Well, that was certainly worth the wait.

On Thursday night (March 11), after months of anticipation, leaked on-set photos and rather excellent adventures in hairstyling, Lady Gaga's epic video for "Telephone" finally premiered during E! News, and, honestly, if there's something she didn't cram into the clip, well, then we missed it.

"Telephone" is nine-plus minutes of everything you could possibly love about Gaga (and her co-star Beyonce) only amped up to the Nth degree.

It's ambitious, funny and clever, playing much more like a short film than a music video. There are opening and closing credits, elaborate, over-the-top (or barely there) costumes, and a whole lot of celebrity cameos. This cost money, this took time, this was a work of love, blood, sweat and tears (and a whole lot of hairspray). This was worth it.

With "Telephone," Gaga has entered the rarest of pop stratospheres, up there with the Madonnas and the, gasp, Michael Jacksons. We're not comparing talent, just ability: ability to wow, to enthrall and put on a show — one can only hope is continued sometime very soon. What did you think of the video? (MTVNews)

World-renowned fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead in London at age 40; early reports say suicide.

The death of the go-to celebrity designer comes just days before the start of London Fashion Week and a few weeks prior to Paris Fashion Week where McQueen was scheduled to show. Perhaps even more telling, his death comes just days after the death of his beloved mother on Feb 2nd. 

His office released the following statement:

"At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with McQueen's family. His family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this."

His runway shows — more often like performance pieces because they were so dramatic, and sometimes, bizarre — were always a highlight during the Paris ready-to-wear fashion week.

Alexandra Shulman, the Editor and Chief of British Vogue had this to say:

“McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashions shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over.”

A longtime fashion innovator, the London-born McQueen got his start making custom suits for none other than Prince Charles. He has regularly dressed fashion "It" girls like: Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Janet Jackson, and Fergie, just to name a few.

The four-time British Designer of the Year, Commander of the British Empire and International Designer of the Year will be sadly missed. (E!)

Photo via Getty Images

Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez made Miami even hotter this weekend when they made their new couple debut during the Super Bowl festivities.

A source who spotted the duo at the CAA party Saturday night had this to say about la pareja:

“They were having a great time. [Cameron] was grinding on A-Rod. A-Rod and Cameron have totally been hooking up."

According to the partygoer, a tipsy Cameron was being very, “fun and flirty,” with the Yankee player sitting on the couch beside her as she, “was dancing by herself and then turning into [Alex] some.” (OK)

First Madonna, then Kate Hudson, now Cameron? Well, at least we know he has a thing for blondes...brunettes need not apply. But seriously, how long do you think this will last? Let us know in the comments section!

Photo via Getty Images

As donations continue to pour in from around the world, "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" announced on Saturday (January 23) that it has raised more than $58 million to date — a new record for donations made by the general public through a disaster-relief telethon. The preliminary figure includes donations made via phone, online and mobile, and does does not include donations by corporations and large private donors, or iTunes sales figures, all of which are still being calculated.

"Hope for Haiti Now" will continue accepting donations for six months via the following methods:

» Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
» Phone: 877-99-HAITI
» Text: Text "GIVE" to 50555
»Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Did you watch Friday night's telethon? Here are a few of the noteworthy performances from Tr3s favorites.

(MTVNEWS)

Photo via Getty Images

The Colombian Humanitarian announced this morning that she's building a new school in Haiti through her Barefoot Foundation.

Her foundation will partner with Architecture for Humanity to build the school as well as work to provide education, school feeding, clean water and sanitation services. Shakira stated:

“There is a great need for immediate aid in Haiti, but also for longer-term reconstruction. For that reason, we are doing our small part to help Haiti rebuild and give the children affected by this disaster the chance to learn and thrive. I hope we can use some of what we’ve learned working in Colombia to help Haiti’s children recover. When we educate children we empower societies, and right now Haiti needs all of our help.”  (PerezHilton)

Well said, Shaki! Make sure you catch her alongside Madonna, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera and a slew of A-list performers on "Hope for Haiti Now" which will air tonigh at 8pm EST/PST across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and Rhapsody, and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV. "Hope for Haiti Now" will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. "Hope for Haiti Now" will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a one-time-only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.

