I gotta say, I love Betheny from The Real Housewives of NYC (mostly because she isn’t a housewife at all and still manages to make that show work … oh yeah, and she’s about 10 secs. away from beating the shizz out of Kelly Bensimone) but I totally hate her entire outfit. I don’t know what she was thinking by wearing that bell-bottomed pantsuit but … yeah. Everyone else looked pretty OK with their snazzy hats. Because of the failing US economy, there is much less glitz at this year’s Derby but still, the celebs are makin’ it work. I don’t know shizz about horse racing but I can appreciate any event where the women are compelled to wear the most ostentatious hats they can find for our mere amusement. No Aretha Franklin hat sightings just yet … but I’ll keep my eye out.

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Detroit has not been getting a lot of positive press in recent months but I’ve got mad love for Kid Rock for always staying true to our beloved hometown. I love Detroit with all my heart and it makes me very happy to see it paid the honor and respect that it deserves. After the jump, check out the music video for Roll On in full …

American pop artists dominated the MTV Europe Music Awards last night (Oct. 6) at Liverpool Echo Arena, and the performers and winners were also keen to bask in President-elect Barack Obama’s election victory. Britney Spears sent a video acceptance for her two awards: best album for “Blackout” (Jive/Sony BMG) and best act of 2008. Host Katy Perry, whose costumes included an Obama-print dress, won the new act gong. “I want a recount,” she said. “The host can’t win.” Perry also opened the show sitting astride a giant chapstick during a performance of “I Kissed a Girl.” Pink collected the first award of the night, taking most addictive track for “So What” (LaFace/Sony BMG). California rock act 30 Seconds To Mars won the rock out award and the video star award for “A Beautiful Lie” (Virgin). The awards were voted for online by fans across Europe. “This has been a really exciting week for us Americans,” said frontman Jared Leto, who got the crowd to chant “Congrats Barack.” There was also recognition for a Liverpool’s most famous musician, with Bono presenting the ultimate legend award to Sir Paul McCartney. “This is the man who invented my job,” said the U2 singer. Bono was also jeered when he said the Beatles would have been Irish, if the Irish potato famine hadn’t driven their ancestors to Britain. “I’ve got to thank my mates Ringo, George and John,” said McCartney. “Many years ago, four little boys born here in Liverpool — and we went on to do quite well.” McCartney also thanked people in the U.S. for “voting in Mr. Obama.” The Liverpool crowd gave a warm reception to U.K. acts who performed, including Take That, the Ting Tings and Duffy. U.K. urban artist Estelle joined Kanye West for their first major awards show collaboration on “American Boy,” featuring a ticker-tape finale with an image of Obama on the giant screen. Eighties pop act Rick Astley was the unlikely winner of the best act ever, following a viral Internet campaign that raised his profile in the past year. Other performers included the Killers, Kid Rock, Beyonce, Pink and local indie rock act the Wombats, who covered Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love.” Perry closed the show with a performance of “Hot N Cold.”

Um, Rick Astley? Seriously? Can I just say … FREAKIN’ AWESOME! I can’t even front, I was a huge Rick Astley fan back in the day. His debut album came out right around the time Kylie Minogue’s debut album was released here in the States and I was in love with them both. Obvs, Kylie ended up with the more stellar career but I’m very happy to see that Rick Astley can still inspire so much lurve from the World to win the Best Act of All Time award :) Congrats, Ricky!!

Because Britney was here in LA performing with Madonna on stage at Dodger Stadium last night, she was not able to be on hand in person to collect her awards in Liverpool last night … she did manage to offer a pre-taped thank you speech that was filmed on the set of her new music video for her song Circus. Here is a screencap of Britney’s acceptance speech:

After the jump, check out video of Britney’s pre-taped acceptance speech as well as Beyoncé’s live performance of If I Was A Boy …

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For the most part, I found the red carpet pretty tame … I mean, there really weren’t that many “hot messes” to speak of. Of course you had your usual poor fashion choices (that red and black dress did not really work on P!nk for me, nor did I like Rihanna’s outfit choice … Xtina looked hawt!) but that’s to be expected. Personally, I had a hard time focusing while on the red carpet … we were lined up in the blazing SoCal sun hours before the first celeb walked the carpet … it wasn’t that pleasant. I did get to snap some fun pics and meet a few very COOL folks … but I’ll post those pics a bit later on.

