Lady Gaga is the truth. Some people may not be able to comprehend her eccentric ways, but you can not deny her artistic talents. There aren't many entertainers in pop music that I consider the full package — i.e., anybody who can sing, write songs, dance, produce and still be fun to watch, but she is the rare star who can pull it off.

Now it appears to me that she is also a fun date, too! At least that is the impression I got when I heard her banter back and forth with the one and only Kermit the Frog. I know it was staged, but I love a woman with a great sense of humor. I admit it was a bit awkward interviewing a Muppet on the red carpet at the VMAs, but how many people can say that they actually did that? It was like interviewing an old friend that you grew up with.

Off-camera, Lady Gaga was very personable and — dare I say it? — normal. We first met years ago when she was an aspiring artist, but I wasn't sure if she'd remember me. But she did. When a career takes off as hers has, it's understandably hard to remember everyone that you encounter when you're on your freshman grind. She told me that her red carpet outfit was a bit restricting, so it was a little difficult to simply turn her neck to see what was around her. She also expressed that she was happy that we mentioned her fans, because that is what it's all about for her. I thought that her humility was refreshing, especially considering the unforeseeable stage-jacking by another artist that took place later on during the big show. The bottom line is this: I'm looking forward to what Lady Gaga brings us in the future.

It's really interesting to observe one of the music industry's most celebrated artists navigate his way through uncharted territories in his rap career. Other than LL Cool J and Nas, there hasn't been an artist in the rap game who has been able to sustain his peak level of relevance as long as Jay-Z. As hip-hop fans, we tend to critique a little harder the longer an artist survives and the older they get. I grew out of that a long time ago — if the music feels good today, then I roll with it. I don't compare it to your past work or factor in your region or how long you've been in the game.

Jay's "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" struck a chord with me in a good way because it had substance. When an artist like Jay-Z or Eminem takes a stance on record, it's always electrifying, even if I disagree with the viewpoint. It raised my level of anticipation for the next strategic song placement leading to The Blueprint 3.

So now we have "Run This Town" featuring Rihanna and Kanye West. This song is an event — one of the most anticipated (Jay-Z), the most talked-about (Rihanna) and the most celebrated (Kanye) all on the same track. I get the feeling that these three are ready for battle when listening to this song. It's not so much that they have anything to prove, but it's almost a reminder that "We do this!" Kanye has been very detailed in his lyrical performances for a while, whereas I tend to hang on words for every two bars. It's a very unified collaboration. My curiosity is piqued: What direction is Jay going to take? How will Rihanna re-enter the scene? What kind of experimentation will Kanye do next? All in all, it's a good song that doesn't fully answer all of my questions as a fan, but it definitely excites me to want to know what's next for all three artists.

What do you think: Does "Run This Town" deliver or do you think Jigga could have done better? Let me know in the comments.

It was extremely challenging to cover Michael Jackson's memorial at the Staples Center. I grew up listening to Michael Jackson's music, from "I Want You Back" to Off the Wall to Thriller. He was very instrumental because I grew up in a family of dancers, so he was very instrumental in our lives because we danced like he danced. That was how we learned how to move. To have to say goodbye to him — but at the same time be professional — was extremely challenging. You couldn't find much room for emotion, and you have to find a way to balance it out.

I thought the memorial was very appropriately done. They had very powerful speakers: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who said that a person is innocent until proven guilty in this country; Michael's brother Marlon, who wished that Michael oversee his twin brother who died when they were younger; and Paris, Michael's daughter, speaking about how great of a father he was. The performances were excellent. Jennifer Hudson always has a powerful voice.

I think the city of Los Angeles can be proud of itself for dealing with this chaos, because they handled it fairly well, from the security aspect to allowing those with proper credentials to have access to being respectful of those who didn't.

I think all of this is a testament to what a great entertainer Michael was. It's like what Berry Gordy said: "He's was simply the greatest entertainer who ever lived."

I was very honored to be able to deliver these shows, from the day he passed to the day he was brought to rest. I was honored to be one of the people on our staff to give the world the information that they desired. It seemed like everybody was in mourning because he touched everybody.

I was always told that it's good to cry, because it helps to release a lot of built-up emotions. It makes it even more gratifying when you cry because you're laughing so hard.

That happened today when I talked to Andy Samberg as he prepares for his hosting gig for the MTV Movie Awards. We met up at the back of the Gibson Amphitheatre on the Universal Studios lot. This is the area where the limos pick up the stars when the show is over. There is also a patio where the stars come to mingle and do press when the festivities end. Read more...

