When Beyoncé took the stage at the O2 Arena on Monday (November 16), she not only brought Kanye West and Jay-Z on stage with her, but also busted out a big concert trope that seems to have gone by the wayside but may be making a comeback. In the middle of "Halo," she ran directly at the crowd and hurled herself onto the outstretched hands of the mass of fans in a stage dive.

Stage diving used to be a common occurrence during the alt-rock era, which saw frontmen like Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain channeled the spirit of Iggy Pop and constantly tossed themselves at the swirling crowds at their shows. But at some point around the turn of the century, stage diving got a bad name. It's possible that Fred Durst sunk the whole concept, as he famously used a piece of the security fence to surf across the hands of thousands of revelers at Woodstock '99 while Limp Bizkit played and women were sexually assaulted. But there's no real event that ended the practice — like the dinosaurs, stage diving died slowly and inexplicably.

But clearly it isn't completely extinct. In addition to Beyoncé's head-first dive, there were plenty of human missiles tossed off the stage at the 2009 mtvU Woodie Awards, which were taped this past Wednesday night (November 18). After accepting an award on behalf of Green Day, rapper Asher Roth leaped into the crowd for a brief surf, and the beginning of the show saw Kim Schifino (of Matt and Kim) crawl across the outstretched arms of the people closest to the stage and stand up on top of them in a makeshift pyramid.

So if one of the biggest stars in the world, one of the slickest rappers in the hip-hop game and one of the coolest indie bands about to pop are all hopping off stages and into crowds, it's clearly an equal-opportunity deal. Who would you like to see stage diving? Should Taylor Swift let herself be carried away by fans? Should the boys from Tokio Hotel risk dismemberment in crowd surfing? Make your pleas in the comments!

Rihanna's new video for "Russian Roulette" is an incredible cinematic affair, full of striking images and a narrative that may or may not hold together or even exist. It cuts between Rihanna being monitored in a padded cell, then shifts to the singer sitting across a table from an anonymous man and contemplating the gun between them. Then there are flashes of tigers and Rihanna ends up in the desert, where she is buzzed by a car. Finally, she ends up underwater, shot in the chest and bleeding (theoretically to her doom). There certainly seems like there is a story in there, but it's unclear and pretty dense.

In that sense, it's a lot like a David Lynch film. In fact, there are so many similarities between Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" and Lynch's 1997 film "Lost Highway" that it seems like it must be a direct homage. "Lost Highway" is a difficult film to describe, but here's a brief synopsis: It's a fever dream of a movie wherein Bill Pullman kills his wife, then goes to jail and morphs into Balthazar Getty, who gets out of jail and gets involved with a gangster's girlfriend. Along the way, the two characters run up against a porn director, a violent mob boss and a guy with no eyebrows who may or may not be the devil himself. It's a difficult film, and one of Lynch's most underrated.

There are a number of parallels between "Lost Highway" and "Russian Roulette." In both pieces, the protagonists both seem to be projecting themselves out of prison into alternate lives that are theoretically free but no less dangerous. They both have scenes that feature cars nearly running over characters in the desert. Even the figure watching over Rihanna in her cell somewhat resembles the evil Mystery Man in "Lost Highway." There's also the scene below, which shows both Patricia Arquette and Rihanna standing mysteriously next to dark cars.

Whether it's intentional or not, Rihanna is not the first artist to indulge in film homages. In fact, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga's new clip "Video Phone" borrows the opening scene from Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." Kanye West also dipped into his DVD collection for his video for "Stronger," which uses images from the anime classic "Akira." And of course Faith No More essentially recreated all of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" for the video for "Last Cup of Sorrow."

Click here for a complete look at the space where film and music video cross over!

In the wee hours of the morning, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga pulled back the curtain on the video for "Video Phone (Extended Remix)," their first collaborative effort. The result is an eye-catching, colorful, fashion-forward clip that may be considered a tad anti-climatic, if only because Gaga seems a bit dialed back. The clip opens with Beyoncé re-enacting the beginning of "Reservoir Dogs" (is she Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde or Nice Guy Eddie?), followed by a flashy barrage of a number of crazy costumes. In the most otherworldly moment of the video, Beyoncé is flanked by two men who have video cameras for heads.

Gaga doesn't actually show up until the halfway point of the clip. She wears a white leotard and dances along with Beyoncé while the two of them hold plastic guns. Gaga isn't given the opportunity to wear any crazy costumes or don masks or make-up — it's probably the most "normal" she has looked in any music video. "Video Phone (Extended Remix)" is clearly Beyoncé's show (after all, it does appear on the deluxe reissue of I Am ... Sasha Fierce, which hits stores next week), so there's a disappointing lack of real chemistry between the two.

Still, that doesn't mean it isn't a good clip — on the contrary, it's one of the more out-there videos of Beyoncé's career. In the key scene, B holds a fake Technicolor gun while wearing a billowy orange top and flashing a savage grimace. It's the fiery side of Beyoncé, and it totally works for her.

Thanksgiving night is usually reserved for spiraling deep into a food coma while watching "Home Alone," but this year there will be an alternative to that. ABC is airing a special called "Beyoncé: I Am ... Yours" on Thanksgiving night at 9 p.m. The show will be made up primarily of a performance from her "I Am" tour (in particular, a show at the Wynn in Las Vegas), but also promises to feature behind-the-scenes footage and a rarely-seen look into her professional life on the road.

