With Attention Deficit finally hitting stores, I'm officially naming Tuesday, November 17 as the Day of Wale. It's been a long time coming for the D.C rapper's debut album, and it has certainly been worth the wait. People underestimate how difficult it is to actually get to the stage where you can put out a debut album, but Wale is making it work.

There's no question whether Wale is a skilled MC. He's one of the brightest young stars in music today and some would argue the best lyricist in hip-hop's new school. The question is: Can Wale survive in a harsh music climate?

Wale's debut single "Chillin" (featuring the hottest woman in pop, Lady Gaga) set him on the right track, and with an album filled with great collaborations (including Pharrell Williams, J. Cole and Gucci Mane to name but a few) and hits like "Pretty Girls," "Let it Loose" and a personal favourite "Contemplate" (featuring a great Rihanna sample), I'm gonna bet yes.

When he stopped by the MTV News studio on the day of release, one thing was pretty clear: Wale had a late one. The night before, his label mate Daniel Merriweather had performed a great set here in the city, and after the show everyone moved to celebrate Wale's official album launch party at the Marquee nightclub.

Dressed casually, Wale spoke on how he feels this album means more to him than any album has ever met to any other artist in history, the breakdown of his favourite songs on the album, the meaning of the album cover, the music, how the album musically lives up to its name Attention Deficit, his relationship with Jay-Z, what separates him from the likes of Drake and Cudi, the experience of working with the likes of Pharrell, Gucci Mane and the other collaborators on the album and a lot of other stuff. Look out for the interviews on MTV News.

There's no doubt that Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 is one of the best albums to hit the streets in 2009, and the singles "Run This Town" and "Empire State of Mind" have both become iconic entries in Jigga's long list of hits. Seven years ago, Jay was also working behind an entry in the Blueprint series. On November 12, 2002, he dropped The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, a sprawling double album that represents the legendary Brooklyn MC at his most experimental. There are forays into rock (the Cake-sampling "Guns & Roses," which features guitar by Lenny Kravitz), flashy club pop (the Pharrell Williams-produced "Excuse Me Miss") and some of Timbaland's best latter-day productions (the jittery "The Bounce" and the flashy "2 Many Hoes"). It's a long and sometimes difficult album, but it's one of the more playful pieces of Jigga's catalog.

Oddly, The Blueprint 2 is sometimes remembered as a pure pop album (despite the fact that most of the second disc contains some real genre stretching stuff). It's possible that people are simply remembering it for it's two biggest singles: The aforementioned "Excuse Me Miss" and the Beyoncé-assisted "'03 Bonnie & Clyde." The latter is one of those larger-than-life Kanye West productions that has a bit, easy-going groove and a gigantic hook. Though it's excellent, it's easily one of the most radio-friendly tunes Jay-Z has ever put out. It has a delightfully playful video that casts Jay and Beyoncé as outlaws on the run from the police.

Britney Spears will release a new hits compilation called The Singles Collection this Tuesday, but on November 6, 2001, she dropped a key album in her musical evolution and the collection that marked her transition from teen starlet to international pop superstar. Britney was a true turning point for Spears, who had spent the end of the 20th century riding high on the success of ...Baby One More Time and Oops! ... I Did It Again. In the lead-up to her third album, there were rumors flying around that Britney would be a more evolved, more "adult"-sounding collection, and when the first single "I'm a Slave 4 U" dropped (assisted by a hypnotic Pharrell beat and a video that featured legions of sweaty, gyrating, half-naked dancers), the hype seemed to be legitimate.

But the real first blush with emancipation from her teen pop past came with "Overprotected," the album's second single. The song was Spears' most confessional lyric yet, stating that she's tired of being coddled and kept from the world. In the years that followed, Spears certainly managed to get out from under the thumbs of her oppressors (for better or for worse).

Britney debuted on top of the Billboard album charts, moving about 750,000 copies in its first week. Spears became the only female in history to have her first three albums debut in the top slot, and Britney has gone on to sell over nine million copies. In addition to "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Overprotected," it contained the hits "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," "I Love Rock and Roll" (her Joan Jett cover) and "Boys." Enjoy the video for "Overprotected" and consider how far Britney has come.

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.

Last week, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart made their way out of Canada after wrapping up the filming of "Eclipse," which made our neighbor to the north slightly less star-studded than it was while the third installment of the "Twilight" film series was still shooting. Still, Canada got a pretty good trade-off, as they lost the "Twilight" stars but picked up Jay-Z, who visited Toronto on Halloween. He stopped by MuchMusic (with J. Cole, Pharrell and Wale in tow) and then threw down at the Air Canada Centre that night for a concert. He's probably hoping his hometown Yankees wrap up the World Series tonight, because Jigga will be on his way to London for a show on Wednesday night.

