You sure did love Jo Calderone Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars!

We asked which 2011 MTV Video Music Awards performance was your favorite and, as usual, you responded like gangbusters. We received 286,579 votes in just 27 hours (it was originally supposed to be 24 on the nose, but you guys were still voting so we didn’t want to screw up the fun), and while everyone got a little love, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga accounted for just over 94 percent of the total tally. BOOM!

While we’re not surprised that Gaga and Mars dominated (there’s no denying that both performances was fantastic), we are a little shocked that our girl Beyonce didn’t snag a little more attention. Baby bump reveal aside, she sounded amazing during her simple-but-lively take on the amazing 4 album track “Love on Top.”

Maybe next time, Bey. For now, things are coming up Mars and Gaga. Check out who took the crown as well as the final breakdown of all voting results, after the jump.

Favorite 2011 MTV VMA Performance

Winner: Bruno Mars, “Valerie” – 147,527 – 51.48%

Lady Gaga, “You and I” – 116,718 – 40.73%

Jay-Z and Kanye West, “Otis” – 459 – 0.16%

Pittbull, “Give Me Everything” – 378 – 0.13%

Adele, “Someone Like You” – 1,751 – 0.61%

Chris Brown, Medley – 12,729 – 4.44%

Beyonce, “Love on Top” – 4,433 – 1.55%

Young the Giant, “My Body” – 194 – 0.07%

Lil Wayne, “How to Love/John” – 2,390 – 0.83%

The camera panned quickly to B’s hubby Jay-Z, who was beaming alongside friend Kanye West in the audience. That evening, Beyonce set the record for the most mentions on Twitter per second with 8,868, and helped this year’s VMAs become the most-watched broadcast in MTV history, pulling in 12.4 million viewers.

The performance also did something else – something Beyonce was no doubt hoping for all along. It drew a massive amount of attention back to her album and pushed “Love on Top,” a song many had never heard before the VMAs, into the iTunes top 5. It’s not even an official single and it is already the highest charting song from 4 on iTunes and the album has returned to the top 10 and is currently, perfectly, sitting at No. 4 on the iTunes album sales chart.

Will Beyonce’s baby news provide the attention necessary to push 4 back up the charts, help it go platinum and give her a hit single? It looks like it may, and that’s a very good thing.

While 4 has been lauded by critics as Beyonce’s most mature album to date, it’s also her weakest selling solo set by far. The album has moved less than 700,000 copies since its June 24 release. That’s a big number for sure, particularly in today’s weak record sales climate, but it’s far from the kind of sales Beyonce is used to.

Beyonce’s three previous albums all went multi-platinum. Her 2003 debut, Dangerously in Love, sold a staggering 4.6 million copies, her sophomore set B’Day shifted 3.2 million copies and her third album, I Am … Sasha Fierce, went triple platinum with 3 million in sales. And those are just her sales as a solo artist – let’s not forget she was the frontwoman of the biggest girl group of all time.

She’s been such a consistent success for so long that it’s hard to assess where 4 stands respective to her previous efforts. The album has only been out for two months and Beyonce has always been a long-term sales artist, which is to say that she’s never had a million-selling debut week but has often ultimately outsold artists that have.

And, of course, it bears repeating that full albums do not sell the way they used to – with the exception of Adele’s 21, 2011 hasn’t produced any true blockbuster records (and yes, that includes Lady Gaga, whose Born This Way debuted to an impressive 1.1 million in sales but has only moved 1.7 million total, a big number that is less impressive when you consider that nearly two-thirds of it came from its opening frame). So it’s unfair to compare 4 to Dangerously in Love because even if any of 4’s singles had taken – and they mostly haven’t – it’s unlikely it would have ever matched the sales of her past efforts anyway.

But things may be looking sunnier for 4 post-VMAs. Beyonce smartly opted to not perform one of the album’s weak-charting singles, “Run the World (Girls)” and “Best Thing I Never Had,” and went for the upbeat album track “Love on Top. While the pregnancy reveal was certainly the big news from the performance, everyone is watching and re-watching “Love on Top,” and it seems people are loving it.