Throughout the campaign and his months in the oval office, President Barack Obama has made service a top priority. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg followed Obama's lead today with his NYC Service event, and I was honored to be asked to serve as his co-host.

Mayor Bloomberg wants New York to be the nation's capital for service. His plan includes appointing a chief service officer, recruiting new volunteers and requiring schools to promote volunteering. There were quite a few notable attendees, including Caroline Kennedy, former New York first lady Silda Wall Spitzer and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who shook my hand and thanked me for coming out.

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The new Day26 album, Forever in a Day, drops tomorrow, and the "Making the Band" stars have come a long way since their debut.

I'm no stranger to them. I've hosted every "Making the Band" finale, and even when they were auditioning to become members of the band, I got to know them really well, because I did a really hard-core, put-them-in-the-hot-seat kind of interview to make sure they could handle the pressures of media. In a sense, I feel like I helped media-train them early on in the game. Ever since, we've always had a great rapport.

I watched this past season and saw that they had a lot of friction within the crew. Every episode, there seemed to be an argument, because Q was unhappy with the progress of things, about the music they were recording, and he wanted to go in a different direction. He was very paranoid that people were talking about him and didn't want him in the group any longer.

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Now that was an "OMG!" moment.

It's not every day that U2's management calls your boss and requests your services.

The pressure was on. My introduction to U2 happened in 1992, when I went to the Oakland Coliseum to see Public Enemy. I didn't know that U2 were headlining — or even who they were — but to my surprise, their performance blew me away and opened my mind to contemporary rock music. And now they wanted me to host a global radio broadcast!

I was just trying to get in the zone all day. It's one thing to prepare and research, but wrangling your emotions when everything's going crazy around you is another thing entirely. And it was crazy in the Somerville Theatre!

The band was soundchecking clear up until doors. There were thousands of fans outside trying to get in. Police everywhere, satellite trucks, TV production — the works.

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Have you ever gone to church after not being there for a while, and you hear a really illuminating, all-knowing sermon, and you feel cleansed? You walk away from the church feeling 10 pounds lighter and like a giant weight has been lifted from your consciousness. Anyway, that's how I felt after interviewing U2. Interviewing them made me feel how I used to feel when I first got into the game.

They were excited about music culture. As big as they've become, they have more humility and hunger than rappers I've interviewed who've only had one hit in the past year. Music to them is not just plucking their strings; it's spiritual. Them boys live to play, and they love to create and they love to make an impact on those who listen, and they want to be as good as they can be. They care immensely about their fans.

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Something has changed in my friend Crooked I.

I've known him since the '90s, for over 10 years. I met him as an up-and-coming artist around the same time I met Eminem, Xzibit and the Roots. He was then, as he is now, one of the most skillful lyricists I've ever heard, and he's been a regular visitor on "The Wake Up Show."

Crooked I has had a very roller-coaster career. He's been through many independent labels and was also signed to one of the most controversial labels of all time, Death Row Records; he never released an album while signed to Death Row. He was once regarded as the guy who would resurrect the West Coast. Since then, he's become an Internet giant and has yet to drop the milestone that would revive his career.

I consider him a friend. Our relationship has gone beyond DJ/ TV personality and rapper. We communicate for advice and insight. Without revealing too much, I know that Crooked I has always been heavily involved in the streets, and you always worry about people who live in those circles, because nothing's guaranteed. I felt like he was making it out of that — until he was shot at.

I think something has changed in him since the incident, and I can hear sincerely that he really is contemplating his next move as an artist and what he wants to say to the world. He said he pretty much has cheated four or five brushes with death, and now he wants to leave a bigger legacy, in case he doesn't cheat the next one. He wants to reach people in a whole new, positive way. I, for one, am very supportive of that and interested to see what that means at the end of the day. Read more...

I had a chance to sit down with another president — Bill Clinton. When I walked into his Harlem office, Bill said, "Hey, man, how are you doing?" It was like we were old pals!

The former commander in chief was in great spirits. He always seems to be in storytelling mode if you can spark his interest. He's very aware, very warm, very jovial and very genuine, all at the same time.

We had actually met before, in 2008 at the MTV/ Clinton Global Initiative event at the Apollo along with Shakira, Alicia Keys, Chris Rock and Bono. This time, the purpose of the interview was to talk about a film that MTV made about "Real World" star Pedro Zamora and his courageous fight to make the world more aware of HIV and AIDS.

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