The hottest, most fashion-forward music shots this week were taken during BET’s “Rip The Runway” show in the new fashion capital of the world, New York, and across the Atlantic in London, Sydney and Thailand.  

+ We knew something great was going to come from the Jason Segel-penned The Greatest Muppets Movie Ever Made. Apparently, a major plotline of the in upcoming film involves Miss Piggy becoming a “Lady Gaga-esque character living in Europe.” I feel a musical number coming on—and a potential collaboration?! (PopEater)

+ Speaking of Gaga, the Lady fancies herself something of a role model. At yesterday’s “An Electric Audience” panel sponsored by MAC Cosmetics, Gaga said, “I know that may sound strange to some people, but most important is my connection with my fans and the connection that they breed with one another,” said Gaga to a gathering of reporters at a charity event in London. (MTV News)

+ Already hard at work on her new dance-friendly album, Rihanna has enlisted the skills of talented songwriter Sean Garrett to help out with her follow-up to Rated R. Garrett, who has written for everyone from Britney Spears to Jay-Z to Usher (and is the man behind Mario’s beautiful “Break Up“) says, “I gave her a humongous radio record.” That was rather nice of him! (Rap-Up)

+ Chris Brown recently made the possibly unwise public move of comparing his recent problems to that of Tiger Woods. This has, somewhat predictably, really annoyed some people. (Buzznet)

+ Congratulations to The-Dream and his wife, Christina Milian, who gave birth to their first child together. Looks like the musical power-couple created the biggest hit of all—a baby girl named Violet. (E! Online)

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur / WireImage

“Let’s talk about sex, ba-by. Let’s talk about you and me. Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that can be.”

Salt-N-Pepa’s safe-sex anthem “Let’s Talk About Sex” might be nearly 20 years old, but the message still holds true today. In fact, at 11 AM EST / 8 AM PST / 4 PM GMT on March 1, Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper will be talking about sex and a bunch of other taboo topics as they participate in “An Electric Audience” hosted by MAC Cosmetics and moderated by Sharon Osbourne.

Gaga and Lauper were recently crowned celebrity spokeswomen for MAC’s Viva Glam line of makeup, which donates 100-percent of its proceeds to helping those living with and affected by the HIV/AIDS virus. To commemorate the pairing, the two singers have even released their own namesake MAC lipsticks, the profits of which will also go toward the MAC AIDS Fund.

The sex-themed discussion will be streamed live from London, England, on MAC’s Facebook page and Osbourne will even ask previously submitted fan questions to the two pop superstars.

Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick. Tune in and find out why you need to wrap it up before taking a ride on anyone’s disco stick.

The hottest, coolest music shots this week were taken across the pond, including at the NME Awards in London, and in the city that never sleeps  — even when it snows — New York.

Dissected magazine cover courtesy of Q Magazine

Seeing that Lady Gaga collected two scandalous magazine covers this month, we asked you earlier this week to tell us which one was more Gagalicious—Q or Cosmopolitan. Had we but known, we would’ve asked you which one was more likely to get banned.

The results are in on that question and the answer is Q. According to the magazine’s web site, the cover has been banned by retail stores like Borders because Gaga is showing the lower portion of her left boob, which is apparently a big no-no. In addition, New York state law also prohibits showing any area of the breast below the nipple, which could sacrifice the magazine’s additional distribution in NYC, as well.

Gagaloo has yet to comment on the cover being banned, but in a statement published on QTheMagazine.com, the magazine’s editors “can’t help wonder what Lady Gaga herself would make of this turn of events, given her prophetic quote, standing at the start of the Q photo shoot with a dildo in her hand, ‘It’d be a real f**king story, right’…”

What do you think? Did Gaga go too far on the cover of Q Magazine? Plus, why is no one saying anything about the black dildo camouflaged against her pants?!?

