It wasn't easy picking that winner. We got entries from all across the U.S., not to mention Australia, Spain, Italy and the UK. Entries from kids in school, the military and wheelchairs. We got entries from babies and dancing octopus puppets. There were kids who ate dog food, made cookies, threatened us with dog attacks, and had their children beg for the drive. There were rap songs and (many) acoustic numbers and even a marriage proposal or two. Seriously, you guys outdid yourselves and amazed us with your creativity and your passion to win this thing.

That said ... someone had to win this thing. So, after watching every single one of your entries -- and going back and forth about a bazillion times -- I've decided on the winning clip. For a while, it was gonna be the naked dude playing guitar. Then, Kaleigh, the singing baby surged into the lead. And for a minute, I was gonna give it to Chris B based on creativity alone.

But, at the end of the day, I picked something else entirely. So, who submitted the winning video? Find out after the jump.

It was these dudes, who went door-to-door in their hometown of Harrow, Ontario collecting signatures on a "Give Us The 'Octo Drive' Petition:

It might not have been the greatest "essay" in the purest sense of the word ... but it was a damn fine example of grass-roots democracy (and I think that kind of thing is illegal in Canada). So, congrats you guys, you broke the law and showcased the power of the petition ... enjoy the Octo Drive. And always remember, "Power to the people."

And to the rest of you: Thanks again for the submissions. They blew me away. Seriously. And just because you didn't win my Octo Drive doesn't mean you can't still win one of the other 76 (or so) that are still out there ... you can find information on them over at Friends Or Enemies' Octopus Drive blog.

Thanks again to Mark and Pete for letting me play along, and to all of you for submitting.

On Monday, I wrote a blog post announcing that Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz had sent me one of the 100 'Octopus' flash drives they had made, and that I intended to give that drive away to one lucky fan -- with a good old-fashioned video essay contest.

I expected to get a bunch of responses, but ... man, you guys really went above and beyond. And by "above and beyond," I mean "you're really starting to scare me."

I was bombarded with hundreds of video essays from Blink/FOB fans (you can view some of 'em here), each explaining why they should get the Octo Drive. Some of them were naked. Some were dressed as pirates. Other just shouted a lot.

All were impressive. And while the essay contest isn't over just yet (entries can be submitted via our You R Here blog until midnight EST Wednesday), I feel like it would be a shame if I didn't share some of my favorites with you right now.

So, after the jump, check out a few of the best/scariest Octo Drive video essays I've received so far ... watch 'em and weep.

Justin Smith. This guy can play Fall Out Boy songs on his Mark Hoppus bass. Plus he yells a lot and kind of reminds me of my old weed-dealing roommate. I miss you, Scott!

Josh Something from Oklahoma. This dude kind of sounds like my old weed-dealing roommate. I miss you (again), Scott!

This girl dresses like a pirate and talks in an Australian accent and kind of scares me.

Justin from California. Because he worked a dancing Michael Meyers into the clip.

A baby dressed as Batman begs for the Octo Drive. 'Nuff said.

And finally ... Kyle. Wow.

Just a quick note -- none of these are the finalists, these are just some faves I skimmed off the top of the essay pile -- which means that if you think you can do better than that, there's still time.

Upload your video essay to You R Here. You've got until midnight tonight ... I'll announce the winner tomorrow right here on the Newsroom blog. Good luck, and happy essaying.

It all started last month, when Wentz revealed to us that he and Hoppus were collaborating on a ultra-limited flash-drive that would contain remixes and other cool stuff. He said the drives would be distributed one at a time, in mysterious and creative ways. And, then on Friday, that flash drive arrived in my mailbox.

There are only 100 of these things made -- Hoppus and Wentz have distributed them to their favorite people across the world, with the instructions that they must be given away -- and so far, they've been handed out via Twitter scavenger hunts, won in raffles and, um, dug up from beneath lifeguard stands in Santa Monica.

(You can follow all the action over on the Friends Or Enemies "Octo-Drive" blog.)

And now, it's our turn to give one away. And while we're not going to make you follow a bunch of 140-character clues or break out the sand shovel, we are gonna do something that requires both smarts and strength (though no actual digging): We're having a video essay contest!

Here, watch me explain the details in this video:

Okay, so if you couldn't watch the video (or you don't like looking at my goofy face), let me spell out the details for you: We're looking for video essays explaining WHY you should get the Octopus Drive -- the reason could really be anything, we're not that picky -- shoot 'em on your phone or web cam or whatever, and submit them to our You R Here site.

Let's keep them to 30 seconds or less -- I'm busy! -- and get them in by Wednesday at midnight EST. Oh, and make sure to include some way for me to get in contact with you, too. I'll go through the submissions and pick one lucky winner on Thursday.

