"American Idol" winner Kris Allen debuted his first music video today (although he's been the unwilling star of several hilarious/creepy fan-made Kradam tribute clips) and while "Live Like We're Dying" probably won't win any Moonmen at next year's VMAs, it's a big, bold and awesomely expensive-looking first taste of what fans can expect from Kris Allen 2.0. He's no longer "just" an "Idol" winner. He's a musician in his own right, and the video sets him up as a worthy colleague to similarly-minded artists like the Fray, OneRepublic and John Mayer.

The video starts in near-darkness, but as the clip progresses (and as he plays more instruments), the sun slowly rises until the final moments, when a new day has officially dawned. Call me sentimental (and, okay, a crazy fan), but this video perfectly mirrors Kris' "Idol" journey in a deliciously subtle way. He began as a guy with little exposure during the early episodes, but thanks to his earnest performances and winning personality, he ended up being the top dog.

Perhaps I'm reading into it, but Allen could be winking at his naysayers by performing in front of a clock that looks as though it's ticking down from 15 minutes. (It's actually one-minute and fifty seconds, but with the fast-paced editing it's easy to misread it.) Okay, I'm definitely reading into it.

What struck me the most about the video, however, was just how different Kris' debut clip is compared to other "Idol" winners' music video debuts. And that's a good — nay, amazing — thing.

Imagine, if you will, the cheese that would have come with a dramatic interpretation of the song's lyrics (see Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel"). If Team Allen had decided to go the David Cook "Light On" route, poor Kris would have played second fiddle to a subplot featuring actors. Even worse, Kris could have played the romantic lead in a slo-mo melodramatic clip like Ruben Studdard's "Sorry (2004)" and Fantasia's "Truth Is" video. If they had used Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent" video philosophy, Kris would have had to wear a huge scarf and get lost in a giant house party. And don't even get me started on Taylor Hicks' first "Look! I'm at a jazz club!" video or Jordin Sparks' cheap off-season-at-the-carnival "Tattoo."

Instead, Jive Records and 19 Recordings opened their check books and let Kris do what he does best: Sing, play a bunch of instruments and look achingly sincere while doing so. Holy crap! An "Idol" music video that shows the contestant in their element? That really is a first.

Jordan Knight is currently touring the country in order to record an album. And while he's doing that, he's holding "Jordan Idol" events in various cities trying to find the best up-and-coming talent this great land has to offer, with the winner getting a personal boost into the industry from Knight himself. So, when I heard he was in New York City working on some new music and that I could have a chance to talk to him about his new music and "Jordan Idol," I literally jumped at the chance.

Back in the day, I kind of had the biggest crush on him ever. So imagine my surprise when he came in and I actually got the chance to meet the cutest of the New Kids on the Block. So, while he started talking about this weekend's "Jordan Idol" (which is being held this Saturday night at Le Poisson Rouge club in NYC), he decided to stump for me to get my big shot at fame.

But instead of giving my less-than-impressive singing voice a chance at superstardom (no, I didn't embarrass myself and sing for him), he decided I might be better suited to do something I actually have some skill doing: Interviewing celebrities. Except with me on camera with them. I'm not saying he's onto something here, but hey, stranger things have happened. And he's not the first singing star to suggest that I should have my own show — Brandy has already given me her support!

So watch Jordan make his case for me and let me know what you think!

"I woke up with the song in my head called 'Half of My Heart.' And the idea is that it's this real sort of updated — not that it needs to be updated — sort of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks thing. I thought, 'Well, if this is going to be my love letter to that style of music, who's going to be the Stevie Nicks in this equation?' And I thought, 'This Taylor Swift girl is going to be around for a long time.'"

-Singer, songwriter, guitar player and Internet meme aficionado John Mayer, talking about his collaboration with Taylor Swift. "Half of My Heart," which hit the Web on Thursday, comes from Mayer's upcoming album Battle Studies. Not surprisingly, the first seeds of the collaboration were planted on Twitter, where both Mayer and Swift are skilled regulars. He expressed a desire to work with her via the microblogging service, though he's not certain that's exactly how it came together. "You know what? It's like the tweet version of 'The Secret' — no better way to put it out into the universe than to tweet it. But then it's not like she reads the tweet and goes, 'I'm in,' although she may have. I don't remember." Mayer's Battle Studies hits stores on November 17 (the same day he plays a special celebratory album release show at New York City's Beacon Theater), while Swift has more immediate plans, as she's hosting and serving as the musical guest on this weekend's edition of "Saturday Night Live."