"Hope for Haiti Now" has begun accepting donations and will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from the telethon will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the NGO community in Haiti.

Photo via Getty Images

It's not a complicated process. Donors simply call into the telethon and pledge various financial contributions to the person on the other end of the line. But instead of an everyday volunteer, "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" which airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET, will feature some fans-favorite entertainers soliciting funds.

"It'll be the biggest bank of faces that you recognize answering the phones,"  said George Clooney.

Clooney is hoping the star power will help the charitable effort reel in much-needed money for the survivors in Haiti.

Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Madonna are among the superstars set to perform at the event, while former President Bill Clinton and Will Smith are some of the notable names who will make appearances.

Clooney is thankful to all the stars who have volunteered their time in one way or another. He was particularly excited about those who will be manning the phones.

"You got about 130 to 140 actors, athletes, singers and television hosts, and they're all coming up not to be on TV, but simply to answer the phones," he marveled.  (MTVNEWS)

Madonna, President Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, and Will Smith have joined "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief," which airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT on MTV Tr3s and many other networks.

In addition to musical performances, Wyclef Jean in New York City, George Clooney in Los Angeles, and CNN's Anderson Cooper reporting from Haiti, "Hope for Haiti Now" will also feature Chris Rock, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, and Matt Damon, and more than 100 of the biggest names in film, television and music.

Madonna (performing in New York) and Haitian artist Emeline Michel (in Los Angeles) will join the previously announced lineup of musical performances: Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Sting in New York; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, and Taylor Swift in Los Angeles; and Beyoncé, Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z and Rihanna in London.

"Hope for Haiti Now" will begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday via the following methods:

» Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
» Phone: 877-99-HAITI
» Text: Text "GIVE" to 50555
» Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Music performances from "Hope for Haiti Now" will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store. Beginning on Friday, iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order both the Hope for Haiti Now full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for 99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities.

"Hope for Haiti Now" performances will also be available for purchase on AmazonMP3 and Rhapsody, with distribution provided by INgrooves. Proceeds from those purchases will also benefit Haiti relief funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities.

"Hope for Haiti Now," will benefit Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, Yele Haiti Foundation and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation. Proceeds from "Hope for Haiti Now" will be split among each organization's individual funds for Haiti earthquake relief. With the exception of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, each partner organization was selected for its history of operation and collaboration within the NGO community in Haiti.

"Hope for Haiti Now" will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV. "Hope for Haiti Now" will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic, and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. "Hope for Haiti Now" will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a one time only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.  (MTVNews)

Many mainstream music listeners may not know about Aventura. However, this week the Bachata boys are making history by not only out selling the new avant garde sensation Lady Gaga, but they're also the first Latino group ever to snag four dates at New York City's Madison Square Garden with shows tonight, tomorrow and Feb. 1 and 2; putting them in a league with the likes of Madonna.

While Aventura toplines the 19,000-strong Madison Square Garden, Lady Gaga is performing down the street at Radio City Music hall, a 6,000 capacity venue, for an equal number of shows.  That puts Aventura on track to sell more than three times the number of tickets La Gaga can.

By that measure, it may seem odd that, of the two, it's Gaga who gets all the press. To that, Romeo had this to say:

"We don't mind that she's treated differently. We're in a different world. Artists (like Lady Gaga) have a major label and lots of marketing behind them. But it's even more exciting for us to know that we're accomplishing these things without having that machine."

For 21 weeks, Aventura's most recent CD, "The Last," has sat atop Billboard's Latin Music Chart, ­spawning three No. 1 singles while supporting a tour that ranks among the three top-grossing road shows of '09, right behind Miley Cyrus' and Britney Spears'. 