And why wouldn’t they? “Love on Top” is our favorite track on 4, an album that has grown on us to the point of obsession. We’ve long been Beyonce fans – she is one of only a handful of artists whose records we are sure to buy the day they are released. And maybe it’s because we are around the same age as Bey and we’re maturing with her, but it’s become our favorite of her albums (a big statement considering we had to buy a replacement copy of B’Day because we wore out our first one).

If people were underwhelmed with the first few singles, it’s their own fault for not buying the album because 4 is packed with hits. (Personally, we love “Girls” – it works better in the context of the album – and “Best Thing,” but maybe she’s saving the best stuff for fans who buy the album?) In addition to “Love on Top,” there’s “Countdown,” “Party” and the Prince-like “Schoolin’ Life.” It’s an addictive, soulful record, start to finish.

So it looks like Beyonce’s VMA performance may have worked on a variety of levels and for a variety of people. Not only was the performance itself fantastic viewing for those watching the VMAs, it debuted a great song few had heard and has inspired renewed interest in Beyonce’s terrific album. It also saved the ultra-private singer and her rap superstar husband the annoyance of having to issue a press release or sit for an interview to talk about their personal life, something neither is comfortable doing. In just under five minutes on the VMA stage, Beyonce took care of a lot of business.

Now she gets to go quietly enjoy this blessed time in her life while more and more people discover the blessing she already released on the world – 4

RedFoo and SkyBlu know how to work catchy lyrics into their party rock, so we thought we'd challenge them to play a VMA Word Association Game. What's the first thing the guys think of when they hear the words Adele, Jo Calderone, Foster the People, Justin Bieber and Cage the Elephant? Watch the video to see.

The responses, as one might imagine, are funny and unexpected, much like their video for "Party Rock,” which was up for Best Choreography at the show (competing with Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé).

Coincidentally when we caught up with the boys on the red carpet, they were up for another game. What'd they play this time? The 'Party Rock' Scavenger Hunt. They managed to snag a few more points for the game. How'd they do it? Well, we provided some tape for your viewing pleasure to find out!

Everybody is still talking about last night’s MTV Video Music Awards!

From Beyonce’s baby bump reveal at the end of her smashing take on “Love on Top” (which is maybe our favorite song on the amazing 4) to Lady Gaga’s in-character performance of “You and I,” the show brought us some truly epic moments.

But while Gaga and Beyonce are sure to dominate headlines today about the show, we shouldn’t forget about the other fantastic performances that made last night’s show one of the biggest and best VMAs ever.

Early in the show, Bey’s hubby Jay-Z wowed the crowd alongside Watch the Throne collaborator Kanye West for a rousing take on their hit “Otis.” Later on, Pittbull brought out his hit “Give Me Everything,” while Adele did what she does best – stood there and sang (what a voice!) – with her new single, “Someone Like You.”

Chris Brown tore up the stage with his dance moves during an incredible (occasionally flying) medley performance of “Yeah 3X/Protect Ya Neck/Teen Spirit/Beautiful People.” Young the Giant rocked “My Body.” Bruno Mars paid tribute to the late Amy Winehouse with a groovy, retro take on “Valerie.” And Lil Wayne closed the show with an unstoppable performance of “How to Love/John.”

There were so many great performances, we can’t even keep track. That’s where you come in. Tell us which performance was your favorite in our poll after the jump.

Polls close tomorrow (August 30) at 3 PM. We’ll have the results soon after!

Everybody is still talking about last night’s MTV Video Music Awards. The stars sure gave us all a lot to discuss, that’s for sure. From Beyonce’s unexpected baby bump reveal and Lady Gaga’s commitment to her alter ego, Jo Calderone, to Britney Spears’ big tribute and Bruno Mars’ cover of “Valerie” in honor of the late Amy Winehouse, the show brought us some truly historic moments.

But let’s not forget some awards were handed out too, and the stars who won them took their gratitude to Twitter, where everyone from Best Pop Video winner Britney Spears to multiple winner Katy Perry expressed thanks for the recognition.

“Can't believe tonight was even real! Forever grateful to my dedicated, wonderful fans - y'all made this evening possible. Love u!” an overjoyed Spears tweeted after the show.

