My reasons for loving the Jonas Brothers‘ “Lovebug” video are manifold and thus: you get moderate patriotism, olde-tymey cameras, an homage to the elegance of the big band era, a snoring gramps, a Notebook-esque love story, and a forum for fantasizing about what it’d be like to move into an ACTUAL BUNGALOW AND DRINK SODAS WITH THE JONAS BROTHERS.

But also, unlike a lot of dime-a-dozen videos that hide a lack of substance behind over-the-top camera tricks and technique, “Lovebug” relied on the pull of the video’s strong emotional narrative and the expertise of director Philip Andelman.

Plus, I love me a little mandolin solo.

There were so many amazing videos this year that we decided to commemorate our fave three by doing a mini Buzzworthy Countdown. (Sorta like MTV’s Best of 2008 lists, except shorter!) Read on to find out my #2 pick for 2008, and stay tuned for #1 coming atcha later on this week!

I’m not gonna lie: I put an insane, almost-embarrassing amount of thought into choosing my second most-favorite video of 2008. But here’s the thing: although I knew I wanted hip-hop, the more I carefully weighed my options, the more it started to seem as though I had an ulterior motive for every single pick.

Take, for instance, Kanye West’s “Stronger,” which very nearly made the cut — until I started being honest with myself, and admitted that my favoritism had less to do with ‘Ye’s powerful cinematography and more to do with the fact that I worship the line “Since O.J. had Isotoners.” Genius!

Then I went through a brief Ludacris “What Them Girls Like” phase (before deciding my objectivity was compromised by my Chris Brown obsession) duly dismissed T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” (in retrospect, it was sorta hokey), and then, feeling equal parts decisive/mad with power, rejected Estelle’s “American Boy” (too jet lag-inducing), Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” (too venereal disease-y) and N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose” (it makes me have to pee) in quick, rapid-fire succession.

Which left me … right back where I started … at which point, I decided to screw the whole moral superiority thing, and picked Flo Rida’s “Low” because it reminded me of the bald, fat-suit-wearing Tom Cruise dancing scene from Tropic Thunder. Enjoy the flashback.

+ Missed my #3 pick? Get up to speed now, plus find out which video my editor/partner-in-crime Tamar Anitai chose as her third fave.

Multihyphenate, multi-aliased multimillionaire mogul Diddy recently announced another way you can smell like sweet sweet cash and Ciroq: I Am King, his not-at-all humbly named fragrance, which he celebrated — again, not modestly in the least — with ginormous billboards in Times Square and on Sunset Boulevard and a five-minute mini-movie/ audition, in which he cast himself in the role of James Bond and dedicated the fragrance to Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther King. Again, this is a moderate, unassuming campaign Diddy’s running here.

I Am King is expected to pull in a regal $100 million globally in its first year alone. But what does I Am King, “a scent designed to inspire those dream big and want to live large,” according to the press material, smell like? Riding Jet Skis in a tux? Tossing fistfuls of hundreds off a yacht? Bar Rafaeli’s leotard? Again, according to the press material, I Am King is “an untraditional fresh fruity woody scent that combines clean notes with senusal fruits and warm skin nuances.”

For those of you who majored in fragrancology (because pharmacology was all filled up), that breaks down to notes of tangerine, orange, and cranberries, Imperial French Berry (wah?), Kir Royal and champagne, Mediterranean water accord (ahhhh), lemon cream, cedarwood, sandwood, and white moss. And clean-assed powderiness.

But, what does I Am King REALLY smell like, and HOW does that translate to the real world, if you will? I rounded up a few MTVers, and, without telling them ahead of time what they were smelling, squirted out a few king-sized spritzes and asked them for their honest opinion. The general consensus: I Am King smells like girls, old ladies, and general Bitchassness.

Here’s the breakdown:

James Montgomery: “It smells like clean laundry. It recalls fresh linens and Sunday mornings. i would definitely nail this. It also smells like bathrobes.”