With a little bit of persuasion -- and some creativity -- the Octopus Drive could be yours. Good luck and happy essaying!

(Oh, and thanks to the good folks at Mojo Labs for making all this flash-drive magic happen in the first place.)

Lil Wayne's "Be Like Lil Wayne" app lets you customize your iPhone photos with grillz and other bling, then share with friends. On Fall Out Boy's app, you can follow them on tour via GPS. Pink wants you to challenge friends through multiplayer racing on "Fast and Furious: Pink Slip." And the Pussycat dolls want you to play their games on the go.

No longer a space reserved for the tech elite, artists are seeing the potential of iPhone apps and using them to develop an army of young fans who are increasingly mobile.

Nine Inch Nails, Snow Patrol, Justice, Moby and the Fray are just a few other artists who have jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, eager to maintain a connection with their tech-savvy audience. Despite the hefty price tags of iPhones and the iPod Touch (considering our bummer economy), more teens are rocking these slick mobile devices than ever before. Aware of this trend, artists are collaborating with iPhone developers to create branded apps with all the benefits of a MySpace page — without the restrictions of logging on to a computer.

With new apps in the works for Britney, Beyoncé and Akon, fans have the opportunity to connect with their favorite artists — and other fans — in a brand-new way, no matter where they are.

(Who else is releasing an iPhone app? Find out, after the jump!)

Some existing apps, such as FOB's, will continue to be updated with new features. Most of these apps will be bundled with album releases and tours, giving fans up-to-the-minute details and exclusive content directly to their phone.

For now, many apps share standard features such as blog feeds, track streaming and the ability to connect with other fans through GPS, but artists like T-Pain (who, in the next few months, is releasing an Auto-Tune app that will allow anyone to replicate his signature style through their iPhone) are standing out from the pack by providing fans with tools to create their own content.

Industry experts are speculating that iPhone apps will soon be harsh competition for MySpace, but ultimately it all means an increasingly interactive experience for fans.

We'll be giving you some exclusive looks into the latest iPhone apps before their release, so keep coming back for more updates! Which one of your favorite artists do you wish would release an iPhone app? What would you want it to do? Tell us in the comments!

There's no end to the comparisons being made between President Barack Obama and various historical and political figures, from the statesmanship of Lincoln and Washington and the charisma of Kennedy to the youth and charm of Clinton.

But leave it to neophyte political columnist Pete Wentz to really nail the essence of Obama: his similarity to Fugees singer-gone-rogue Lauryn Hill.

Writing in his first column for the Huffington Post on Friday, Wentz offered the offbeat assessment as he tried to digest his feelings about attending the inauguration and performing at the Youth Ball, finding his angle by comparing the presidency to the rocket ride of going from being an unknown artist to a world-famous one. Sound familiar?

"I've been a fan of Barack Obama's for a while and, like everyone else, was elated when he won, and even more so when I had the privilege to meet him at the event," Wentz wrote. "He's an underdog, which is something I can relate to (and he uses a BlackBerry as much as I do — although I don't think we'll be getting any Twitter updates from our new president)."

Wentz opines that as his fellow Chicagoan makes the transition from campaign promises to leadership, he faces an interesting set of challenges not unlike those confronted by indie filmmakers or underground rock bands. "He was an underdog and he had the people's support because of it," he wrote. "Everyone was rooting for him as they would David in his battle against Goliath. America loves an underdog. The Cubs are living proof of that."

And here's where things get interesting. See, according to Wentz, when the underdog wins, expectations get high and the audience is suddenly paying attention. "There is a microphone hissing and feedback," he said. "When that happened before, it was quaint and authentic. Now it's annoying and unprofessional." Recession, war, mounting unemployment, history to be made, people are expecting results now, blah, blah, blah.

"At the risk of extending the metaphor," Wentz continued, making us sigh in relief that he does actually understand how far up in the trees he is on this one, "President Obama faces a challenge like Lauryn Hill after her album [The] Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won five Grammys or the Coen Brothers after 'Blood Simple' won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. Will it take awhile for his own 'Fargo' or 'No Country for Old Men'? Or will success come early and often?"

Or, Wentz forgot to add, will Obama lose the thread, act in an erratic, bizarre fashion at concerts, wander around Jersey in way, way too much makeup, squander his talent and end up an interesting, if sad, footnote to history with one brilliant album — er, policy — to his credit? OK, maybe Hill wasn't the best example. Let's try Amy Winehouse instead. Hmm, forget it. How about Norah Jones? Maybe we'll just stick to the movie metaphors.

"Either way I, for one, am glad the underdog got a shot," Wentz concluded. "Underdogs are the ones who are hungry, who will transcend convention and will break barriers. Just when it's at its worst ... it gets better. As long as he just keeps up the pace he has so far, I have a feeling we will keep rooting for him."