Hova wasn't the only star with an international flair over the weekend, as Green Day played a giant show at the city's Wembley Stadium on Sunday and Robert Pattinson made a trip to Japan. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which includes over 350 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Madonna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, U2, Janet Jackson and Adam Lambert!

By Steven Roberts

The wait is finally over! Pastelle is here! You know, Kanye West's sorta-highly-anticipated fashion line? Remember "So go 'head, go nuts, go ape s---/ Specially in my Pastelle or my Bape s---"? Yeah, that Kanye West fashion line!

Photos finally hit the Web late yesterday of the much talked about — and nearly forgotten — clothing line by Kanye. The Louis Vuitton Don has been plugging his fashion line since his debut album, The College Dropout, when he was rocking Jordan VIs, a leather Louis backpack and a Polo sweaters — you know, the one with the cute little bear on it. Fans have waited patiently, but the only evidence of it has been a static Web site and a few pieces that Mr.West has worn at various award shows and red carpets.

Despite the delay of his own brand, Yeezy has been incredible active in the fashion world. He has released the Air Yeezys through a partnership with Nike, teamed up with Louis Vuitton to release a line of high-end, much more expensive shoes, was declared the winner of Complex magazine's Style Wars (an honor Pharrell should've won, but I digress) and of course there was Paris Fashion Week back in January.

Check out photos of the line. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it does renew interest in the Voice of This Generation's brand.

UPDATE: Turns out Pastelle will never, ever, ever come out.

From taking the Staten Island Ferry out to Governors Island for the first time to seeing Asher Roth and N.E.R.D. play an awesome outdoor concert in front of a couple hundred people to chopping it up with Santigold, Mary J. Blige and Pharrell Williams, these last couple days have been non-stop.

Today was the big MTV Video Music Awards media forum at Radio City Music Hall, an annual event where the country's top radio stations all converge in a huge makeshift media room in the basement of the legendary venue.

Sway, who is an old pro at doing radio both as the host and the interviewee, offered me some sound advice as we braved the rain and walked a few blocks from the MTV News headquarters in Times Square to Radio City. "Just do you!" he said, sounding a little Nike commercial-esque. But then again, he does know best.

The room was a maze of tables operating as temporary radio stations, with all the artists moving from interview to interview. Kid Cudi, Ryan Leslie, Fabolous, Raekwon, Jay Sean, Wale, Melody from the Pussycat Dolls, DJ Cassidy, Twista and a whole host of others were all hard at work talking VMAs, new projects and — in the case of the Las Vegas stations — downing shots of tequila as well. That's just how they do it in Vegas.

From Detroit to Philadelphia, I spoke with as many radio shows that would have me, and the everyone wanted to know three things: What's Lady Gaga going to be wearing, is Madonna going to introduce Janet Jackson's tribute to Michael and will Eminem be a surprise performer? My lips are sealed! But if you tune in Sunday at 8 p.m., you're certain to find out!

Right now, there's no place I'd rather be than here in New York City. There are two great reasons. First, the Video Music Awards are in town this whole week, with the big awards show taking place on Sunday night. But it's also the start of New York's Fashion Week. It all kicked off last night with New York's famous Fashion Night Out, where stores from Bloomingdale's to BAPE all kept there shop fronts open until late to showcase new designers and clothes.

Outside the Billionaire Boys Club boutique store in Soho, hundreds of kids were lining up, eager to get their hands on some exclusive limited edition gear. Inside the store, there was a special guest cashier: Pharrell Williams. We ducked into the store to talk to Pharrell about why he was manning the till, his take on the nominees at this years VMAs and who he thinks are the hottest MCs in the game right now (Kanye, Drake, T.I., Jay-Z, the Game, Rick Ross — he says hip-hop is in a good place right now). He broke down what it was like working with Jay-Z on The Blueprint 3 and how "So Ambitious," arguably the best track on the album, came together. He talked about working with Drake — who he called "The Truth," which is a huge compliment coming from a producer of his stature.

Before we left him to meet the hundreds of waiting fans, we grilled him with the Ultimate VMA Quiz. I wouldn't say he cheated his way to getting everything right, but imaginary-phoning a friend might be bending the rules just a little bit.

Throughout my career as a music writer and critic, I've been wrong about plenty of things. I gave Missy Elliott's Under Construction a poor review (it ended up being one of the best albums of 2002). After hearing the title track from the not-yet-released American Idiot, I declared that Green Day would only sell 50,000 records and would probably break up. And more recently, I didn't think that Kings of Leon would ever become as big (or as cool) as rock critics wanted them to be. But the Tennessee quartet has proved me wrong, having taken their latest album Only by the Night to platinum status, headlined huge concerts and festivals and now getting an all-star remix album together care of some of their high-profile fans. The group told Billboard that the forthcoming compilation would feature remixes care of Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Pharrell Williams and Mark Ronson.