Best New Artist winner Tyler, The Creator posted multiple profanity-laced (he’d have it no other way) tweets throughout the night, but the always honest MC revealed that he shed a few tears over his win, writing, “I F**king Got It N****. Wanted One Since 9, Did This S**t Alone, OFWGKTA. Moms Crying, Clancy Cried, I Legitly Cried In Tacos Arms.”

Read on for more tweets from the winners.

LOS ANGELES — The lobby of the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown has been miraculously transformed into a high-tech, magic black-carpet ride over the past week. Just hours from now at 8 p.m. ET/PT, artists will start making their way through the curvy, cosmic portal as they arrive for tonight's VMAs at the adjacent Nokia Theatre.

But some will arrive via a steel-belted, fogged-filled disco wonderland. Thanks to the wizards at the city's oldest and largest movie magic factory, Special Effects Unlimited, a few of the night's biggest stars will make their grand entrance enshrouded in a cloud of beautifully lit fog.

Lots of it. Like, tens of thousands of pounds. According to Mike Petrucci of SEU, he'll be pumping it out through fog machines chilled by 12 giant tanks of carbon dioxide, which run through 12 gallons of fog fluid before the night's over. "There will be plenty of it to go around," promised Petrucci.

The souped-up stairwell is just one of the major transformations that have taken place in the lobby. The pre-show production has also laid down more than 12,000 square feet of black carpet throughout the lobby, covering the nearly 18,000 square feet of real estate the hotel has ceded to the production.

Watch the black-carpet live stream to see the action as it unfolds!

The first thing fans will see when they tune in to the VMA pre-show is the space-age "portal" celebs will be stepping through, a series of four undulating white shapes, the tallest of which is more than 16 feet high. That will eventually lead them to a 100-foot long, glittering paparazzi plaza, where the night's biggest names will face a sea of flashes. That space will be blazed by 1,700 silver-tipped incandescent bulbs that will light up the A-listers for their close-ups.

The production crew also ensured that the whole thing would look fabulous by laying sheets of black plastic over more than 300 windows and doors on the front and back of the hotel.

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

By Zachary Swickey

It’s hard to believe that the early 1990s were two decades ago. It was quite a different time back then musically, and there is no better proof of that than the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall, who was at the top of his game at the time with The Arsenio Hall Show – the Emmy-winning program was the place to be seen on late night television.

Music-wise, leading the pack in nominations in 1991 was R.E.M., who boasted 10 noms for their iconic music video “Losing My Religion,” which (spoiler!) appropriately won the Video of the Year Award. Other big nominees were C+C Music Factory with five nominations (a true sign of the times) for “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” Queensrÿche with five for “Silent Lucidity” and Madonna with three for “Like a Virgin (Truth or Dare version).” But the Queen of Pop was far from the most controversial artist there.

Pee-Wee Herman was going through a turbulent time in 1991, following his arrest for publicly masturbating in an adult movie theater. CBS had stopped airing his show, Disney Studios removed his likeness from a video tour and Toys-R-Us took his toys off store shelves. The general public sympathized with Herman (real name Paul Reubens) and felt the incident was being blown out of proportion.

In one of VMA history’s biggest moments, Reubens made his first public appearance – in Pee-Wee character and all – after his arrest at the VMAS, asking the audience, “Heard any good jokes lately?” He promptly received a heartfelt standing ovation and appropriately responded, “That’s so funny I forgot to laugh!” Despite the positive reception, Reubens would only make one more appearance before disappearing from the public eye for several years (He’s currently been selling out shows with a Broadway adaptation of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse”).

Check out the 1991 Video of the Year - "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.:

The awards that year were also especially notable due to some onstage drama and backstage fisticuffs courtesy of Bret Michaels-fronted outfit Poison. As the band began to play “Unskinny Bop,” they were brought to a halt after realizing it was a commercial break. Reportedly under the influence at the time, guitarist C.C. DeVille missed the cue when they went back live, forgot the song they were playing and switched to the band’s popular track “Talk Dirty To Me.” His guitar was disconnected and the fight continued backstage. DeVille was fired soon after the incident but returned to the band in late 1998.

