanye West. He also addressed the feud between himself and rapper Rick Ross. "When you're on a certain level, you just let things go by," he said of the situation, which began when Ross baited Mayweather with a lyric in the song "Mafia Music." "I'm gonna stay in my lane and he's gonna stay in his lane." He even counts Ross as a fan, saying that he was in the audience when Mayweather fought Ricky Hatton. "Whether you pay to see me win or pay to see me lose, you still pay, so I thank Rick Ross for his donation."

"I think she's smart enough to realize there is some interference of the brain that she doesn't want to deal with. Artists have enough to deal with. She's a child, she's a fantastic artist — I think there's enough mental real estate being taken up by dealing with all of that stuff. For whatever reason, I am old enough and smart enough to tell someone to go f--- themselves if they tell me to go f--- myself. I think if you're in Miley's situation, it might take a little too much time to play goalie for your own heart and mind. So I totally get it."

-Twitter enthusiast John Mayer, commenting on Miley Cyrus' decision to delete her account on the microblogging service, which caused quite a media stir last week. Mayer sat down with MTV News' Tim Kash to talk about his new album Battle Studies, the just-premiered video for its first single "Who Says" and a reality he calls "The Hate-rix." "I call it that because it's not really happening. It's just this fake world of people criticizing other people," he laughed. "It's a shame, but look, that's what it comes down to in America. Miley is somebody who's made a bunch of money doing something she loves. Most people do things they hate, for less money. If somebody can repurpose something that somebody loves doing for a lot of money, in order to make a little bit of that money, they're gonna do it. So nobody hates Miley Cyrus; they're just picking up on her brand, repurposing it, to try to make a little bit of Miley cash. It's damaging people's minds."

The chill in the air is enough to convince us that fall is actually here. So rather than hitting the backyard barbecue, it's time for leaf peeping, pumpkin carving and watching college football. But before you wrap up the last of your work for the week and hit the nearest hay ride, be sure to check out everything you might have missed this week on the MTV Newsroom blog, from the deep dirt on Lady Gaga to some pre-emptively rejected Kris Allen album titles.

» Before Lady Gaga was a fashion-forward hit machine, she was just a New York University student desperately trying to eat a salad without hurting anybody.

» Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell forced the group to bow out of a bunch of promotional dates because he caught swine flu, but that didn't stop us from celbrating the release of the group's new album This Is Us.

» On "Dancing with the Stars," Debi Mazar and Tom DeLay both did the loser shuffle. Meanwhile, Chuck Liddell is gaining some serious skills, but the competition is still Mya's to lose.

» Kris Allen's debut album doesn't have a title yet, and MTV News' Jim Cantiello wants him to know what not to do.

» In other correspondent news, James Montgomery wrote some lovely things about Pink — so lovely, in fact, that she tweeted her gratitude.
Read more...

By Chad Bullock

"Money" is pro boxer Floyd Mayweather's nickname for a good reason. Mayweather dropped by the MTV Newsroom to talk to MTV News correspondent Tim Kash about practically everything (fighting, music, Hannah Montana), but mostly about his money. If I were worth over $200 million, I would probably talk about my money, too. He recently walked away with over $10 million for his highly-anticipated comeback fight against lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

While he is flashy and very vocal about his success (he has yet to lose a fight as a pro), he also has a good sense of humor about it all. He joked about how he ran out of candy on Halloween last year and ended up giving all the kids $100 bills. (Why didn't I have a multi-time champion living in my neighborhood growing up?)

He also joked about how he and Diddy always get together just to talk about their money. "We both like private jets," Mayweather joked.

Although Mayweather is only five feet, eight inches tall and fights at 147 pounds, he still strikes an imposing figure. He told Tim that it would be hard for anyone to beat him. "There is no blueprint to beat me because I haven't lost yet," he told Kash proudly. He said it simply but powerfully, and it hit me so hard that I immediately wrote it down so I could tweet about it and use it as my Facebook status.

Whether it's in the boxing ring, at a club, on WWE programming or behind the scenes of his music business, Floyd "Money" Mayweather always makes an impact, and he certainly did the same during his visit to MTV News. It's not certain who he will fight next nor what his next business venture will be, but one thing is for sure: It will be all about the money.

By Matthew Wenzel

That's right. Yours truly was the Moonman on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards Preshow on Sunday night. How did I land that job? I don't want to get into it. But I would like to say that it was a great opportunity not only to work for MTV, but also to hang out with lots of cool people in the audience and on the carpet — and of course the multitude of stars who showed up.

However, every job has its pros and cons. While I did have a lot of fun and walk around the red carpet and make a fool of myself, I was sweating like crazy. It must have been 150 degrees inside that suit. OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it was hot. I also could only see out of the MTV logo on the middle of the helmet, so seeing where I was going (as well as who I was standing near) was tough.

All in all, I had a great time, and would not pass up the opportunity again. My only regret is that most people didn't get to see what I got up to on the red carpet. For example, I had a battle with Jack Black, got punched in the helmet by Perez Hilton and got sniffed by Tre Cool while Green Day posed for a picture with me. None of these silly moments made it to the air, and while I understand that more important things needed to be shown, it still would have been fun to see.

But there's always next year. At least, I hope there is. I think the right people have my number. Are you guys reading this? Call me! Tim Kash told me to get a better job at the close of the show, but I'm down for putting the suit on anytime.