As for the show itself, I have not yet been able to watch it in its entirety, properly but I did manage to catch most of it on the huge screens that were plastered all over the VIP green room last night. After the jump, check out some pics from the show itself and take one more look at Xtina Aguilera’s amazing performance …

No Madonna kiss. No Michael Jackson cameo. No flying Howard Stern. Not even a Kanye tantrum. MTV has set a high standard for the unexpected at its Video Music Awards, but on the show’s 25th anniversary, the network instead settled for throwing its full support behind Britney Spears’ comeback. Spears won a leading three awards, including video of the year for Piece of Me. Any spontaneity was left to host Russell Brand, the British comic whose rock star style and outlandish candor gave the Los Angeles show a pulse. But at the end of the night Sunday, even the manic and mangy Brand — a confessed former sex addict — could only summon a comic semi-feud with the young Jonas Brothers over their premarital celibacy. But while Brand was unpredictable, witty and offensive, Spears was resolutely careful, determined to set right her pop star image. She was, after all, returning to the scene of the crime, so to speak. At last year’s VMAs — Britney Comeback 1.0 — her unpolished performance was roundly disparaged. In each acceptance speech Sunday, Spears spoke briefly, thanked God and dedicated the awards to her fans. Even while opening the show, she was all business, zipping through her few lines of introduction. “Thank you so much,” she said flatly as the crowd greeted her with a standing ovation. “Thank you for all the love.” MTV has a habit of reengineering the VMAs every year, and, true to form, took this year’s show to the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles. After last year’s awards, splashed throughout a Las Vegas hotel, MTV re-centered the action to a more traditional main stage. The performances, though, often traveled back into the reaches of the Paramount lot. The Jonas Brothers played their song Lovebug on a fake building’s stoop, before the set fell away and throngs of screaming fans ran down fictional city streets to surround them. Unwittingly, the Jonas Brothers — one of the hottest young acts to the MTV audience — became the night’s biggest talking point. Brand repeatedly joked about their purity rings, which each wears as a symbol of their vow not to have premarital sex. At one point, Brand brandished one as if he had won it from a Jonas brother. American Idol champ — and fellow promise ring wearer — Jordin Sparks defended the brothers while presenting an award: “I just wanna say, it’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and a girl wants to be a slut, OK?” Brand was happy to apologize for any hurt feelings, but only to such a degree. After the show, he told The Associated Press, “I feel a bit bad that I kept talking about their vows to chastity and I’d like to take this opportunity to say no one ever have sex again. It’s a mad idea. What a way to spend an evening.” A celebrity in England but relatively unknown in the States, Brand proved an interesting mix with the VMA crowd, who seemed unsure of how to react to his lack of political correctness. In his opening monologue, he joked about Madonna, virgins and President Bush, whom he called “that retarded cowboy fellow.” He pleaded, “Please, America, elect Barack Obama. On behalf of the world.” Some in the star-studded crowd cheered, while others — like Spears — sat quietly. The rest of the evening was mostly given to performances, many of which paired performers in unusual combinations. The prim and proper Leona Lewis joined Lil’ Wayne, who later joined Kid Rock. Lil’ Wayne took home the best hip hop video for Lollipop … Closing the night was Kanye West who, like Spears, was hoping for a second chance after a disappointing VMA experience last year. In Las Vegas, he had a Kanye-sized hissy fit backstage and vowed never to appear at the VMAs again after he didn’t get a Moonman trophy despite several nominations. West again went home without an award this year; there were only eight awards in total. Videos from Chris Brown (With You), Linkin Park (“Shadow of the Day) and the Pussycat Dolls (When I Grow Up) took home awards for best male video, best rock video and best dancing in a video, respectively. Best new artist went to Tokio Hotel, while Spears’ Piece of Me won for best female video, best pop video and video of the year.