With this type of success, rumors of a crossover album plague the Bronx born Bachata crooners. Romeo weighed in on the ongoing controversy:

"Personally I would never separate Spanish and English. I don't want to say we don't care about a crossover. But we're not saying 'Oh, we got to do it.' We're doing things that, honestly, a lot of Anglos can't — like four Garden shows. For us, that's enough."  (NYDailyNews)

It's enough for us too! 

Photo via Getty Images

Shakira recently sat down with MTV News to explain her 'Did It Again' video frame by frame.

Shaki and video director, Sophie Muller, scoured the globe to find inspiration for the video, taking cues from Moroccan dancers and 19th-century British painters, and recruiting a Florida-born dancer and an Icelandic choreographer for the project.

It was a collaboration between this friend of mine who's a dancer, and me. She showed me this contemporary dance piece that was produced in Iceland. So we said, 'Hey, maybe we could do something like this for "Did It Again." So we brought this choreographer from Iceland from this contemporary dance company, and we worked on this piece.

And I decided to bring a little bit of this painter, [Lawrence] Alma-Tadema, who portrays women in these bathrooms, these Turkish bathrooms, and I wanted to bring a little bit of that poetic imagery to this video. And I remember not too long ago having watched a few women turn their heads in a trans in Morocco. So we brought all these pieces — Moroccan women twirling and turning their heads, and the poetry from Alma-Tadema's paintings, plus this Icelandic contemporary dance piece — and we mixed all these pieces together for the video.

It was a lot to cram into one video, and Shakira needed a male counterpart to pull it off. Luckily, she found a (more than) able body: Daniel "Cloud" Campos, a dancer who's worked with Madonna.
He's sick! What he does is unbelievable.

But did she have any problem getting close to a guy she barely knew? Not really — as she put it, people often do more with folks they know even less.

[We worked on the routine] for a few days. Hey, some people just get in bed after one night.

Truer words have never been spoken! What do you think of 'Did It Again?'

Photos via GettyImages

[mtv.com]

The 2009 VMAs was chock full of good music, juicy drama and out-of-this-world fashion.

Janet Jackson's tributo a su hermano, Michael, was not only a really heartfelt memorial, but also featured some of the most renowned choreography in the history of MJ's illustrious career, with recreations of "Thriller," "Bad," "Smooth Criminal," and "Scream."  Lady Gaga’s performance was aún más loca de lo que esperábamos with its bloody grand finale, and  Jay-Z and Alicia Keys closed the show with a hoppin' rendition of  "Empire State of Mind."  In between there were performances by Beyoncé, Green Day, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry -- as well as Wale and the numerous artists (como Pitbull! Latinos represent!) that joined him as the VMA house band.  Pink had arguably one of the best shows of the night when she performed from a flying trapeze!

Host Russell Brand kept the dirty jokes flying, Pop Queen Madonna paid tribute to the late King of Pop, and Kanye West did his best to steal the show but was promptly escorted out of the venue for another awards show outburst.  No nos sorprendió mucho!  Lady Gaga wowed with her ever-inventive vestuario, and even the Twilight cast showed up to show off the drama-filled trailer for 'New Moon.'

While Wisin y Yandel didn’t win for "Best Pop Video," Latin artists were definitely in the house!  Pitbull and Wale performed a hip-hop go-go version of "I Know You Want Me," and Mr. 305 made sure to give a big shout-out to all the Latinos!  Also representing at the show were Shakira, JLo and hubby Marc Anthony, "Blaxican" Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, and honorary Latina Nelly Furtado who gave el Dúo Dinámico a nod during her presenter's speech.

So what did you guys think about this year's VMAs? Did it meet or exceed your expectations?

Watch más videos exclusivos from the show, browse fotos and see the full list of ganadores at VMA.MTV.COM!  Also make sure to watch the show all over again con subtítulos en Español (más divertido para la familia entera!) este domingo a las 5pm EST, solo por MTV Tr3s!