Tomorrow night, Taylor Swift will once again grace the stage at Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center when she serves as both the host and musical guest on this week's edition of "Saturday Night Live." It's familiar territory for Swift, who was last on the show back in January, making this her second appearance overall (and the second in this calendar year). Considering the cast hasn't shifted that dramatically between last season and this one, she should be comfortable and familiar with her surroundings. As her promos for this week's show — as well as the promos she cut with host Neil Patrick Harris back in January — she's perfectly comfortable with banter.

Swift wouldn't reveal very much about this weekend's show (except that nothing would be off limits), there are a few things that are almost certain to happen on Saturday night.

She'll Be In An Andy Samberg-fueled Digital Short: When the gig was announced, this was the only thing on Swift's wishlist. And she's done well in the past with experiments like this — remember her collaboration with T-Pain?
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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.

50 Cent had a busy day yesterday, blowing the doors open on two new ventures as a lead-up to the November 16 release of his new album Before I Self Destruct. He premiered his new movie (also called "Before I Self Destruct") last night in New York. The film, which will be released the same day as the album, marks 50's directorial debut. It's a hard-edged tale of 'hood politics that contrasts pretty profoundly with the other product he debuted yesterday: "Power," his new fragrance. 50 met fans at Macy's in New York City for the unveiling of the new scent, just in time for the holidays. In a span of only a few hours, 50 Cent covered two extremely different ends of the cultural spectrum, a true testament to his flexibility as a star.

Also making the rounds in New York last night? "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively, who was all dressed up as she made her way to the Four Seasons restaurant. But not everybody was out in the Manhattan cold, as Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts rode a bicycle in Malibu wearing shorts and a tank top. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, featuring over 350 candid shots of stars like Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Timberlake!

Ever since the news broke of Chris Brown's assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna back in February, we knew what the results were but details were always hazy about what exactly lead up to Brown's actions. Some of that was cleared up this morning on "Good Morning America," where another portion of Rihanna's "20/20" interview aired. She confirmed the rumor that the argument started over a text message Brown had received from another woman. "I caught him in a lie, and he wouldn't tell the truth," she told interviewer Diane Sawyer. "I couldn't take that he kept lying to me. And he couldn't take that I wouldn't drop it, so it escalated into him being violent towards me and ... it was ugly."

She went on to describe Brown's demeanor once he became violent. "He had no soul in his eyes, just blank," she said. "He was clearly blacked out. There was no person when I looked at him. All I kept thinking the whole time: When is it going to stop?" The full interview with Rihanna airs tonight on ABC.

MTV News' Sway interviewed Brown about the case this past Monday (the result of which airs tonight at 6 p.m. on MTV as "Chris Brown: The Interview"). He talked about the many personal and public apologies he has made over the past few months. "When I apologize, I really apologize, definitely, about the situation, like me and her personally, obviously," Brown told MTV News. "We've exchanged, I've exchanged my apologies for her, but when I do it publicly, it's for [the others] I've let down: It's for the fans, it's for all the people ... even the people that have invested in me and thought that I was good enough role model." The remainder of Brown's interview, which includes details about his court-mandated community service and some explanations of some of his recent Internet postings, airs tonight at 6 p.m. on MTV.

Has any young artist done a better job at creating buzz for his debut album than Justin Bieber? The Canadian kid whose entire career was kickstarted after he posted footage of himself singing on YouTube has gone completely grassroots, building up his Twitter followers, making Facebook friends, dropping strategic singles and delivering on key performances on shows like "Today" and "Ellen." The build has all been leading up to the release of his album My World on November 17, which features the already-ubiquitous singles "One Time," "One Less Lonely Girl" and "Love Me."

Now comes the next chapter in Bieber's media blitz — one that he is borrowing from Willy Wonka. Bieber announced via his Twitter that select copies of his album will come bundled with golden tickets. The recipients of said tickets will be entitled to a fan-friendly prize that is typically Bieber: They will receive a private concert from the singer himself. We expect his legions of rabid fans to pick up copies of My World by the truckload for the opportunity for a personal show from Bieber.

Bieber isn't the first person to steal the concept from Roald Dahl. A handful of rock bands have tried to boost album sales with the promise of prizes inside. Lamb of God included lottery tickets in their 2009 album Wrath that were redeemable for trips to see the band and signed memorabilia. 30 Seconds to Mars included a dozen golden tickets scattered around copies of A Beautiful Lie that gave the winner free backstage access to any of the band's concerts. Though nothing beats the recent promotion from noise-mongers HEALTH, who circulated 66 golden tickets in their recent album Get Color that were redeemable for all sorts of prizes, including a trip to Los Angeles to hang out with the band, posters autographed in their blood and all manner of personalized content. (Our favorite: "A recording of a short story read by a band member.")