Much congrats to all the winners, especially Tokio Hotel who managed to pull off the biggest surprise win (Best New Artist) of the night, I thought. A few folks have mentioned that they didn’t believe that Britney Spears’s Piece of Me was deserving of Video of the Year but I contend that Britney has been owed Video Music Awards for years and it was time to pay up. I find it absolutely apropos that she won big last night. Regarding Russell Brand’s opening political remarks well … they didn’t sit too well with some folks. Not 10 mintues after he cracked his jokes, I received an email from an angry reader in Dallas, TX who found Brand’s remarks “biased” and “insulting” and was especially angry at MTV for allowing “a foreigner to insult the United States President and be cheered on by all the role models of Americas”. This reader went on to say that “MTV should be burned for treason”, which I feel is taking things a bit far but this was their opinion. Personally, I expected Brand to do or say something outrageous because that is what he is known for in the UK. I mean, jokes are jokes … Brand did what he could to make himself stand out and I think he accomplished his mission. But, again, for me that wasn’t the focus of the night. All in all, from what I saw, MTV did a great job staging the VMAs all over the Paramount lot … I thought it was inventive to use the backlot areas for live performances. Kanye West’s closing performance was really hot. Outside, with all those lights and possibly a few drummers from the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, China … he really turned it out. BUT, I do contend that Xtina gave the hottest performance of the night. In case you missed it, check it out again:

Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus and Charlize Theron were among the celebrities who appeared at the fifth annual Fashion Rocks concert celebrating the relationship between music and fashion. They walked the red carpet Friday night at Radio City Music Hall amid a media circus angling for glamour shots of other stars including Fergie, Rihanna, Chris Brown and the “Gossip Girl” gang. Brown, the R&B heartthrob, soaked up all the attention with a smile as he showed off his dapper ensemble of a black vest and shirt, gray pants, shiny shoes and diamond stud earrings. “To be a musician and a great entertainer, you have to be a trendsetter. To be a trendsetter, you have to know fashion — and I have fun with it,” explained the singer, who later changed into khakis and a black shirt and scarf for a performance of his hit song “Forever.” The event will air Tuesday in a two-hour special on CBS. Proceeds will benefit Stand Up To Cancer, a program established by the Entertainment Industry Foundation to raise money for cancer research. Stand Up To Cancer held a live telethon that aired simultaneously on ABC, NBC and CBS on Friday night … Other performers included Timberlake, Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Duffy, the Pussycat Dolls and the Black Eyed Peas. A highlight was Timberlake and Beyonce’s sizzling duet of “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” which channeled the soulful sound of the classic song’s original singers, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Stars mingled and sipped cocktails backstage in the green room, where Leighton Meester of the CW teen drama “Gossip Girl” and her actor-beau Sebastian Stan hung out before she introduced Duffy’s performance of “Mercy.” Meester’s “Gossip” co-star Chace Crawford chatted up actress Hayden Panettiere, who embraced her rock-star side in a silver Ferragamo minidress and black heels. “I usually try to mix class and then really funk it out,” Panettiere said of her personal style. “It’s rock meets class. I try — not always succeed, but I try.”

Wow, this really does sound like a star-studded event … I can’t wait to check it out when it airs on Tuesday night. I understand there were some very cool performances, including one from Rihanna that I will be talking about in a bit. After the jump, check out some pics of Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Kid Rock and others as they took to the stage last night …

Oh yeah, by the looks of it Conde Nast really managed to pull in the big guns for this event. Again, this show looks like it is not to be missed. I know I’ll be tuning in Tuesday night.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Wireimage; Source]