1991 was the only year MTV gave out an award in the Long Form Music Video category, which was for music video compilations or live shows found on VHS or laserdisc (not to be confused with just really long videos like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”). Nominees included Peter Gabriel’s P.O.V., Aerosmith’s Things That Go Pump in the Night, and R.E.M.’s black-and-white Tourfilm, but unsurprisingly Queen of Pop Madonna took home the unique award for her video package, The Immaculate Collection.

Rap was quite different back then too, just look at the Best Rap Video noms. Now an acting legend, Will Smith and his buddy Jazzy Jeff were nominated for their track “Summertime” and “Law and Order: SVU” star Ice-T was up for “New Jack Hustler.” Deservedly, LL Cool J took the prize for his classic video for “Mama Said Knock You Out.” The tune went on to win a Grammy as well.

Like just about every other VMAs, the 1991 show was chock-full of memorable moments. How will this year’s VMAs compare? We have faith that with Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Adele performing, it will be just as historic as every other VMA broadcast. Don’t forget to tune in tonight at 9 PM on MTV!

Tonight at 9 PM, the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards will be coming to you live from Los Angeles. Out in LA, crews are busy finishing work on the black carpet and pre-show stage where music’s biggest stars will strut their stuff at the JW Marriott Los Angeles before heading into the Nokia Theatre for the VMAs.

It’s all so exciting! Check out the video below as the final preparations come together. Don’t forget to tune in to the big show tonight and watch things go down behind the scenes live right here.

Listen, we’re just as surprised as you are!

Given all the hype, we thought Lady Gaga had this category hands down. We mean seriously, Mother Monster’s meat dress is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for goodness sake. And she was in the lead here for a good bit of the polling period, but a late in the game push from Lil Kim’s side of the line helped the tiny MC take the Wildest MTV Video Music Award Outfit Ever crown in our Ultimate VMA Showdown.

Guess she really is the Queen Bee. (Not to be confused with Queen King B – that’s our girl Beyonce!)
Kim’s exposed her breast at the 1999 VMAs is obviously still turning heads over a decade later. Wearing just a pasty, the rapper famously presented alongside Diana Ross, who seemed both shocked and amused and gave Kim’s boob a lil feel. The crowd went wild and a VMA moment for the history books was born.

Kim’s pasty didn’t beat Gaga’s meat dress from last year’s awards by much – just eight percentage points (amounting to a little over 35,000 votes) separated the two. The only other famed ensemb to even really get in the game was Britney Spears’ sexy leather biker outfit from the 2002 awards. Brit grabbed 101,378 votes, taking 22.5 percent of the total. For a while, Spears and Gaga were in a bit of a heated contest for the top spot, but as votes started going Lil Kim’s way, Britney fell out of the race and will have to settle for third place. (She took the Wildest VMA Moment category with Madonna and Christina Aguilera for the kiss heard round the world, so we don’t think she’ll mind too much.)

Check out how things broke down, after the jump.

Wildest VMA Outfit Ever

Winner: Lil Kim’s pasty (1999) - 177,777 - 39.37%

Prince’s blue jumpsuit (1999) - 551 - 0.12%
Macy Gray’s “Buy My Album” dress (2001) - 475 - 0.11%
Andy Dick’s Christina Aguilera outfit (2001) - 1,110 - 0.25%
Mudvayne’s bloody faces (2001) - 234 - 0.05%
Britney Spears’ leather biker ensemble (2002) - 101,378 - 22.45%
Christina Aguilera’s denim skirt (2002) - 21,892 - 4.85%
Jack Black’s Michael Jackson gear (2003) - 6,054 - 1.34%
Lil Mama’s pacifier (2009) - 273 - 0.06%
Lady Gaga’s meat dress (2010) - 141,828 - 31.41%

We’re talking about the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, of course. Here in the MTV Newsroom, we delight in taking you behind the scenes of the biggest and best events MTV has to offer to give you a taste of the excitement. It doesn’t get bigger than the VMAs, and we’re giving you a sneak peek at the preparations for the show.

Out in Los Angeles, crews are readying the black carpet and pre-show stage where music’s biggest stars will strut their stuff Sunday night at the JW Marriott Los Angeles. Watch it live right here!