"It's neat to have these people who we would've jumped at the chance to work with ourselves ... coming to us before we even get a chance to ask them," drummer Nathan Followill said. "It's amazing to hear your song played by these people who are so creative."

It's not clear what the remixes would sound like or even which tunes will be getting a re-jiggering, but there are a few team-ups that would be ideal. Timberlake should lend a bit of harder-edged disco to the sorta-dance-ready "Sex on Fire." Linkin Park could turn "Molly's Chambers" into one of their aggro stomps, while Pharrell should take "The Bucket" and slather a little bit of robot funk on it. But since Rihanna was recently spotted hanging with the band and attending a KOL show, somebody should give her a call and encourage her to do a straight cover of "Use Somebody." The band's gorgeous ballad — their first trip into the upper-echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 — could be reduced to little more than Rihanna's haunting voice, which could add layers of pathos to an already stunning track. And to return the favor, Kings of Leon should cover "Umbrella."

By Nicole Guanlao

If someone was to ask me how I would describe Colbie Caillat's music, I'd have to say her tunes ooze happiness. I love to be happy, so it's no wonder that I'm a huge fan of this blonde beauty's work. Admit it! You had "Bubbly" on repeat! Imagine my elation when I got to interview her and I realized that Colbie is actually just as sweet and nice as her music.

We talked about skydiving (she just recently jumped out of a plane) and the story about her tattoo (which looks like it was drawn on with crayons). The tiny flower symbolizes Coco, her debut album, while the larger one represents her follow-up record, Breakthrough (which drops today).

The highlight of the interview came when we talked about future collaborations. Colbie's team-up with the hat-wearing, guitar-strumming Jason Mraz on the single "Lucky" wasn't much of a surprise considering they share a laid-back, California-centric sound, but I was surprised to hear that the songstress' musical taste is more diverse than I originally thought. Fans would be surprised to know that she hopes to pull a Taylor Swift (a former collaborator on Swift's "Breathe") and work with a rapper next!

"The next collaboration I want to do is with a hip hop artist like Common or Pharrell Williams," she told me. "I love [Bone Thugs-N-Harmony] and Notorious B.I.G., so something like that where I can do the pretty melody — kind of like the Fugees and Black Eyed Peas."

It’s hard for me to see Colbie waving her hands in air like she's a true playa, but I have to admit that she's talented enough to pull it off.

Her new video for "Fallin' for You" has her frolicking on the beach with "Saturday Night Live" funnyman Bobby Moynihan, but upon hearing of her desire to work with a hip-hop artist, I couldn't help but swap Bobby out for T-Pain and visualize the rapper rolling around on the beach and surfing. Now that's a sight to see!

Perhaps you read that Mariah Carey's upcoming CD, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, will come with a 34-page booklet packed with ads for upscale perfumes and liquors. Her label, Island/Def Jam, is promoting the venture as a ground-breaker in integrating marketing for a music industry that has seen a steadily increasing decline in music sales over the past decade. But as pioneering as it is, Mariah is not the first artist to dip her toe into musical product placement by teaming up with advertisers to hawk her music.

Last year, Chris Brown's label cut a deal with the Wm. Wrigley, Jr. company to have the singer turn his song "Forever" into a jingle in ads for Doublemint gum by using the 1famous "double your pleasure, double your fun" tagline. While plenty of singers have lent their songs out to be used in commercials, the collaboration with the gum maker and Brown — whose ads were pulled after he was arrested for assaulting Rihanna — presented a new level of corporate collaboration.

Coca-Cola recently recruited Cee-Lo Green from Gnarls Barkley, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie, Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy and Janelle Monae to write and sing a new jingle, "Open Happiness," which was turned into a music video aired, among other places, on MTV. And last year, Santigold, Pharrell Williams and Strokes singer Julian Casablancas hooked up to write "My Drive Thru," a jingle for Converse sneakers.

For years, artists like Jay-Z and Diddy have hyped their own brands in songs, and others, like Busta Rhymes, have gotten deals on the back end after paying tribute to liquors like Courvoisier in verse. But more recently, new band Parachute acoustically reworked their song "She is Love" to serve as the "single" for a new ad for beauty products giant Nivea. The deal was such a success that the band's next single is also going to be used in a Nivea ad.

But frankly, these deals pale in comparison to a few of the most notorious product placement gigs in music history. First came British rock icons the Who, whose third album, 1967's The Who Sell Out, was packaged as a concept record with fake commercials between the songs but which led to lawsuits by real commercial interests who cried foul over the parodies. Then there was Flaunt It, the notorious 1986 debut album from New Wave supergroup Sigue Sigue Sputnik, on which the band sold actual ad time between songs alongside fake ads that they created themselves.