Jonathan Goldner: “If I knew a woman who wore this, I’d develop a crush on her. Is this Luscious Pink? What is this, and where can I buy it? It’s too sweet for a man.” Upon finding out it’s cologne: It smells like Froot Loops.”

Debbie Newman/ AKA Pop Cultured: “The intoxicating old-lady smell triggers a fragrance flashback to the (still-unused) bottle of Celine Dion Sensational I received three Christmases ago. Apparently, there was a shortage of coal that year.”

Anonymous: “It smells like bad perfume. Like cheap perfume … Oh no no no no no. I smelled all four Playboy perfumes, and all four scents smell better than that crap.”

Control Freak, Remote Control Blog: “It smells like Drakkar. Like my boyfriend when I was 14. It smells pretty gross.”

Nate Ford: “It’s boozy and fruity. Like a boozy, fruity, teeny candy cocktail. Like an Appletini McDooDoo.”

James C.: “It’s a cologne? Oh f— that! I wear sweet cologne but that s— sucks. Ugh … oh… OHHH!”

At that point, “James C.” accidentally spilled a little I Am King and proceeded to wipe it on the wall of my cube. Now, after smelling it for hours, my nostrils are en fuego and I’m starting to get angry IMs from people who work near me and even people who really don’t work anywhere near me. Maybe that’s what Diddy meant by “an explosion of intoxicating intensity.”

Anyway, I Am King is available exclusively at Macy’s … or not — it’s sold out online, because apparently a lot of people out there wanna smell like Diddy (that Daddy Yankee fragrance is still very much in stock!) — and in many more places fine celebrity fragrances are sold beginning February 2009.

+ The real NYPD has reportedly beefed up security here in Times Square to prevent a scheduled Jonas Brothers appearance from turning into a veritable “tween mob scene.” Ha! Good luck with THAT, coppahs. (Gothamist)

+ And speaking of Jonas Fever, here’s a totally tween-mobworthy interview with Frankie (a.k.a. Bonus Jonas) himself! OMFJ, right!? (Jonas Brothers Fan)

+ Fresh of the heels of (false!) rumors that Katy Perry and Travis McCoy are wedding-bound come (true!) reports that Katy’s twinsie, Zooey Deschanel, is engaged to Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard. (MTV News)

+ One-time Shot at Love star Tila Tequila wages one-sided war against Rihanna. (Remote Control)

+ Meanwhile, Beyonce inadvertently(?) picks a fight with Janet Jackson, calling her family upbringing a “bad situation.” It’s about to get Nasty, folks. (National Enquirer)

+ Britney Spears tops USA Today’s annual “Celebrity Heat Index” (a.k.a. list of Most Overexposed Celebs) for the second straight year. And they said this was a comeback! (Usmagazine.com)

+ Bjork to singlehandedly save Iceland from total financial ruin. (Scandalist)

+ American Idol rewind! MTV’s resident recapper, Jim Cantiello, recounts the best moments of ‘08. (MTV News)

2008 was quite the year for Miley Cyrus. Between her M&M Cru vs ACDC dance-off, her Vanity Fair cover, her Hannah Montana movie, her romances, her hit records, and turning 16, we’re guessing her mood ring mostly hovered somewhere between pretty awesome, and totally off-the-charts rad.

Though My Cy seems like she’s been lucky in love lately with her new model-actor Justin Gaston, there’s been wide speculation that “7 Things” is an ode to her former love, Nick Jonas. WHOEVER it’s about, “7 Things” does an excellent job of highlighting seven reasons we loved Miley in 2008!

7. Miley’s Not Afraid Of A Close-Up: Everyone’s always bellyaching about how their pores look like craters in HD, but Miley is tweeny and gorge and always camera-ready. (Color us jealous… and also not famous).

6. Teddy Bears Are People Too: Laugh if you will, but we dare you to hug a teddy bear the next time you’re feeling Erykah Sadu … that shniz works, haters!