The Jonas Brothers and the Backstreet Boys brought their equally hot brand of boy band magic to the MTV Europe Music Awards yesterday (November 5). And things got really awesome when the guys all met up on the red carpet.

Believe it or not, the two generations of boy bands have a history with one another. That's probably why they all looked pretty excited to run into one another, catch up and share some laughs at the big show. The Jonas Brothers opened for BSB a few years back (2005 to be exact, for BSB's "Never Gone" tour) and we have to say this was the most exciting reunion in ages. (Except for that one time Kevin Richardson joined the rest of the band for one show and gave us all false hope for one moment.)

Last year, Brian Littrell sang the JoBros praises in an MTV News interview. "They're a talented bunch of kids. They're growing up fast," he said. "I don't feel reluctant to give them advice. I'll never forget: We were doing a show in Florida with the Temptations, and one of those guys stood up and said, 'This is show business, and as you're doing your show, your business could be running out on you.' I'll never forget that."

We'll certainly never forget what will go down as a classic red carpet encounter.

Click here for more photos of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Green Day, Tokio Hotel, Jay-Z and U2 at the 2009 Europe Music Awards!

Even though we're just on the other side of Halloween, the public has already shifted its focus to Christmas. Store displays have shifted, Starbucks has drinks that are eggnog flavored and a handful of lunatics are already considering their Christmas trees. Today marks the first big film release of the holiday season in "A Christmas Carol," the Robert Zemeckis-directed animated feature that stars Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge. (For more on "A Christmas Carol," be sure to check out all the in-depth coverage over at MTV Movies.) There are plenty more holiday-themed platters on the way, but "A Christmas Carol" is the biggest Christmas-related film to hit theaters this season.

But let's face it: Today is November 6, a full 49 days before Santa Claus comes down the chimney. There's no shame in not feeling any yuletide cheer yet, as we're still a few weeks from Thanksgiving. But maybe you never miss a Jim Carrey movie, or perhaps you want to support Zemeckis so that he has enough success to make a "Roger Rabbit" sequel. If that's the case, then we've got you covered, because there's plenty of Christmas music from some of your favorite stars.

Holiday music has crossed over into pop since the invention of radio, but now just about any pop star worth his or her salt puts out a holiday album at some point. This season, David Archuleta and Bob Dylan have both dropped Christmas albums, and there's a whole heaping back catalog of stuff you could work through no matter what your musical preference is. A fan of Beyoncé? Check out Destiny's Child's "8 Days of Christmas." Do you prefer psychedelic indie rock? The Flaming Lips' "Christmas at the Zoo" is probably for you. Want a little gallows humor with your gingerbread? Enjoy Weird Al" Yankovic's "Christmas at Ground Zero." Or if you just want to rock out, check out the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl blasting out "Fairytale of New York," probably the best Christmas song ever written.

But if you want to start simple, star with Mariah Carey, whose "All I Want for Christmas is You" has quickly become a holiday standard. Be sure to stay tuned for the rest of the video playlist for a treat at the end!

It's always a magical thing when you meet musicians or actors you admire and they turn out to be decent human beings. (We've all heard the horror stories, am I right?) Well, I'm pleased to say that I gave the cast of the hit show "Glee" cast my "Are They Jerks?" litmus test this morning, and they passed with flying colors.

Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn) and Amber Riley (Mercedes) stopped by MTV News to talk about the brand spankin' new "Glee: Music, Volume 1" soundtrack album, which just dropped this week. We snagged them at the tail-end of an intense week-long promo whirlwind, but you'd never know we were their 700th interview, given their bright faces and genuine dispositions. (700 might be an exaggeration. Sue me.)

You'll get to see my interview with the cast soon enough. We touched on everything from Madonna to Joss Whedon to off-screen romance rumors (which the adorably cozy Cory and Lea dodged like pros). Oh, and then there was that one moment when Lea totally geeked out and begged Adam Lambert to duet with her.

So keep your eyes peeled for tons of "Glee" stories in the coming days. Plus, MTV News got its very own slushy facial from a certain someone. Confused? You won't be. Trust me — it's epic.

Special thanks to Cory for following and re-tweeting me on Twitter. Thanks to him, I scored almost 100 new Twitter followers in a matter of minutes.