The first teaser ad just appeared online, and it looks like it will be worth fighting back the inevitable Tryptophan-induced psychosis to stay up and watch. The special promises to show the audience a side of Beyoncé that we've never seen, and it may just live up to that hype. There is footage of her in rehearsals, overseeing production and, in one especially telling scene, she tells somebody "it's good, it's all right, but it ain't great." There's plenty of footage of Beyoncé having fun as well, and it seems as though her production team and tour group seem to get along awfully well. As a bonus, it even looks like the special will offer up home movie footage of a very young Beyoncé dancing in the family living room.

All told, it looks like it will be a rare peek behind the curtain of the Beyoncé touring machine, and it'll be an entertaining way to help digestion on Thanksgiving night.

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.

Last night's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden (the first of a two-night celebration; tonight's lineup includes U2 and Metallica) featured a series of amazing performances: Stevie Wonder jammed with John Legend on songs by Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen jammed with Tom Morello on a scorching electric version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and Smokey Robinson delivered a sweet, soulful "Tracks of my Tears." But the evening's most surprising musical moment came a few minutes before the show got started.

Before he delivered the formal introduction to the sold-out MSG crowd, Tom Hanks (who was producing the event for broadcast on HBO on November 29) stopped by the press room to answer a few questions about meeting his musical heroes and what rock and roll means to him. When asked what his favorite song of 2009 was, Hanks hesitated a bit before launching into a spastic performance of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" that drew laughs and cheers from the normally jaded media crowd.

Clearly, Tom Hanks watched this year's Video Music Awards!

When a journalist asked him what it was that he liked about it, Hanks replied, "It's infectious! What are you, an idiot?" That drew another huge laugh. (He quickly apologized for calling the writer an idiot.) Apparently, he had a personal connection to the lyrics, too. "That's what I said when I met my wife. 'I like that — I'm gonna put a ring on it!'" Minutes later, Hanks was whisked away to open the show and introduce Jerry Lee Lewis, and the night was on. But despite the murderer's row of rockers that followed, nobody managed to match the majesty of Hanks' "Single Ladies" moment.

"When I was doing her video with her, she called me and she said, 'What do you want to do?' And I'm like, 'I don't want to show up in some frickin' hair bow and be fashion Gaga in your video.' I said, 'I want to do you.'"

-Lady Gaga, discussing her recent video shoot with Beyoncé for B's new single "Video Phone." Gaga told New York radio station Z100 that she really wanted to appear in the video as her own version of the R&B superstar. "I want to do my version of Beyoncé," she said. "So the whole time I was learning the choreography they were calling me Gee-yoncé." Gaga also alluded to another collaboration between the two, thought it was unclear whether it was for the upcoming The Fame: Monster (the expanded edition of her debut album) or her second album.

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.

A mere 24 hours after Mariah Carey touched down in the Land of the Rising Sun, another top-tier diva visited Japan. Beyoncé attended a meet-and-greet for handbag designer Samantha Thavasa at Studio Mouris Roppongi in Tokyo. The singer is currently on tour in Asia supporting her latest album I Am ... Sasha Fierce, which has spawned the hits "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams." She resumes her tour of Asia on Saturday night with a pair of shows at the famous Saitama Super Arena, and she'll then play dates in Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi.

While Beyoncé is globe-trotting, other stars are staying close to home. Lo Bosworth was seen hanging around a talent agency in Beverly Hills, while Jayde Nicole and Brody Jenner had a meal at top-rated Los Angeles restaurant Via Blanca. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which contains over 300 candid shots of Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, Adam Lambert, the cast of "New Moon" and Kanye West!

Just a day after MTV News confirmed that Lady Gaga would be making a cameo in Beyoncé's video for new single "Video Phone," a photo from the shoot emerged on Perez Hilton's Web site. Of course, Gaga and Perez are besties, so it comes as no surprise that the photo found its way to the Gossip Gangsta's site.

The photo is what we've come to expect from Gaga. She looks glamorous in her white strapless leotard with matching opera gloves, and her long hair is loose and flowing. She adds her usual touch of edginess with neon yellow platform pumps. And, of course, no pants.

We're not sure the context of her pose, but in the photo she is pointing to her eye. There's a good chance that when the video finally gets a debut we'll understand more why Gaga is doing that. No other details have emerged about the video, other than the fact that it will star two of the biggest names in pop music. This is hardly the first time they've crossed paths, however: The girls were recently both honored at the Billboard Women in Music event in New York earlier this month and they both scored Moonmen at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. We're sure that whatever these pop divas are up to for the video, it's bound to be interesting.

Buying a birthday gift for some people is close to impossible, either because they have exotic taste or because they already have everything. Usher probably falls into both categories, but just because you can't afford to by the man his own Bengal tiger doesn't mean you can't wish him a happy birthday. The man born Usher Raymond IV turns 31 years old today, and he is certainly doing it on top of the world. The Atlanta native has sold over 40 million albums and won five Grammy Awards since his 1997 debut. His biggest album, 2004's Confessions, yielded the chart-topping hits "Confessions Part II," "Burn" and "Yeah!" In fact, his record of consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 was only recently broken by the dominance of the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling." In addition to his music, he has also acted in a number of films (including "The Faculty" and "In the Mix"), develops new talent (like teenage sensation Justin Bieber) and owns a portion of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

In December, he's slated to drop his sixth album Raymond vs. Raymond, and the divorce-centric single "Papers" is already making an impact. Raymond vs. Raymond will be the follow-up to 2008's fantastically successful Here I Stand, which featured another Hot 100 chart-topper "Love in This Club," a Polow da Don-produced, hallucinatory ode to having sex in public. The delightfully cinematic video features cameos by Young Jeezy (who raps on the song's third verse), Diddy and Kanye West. The song inspired a number of remixes, including the nearly superior "Love in This Club Part II," which recast the song as a debate between Usher and Beyoncé about whether or not they would actually make love up in this club. But for now, enjoy the original video.