5. Numerology: Miley probably didn’t choose seven randomly. In numerology, seven represents thought/consciousness, in Prince’s world, it’s all about deadly sins and stuff, and in the movies, it represents finding a head in a box! What could be more thoughtful than enumerating for your lame-0, l00zer BF all the reasons he sucks so hard? We can think of nothing.

4. “The Rules”: Even though she’s only 16, she understands how a girl should be treated — like a pretty, pretty princess on a pretty pony! Texted apologies = major no-no. “I eM So Sry baby, kthxbai” DEEEEEELETE!

3. Break-up Party! It kinda looks like Miley’s throwin’ herself a major break-up rager. I mean, there are some accusations flying, true, but there’s also lots of fun dancing around and stuff, and all those girls look like they’re maybe gonna get together for a sleepover and try out some new sparkly nail polishes and stuff. FUN!

2. Memory Collage: Did you catch that memory collage on the bulletin board?? It was the sweetest thing ever, though you’re vain, so you PROBABLY DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE! (Jerk!)

1. Miley’s Still A Lover, Not A Fighter: Sure, so, Miley *was* chugging down some haterade at the beginning of the song, when she was going on and on about the seven things she hates about you, but she flips the script! She turned her frown upside down and finished off with seven things she LOVES about you. Sweet, right?

There are, of course, many more reasons to lurve Miley, the biggest and best being that she’s going to be closing out 2008 by SURPRISING one insanely lucky fan TOMORROW night. Watch it go down live at 8pm ET on FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise…New Year’s Eve 2009. And check out more Miley moments in MTV’s Best of 2008!

Before there was Auto-Tune-obsessed, out-of-tune-crooning, American Psycho-copping, Pee Wee Herman-dressing, love-locking-down Kanye, there was, actually, for one hot second, (kinda) humble Kanye. Really. If you self-sacrifice constitutes humility. Dude barely even put himself in his “Flashing Lights” video except for the final few seconds, when he got hacked to bits (for leaving the toothpaste cap off? Mispronouncing “Murakami”? BLOGGING IN ALL CAPS?).

“Flashing Lights” — thanks to Kanye’s willingness to get wacked, singer Dwele’s hook, Spike Jonze’s lenswork, Playmate Rita G., and a Zippo lighter — is one of the best, most haunting, most unexpected, and most asstacular videos of 2008.

+ Runner-up: Britney’s “Circus,” but three VMAs and countless comebacks seemed like enough.
+ Pop Cultured’s No. 3 video: Rihanna, “Rehab”
+ MTV’s Best of 2008

I hereby solemnly swear to you that this will be the LAST time I will post about the rhinestone bib necklace Britney wears in her “Circus” video, unless, of course, I mysteriously wake up with it around my neck tomorrow morning, which is pretty unlikely considering the Love Sex Money piece is $1,000.

BUT jewelry designer Ezza Exclusive MADE HER OWN for just $65!

Check out Ezza Exclusive’s Etsy shop to get your own or to have her make you another A-list-inspired crystal necklace at rock-bottom (get it? rock bottom?) B-list prices! And, because it’s been a minute, let’s watch Britney rock those rocks again, shall we? We shall.

Well well well! Look what the Chanukkah Stork deposited on my desk with a little help from his good friend, Fed Ex Fairy! It’s the Jonas Brothers book, Burning Up: On Tour With the Jonas Brothers, written by Joe, Kevin, and Nick Jonas their very selves.

SO! Is the book AS GOOD as going on tour with the Jonas Brothers for TWO DAYS STRAIGHT like I DID BACK IN AUGUST? OF COURSE not! DUHR! Is it better than Eminem’s book? CLEARLY!

You’d think that after two days on the road with the Jonases (and Denise AND Frankie), I’d know ALL there is to know about the Brothers Jonas. BUT, turns out there are STILL a few things I didn’t know! Like…

Thing 1: Nick loves John Lobb shoes. I DID NOT KNOW THAT! (page 47)

Thing 2: Joe loves BrickBreaker — no longer am I alone in my obsession! (page 30)

Thing 3: I already know everything there is to know about Kevin!