Quentin Tarantino? Guy Ritchie? Whatever, Pete, we'll get back to you on this one.

Fall Out Boy are one of those bands that I always enjoy talking to. They're all intelligent, well-informed and, most important, they're funny as hell. Whenever you're talking to them, the conversation can quickly turn from seriously intellectual to absurdly juvenile and back again. Interviewing them is basically like messing around with your friends, and getting paid for it.

Yesterday, I interviewed Fall Out Boy about the amazing honor of being here in D.C. to witness to Barack Obama's inauguration and about the fact that we're going to have the first African-American president in the country's 200-plus year history. As ardent supporters, the guys were in town to celebrate the inauguration by performing at both Sunday night's Mayor's Ball and Tuesday night's Youth Ball.

But of course, keeping with the proud, lowbrow, man-child tradition the guys have made their hallmark, the conversation got derailed with every mention of "balls." And it totally made my day.

This happened about 10 times in our 40-minute interview, check out an excerpt in the video below.

"Be the Change: Live From the Inaugural" will air live on MTV on Tuesday, January 20, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. MTV News will have wall-to-wall coverage of the event and of the scenes in Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Kenya in the days leading up to the event and in the days that follow.

So imagine my surprise last week when, in the midst of the Christmas madness, I checked my MTV inbox and discovered a note from Mr. Wentz himself, asking if I'd be interested in submitting a list of my favorite "people, albums, movies, books, arts or events" of 2008 that he could include on his blog. It seems he was growing bored with the endless stream of year-end "Best Of" lists (like, ahem, this one or this one), and wanted to create something a little bit different. It seemed like a pretty cool idea, and even though I had no idea who else he had sent the e-mail to, I decided to send a list anyway. (Also, there was a brief time over the summer when Pete and I were co-workers on "FNMTV," so I figured I owed it to him).

I ended up writing a jokey list of "My Top 5 Reactions To Kid Rock's 'All Summer Long' " (you can read it over at Pete's blog). I'm sandwiched between lists by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and a dude named Christopher Gutierrez. The whole thing is a pretty decent read (the blog entry, not necessarily my contribution), with really good lists from people like Pharrell, John Mayer, Perez Hilton and Travis McCoy, plus a bunch of authors, music critics and graphic designers, too. Seemingly everyone put "Barack Obama Being Elected" as their #1 favorite thing of the year, which means that I totally should've also, except I am kind of a dumbass and am obsessed with Kid Rock. At least I got to make a joke about George W. Bush's mental capacity in mine, though.

Anyway, the whole thing was a lot of fun, and proof that whenever Pete Wentz e-mails you, it's probably a good idea to respond to him. And thank you, Peter, for thinking of me. Not only did I reveal myself to be painfully unaware of politics, but I got to squeeze a few more critical drippings out of the lemon that is "All Summer Long." And if that isn't a good way to wrap up 2008, well, then I don't know what is.

And though FOB's attempt to set the world record came up short — they never made it to Antarctica due to some nasty weather — there was one other amazing thing that materialized from the trip: Apparently, Pete Wentz found out Ashlee Simpson was pregnant when we were down there.

This is according to an interview Wentz gave to Details magazine, in which he calls the pregnancy a "happy accident" and says Simpson called him while he was in Chile and then e-mailed him a photo of the pregnancy test for proof (which is kind of nasty).

Anyway, we have no evidence that this is true ... though, to be honest, Wentz was acting kind of weird the entire time we were down there. Though that could have been due to the fact that he was trapped in a hotel surrounded by thousands of screaming Chilean girls.

Regardless, here's some video from the trip — Wentz looks pretty stressed, so maybe you can just imagine he's talking about his impending fatherhood and not, you know, the failure of his super-expensive attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Then, somewhere between that opening and a Fall Out Boy show in Paris, news came that someone (many suspect the band's label, Island Def Jam) had pulled the rug out from underneath them, pushing the release of their Folie à Deux album back from November 4 to an undisclosed date (which ended up being December 16).

Of course, the Wentz that spoke with MTV UK at the opening of A&K Barcelona had no idea this would happen (though if there were some way for Future Pete to travel back in time and warn him, that would've made for pretty awesome TV). That's probably why he was so chipper throughout, walking through the new club (the other two are in New York and Chicago) like a proud papa, pointing out design details and laughing about having artwork he commissioned for the Barcelona spot caught up in customs.

And so, in the midst of these bleak times, we've decided to share some of that interview with you. Watch as Wentz talks about the "duality" of the Angels & Kings color scheme, the differences between the three A&Ks, and his love of gold-plated assault rifles. It's a clip that harkens back to less-frightening times ... so we urge you to sit down, watch closely and try to remember that someday this FOB-related nightmare will all be over.