Thing 4: Joe learned his higher-than-the-Rockettes kicks from Japanese stuntman Koichi Sakamoto, who trained the Power Rangers! (page 38)

Thing 5: Trampoline dodgeball looks amazing and just may be the new Twitter! (page 83)

Oh yeah — the detail shot of Joe’s bloody pants from the AMAs, as well as the very iPod-y stylized graphic in the beginning of the book (I took some iPod-y liberties) are aces!

Find out more about Burning Up, and check out a few choice shots from within the book’s hallowed covers after the jump!

AND did YOU get the Jonas Brothers’ Burning Up book for your seasonal holiday celebration? Or the day it came out? What’s your favorite page/ part/ passage/ pic? DISCUSS!
Read more…

There were so many amazing videos this year that we decided to commemorate our fave three by doing a mini Buzzworthy Countdown. (Sorta like MTV’s Best of 2008 lists, except shorter!) Read on to find out my #3 pick for 2008, and stay tuned for #2 and (obvs) #1 later on this week!

Sure, we all practiced our zombie moves with “Disturbia,” curtsied to “Take A Bow” and broke out the cabbage patch for “Don’t Stop the Music.” But something (possibly Justin Timberlake in skin-tight, motorcycle attire) tells me “Rehab” deserves to go down as THE bestest Rihanna vid of ‘08 — and, more importantly, my third favorite video of the year.

Not that I didn’t consider any non-Rihanna alternatives. At some time or another, Miley Cyrus’ “7 Things,” Beyonce’s “If I Were A Boy” and Duffy’s “Mercy” were all floated around, but summarily rejected in favor of the “Umbrella” singer’s addictive anti-addiction PSA.

So why “Rehab?” Well, JT aside, there’s the surprisingly singable melody, the awesomely desert-inappropriate duds (neon green beachwear, 4Eva!) and the most impassioned love-as-infatuation verbage since Heath Ledger/Ennis del Mar’s “I wish I knew how to quit you” speech in Brokeback Mountain. (Also, FYI, any video that features Rihanna + Justin + a writhing, almost-sex scene on the hood of a car = automatic insies.)

So give it up for Rihanna and Justin’s ode to fatal attractions and vehicular PDAs, and check out their amazing, sweat-inducing chemistry in 2008’s third-best video, “Rehab.”

+ Diddy dropped another blog entry, and man it’s a doozy. Puffy’s themes for the new year: lettin’ it go, Jesus rulin’, and buying lots more Ciroc (and/or any of the other stuff he sells or endorses. (Concrete Journal)

+ Miley Cyrus and bestie Mandy Jiroux also dropped a new holiday video in which they dance around Miley’s closet and attempt to get some publicity mileage for Mandy’s new group, the Beach Girlz. Yay for Miley! Yay for Mandy! Yay for more celeb holiday vids! (Evil Beet)

+ Dear PETA: you probs wanna go ahead and take Mariah Carey of your mailing list. Mimi and new hubby Nick Cannon were spotted in Aspen right before Christmas in fur “ensembles.” (Jezebel)

+ Proud parents Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz introduced Fall Out baby boy Bronx Mowgli via holiday card on Friends Or Enemies. We much prefer this method over splashin’ his baby butt all over the cover of a cheezy tabloid. Also, they saved lots of trees AND are encouraging their fans to make donations instead of making a buck. Savvy! (Friends or Enemies)

+ Speaking of insanely adorable kiddos, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale took little Kingston roller skating. Doesn’t he look like he’s having a blast!? (Perez Hilton)

+ Beyonce probably had a very FIERCE Christmas: her hit single, “Single Ladies,” came in at Number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. (Billboard)

+ In a blog rant that would make Kanye West blush, Courtney Love goes O-F-F on the lone male Kardashian brother, Rob, who allegedly punched Love’s employee right in his face. (dListed)

+ Paramore: One half-step closer to that next album! (MTV News)

+ Sultry singer Eartha Kitt died at 81 of colon cancer. R.I.P., Catwoman! (Celebuzz)