Florida emo-rockers We The Kings are still on the way up fame’s fickle ladder, so they probably don’t have to deal with too many photographers stalking their every move and constantly sticking flashbulbs in their faces—or have they?

The group recently took time out from touring behind their latest album Smile Kid, and performed an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga’s ”Paparazzi” for Billboard’s Mash-Up Monday web feature. Using the simple arrangement of bongos and acoustic guitars, We The Kings get to the lovelorn-and-lonely heart of Gaga’s tune, which is an aspect that often gets overlooked by the song’s musical bells and whistles.

We The Kings singer Travis Clark also adds a layer of wistfulness to the somewhat creepy lyrics. In other words, this is a great take on a fantastic song. Check out the video below. Plus, for a bonus Gaga cover, prepare to be awed by Set Your Goals‘ kazoo-crazy take on “Just Dance.”

Photo: Forrest/WireImage
Lady Gaga promised to retool her Monster Ball show for its European launch, and she delivered in Manchester, England, last night. According to the BBC, the new electro opera featured a loose narrative (Gaga and her pals race to a party), a 40-foot animatronic sea monster (for the fleeting three minutes she performed “Paparazzi”) and more than a dozen costume changes.

Get a look at the show in our gallery from last night’s gig, plus check out some of Lady Gaga’s most outrageous outfits:

• Lady Gaga’s New Monster Ball: The Electro Opera Begins in England

• Lady Gaga’s Wild Looks: The New Princess of Pop’s Craziest Wardrobe Moments

Can’t get enough of Lady Gaga? Yeah, me neither. That’s why I’m counting down the days until the video for Gagaloo’s duet with Beyonce—or “Sasha Fierce,” if you’re nasty. In order to tide me and the rest of my fellow monsters over, I thought it’d be fun to try and imagine what it’s like to be in Gaga’s brain … Scary, I know.

Photo courtesy of LadyGaga.com / Interscope Records

What do you think Lady Gaga is thinking in the above still from the “Telephone” video? I’ll get you started with a couple ideas:

1. “I really need to update my Bluetooth headset.”
2. “Finally—a chance for me to show off my plate-carrying skills. All the years spent waiting tables and refilling endless breadsticks at the Olive Garden truly prepared me for this moment.”
3. “Will someone come over here and straighten my chef’s hat? Geez… I’m surrounded by amateurs.”
4. “I wonder what Elton John is doing right now.”
5. “Did I remember to turn my ringer off?”

Now it’s your turn. Leave your funniest/best/weirdest comment below and see if you can’t achieve a little caption “Fame.”

+ We know about Lady Gaga’s fabulous entrance to the annual Brit Awards, but what happened next? Gaga cleaned up, that’s what. Lady Gaga won awards for Best International Artist, Best International Breakthrough Act and Best International Album for The Fame. She also performed a heartfelt, torch-song version of “Telephone” and a fabulous take on “Dance In The Dark,” dedicating her live turn to her beloved and recently deceased friend, designer Alexander McQueen. (PopEater)

+ After 108,000 fans turned out at his gargantuan new Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas, for the NBA All-Star game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got himself a little idea: He wants Jay-Z and Eminem to play the enormous arena, spitting bars underneath the venue’s ridiculous 160-foot-wide, hi-def screen. It would be pretty incredible to see the two do their duet, “Renegades,” in that kind of setting. (MTV News)

+ In news that’s sure to make certain people feverish with Ghostbusters Proton Pack streams of excitement, Adam Lambert watched Ke$ha give an impromptu, drunken (shocker) perform of “Tik Tok” and her new single “Blah Blah Blah” at the New York City nightspot, Club 57. Lambert took in the trashiness with Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black. (E! Online)

+ And just as I was hoping “The Catalano” hairstyle would be making a comeback! Check out famed celeb photographer Terry Richardson giving 30 Seconds To Mars frontman Jared Leto a haircut. Comes out rather faux-hawkish, no? Well, that’s what you get when you don’t go to a licensed, properly schooled barber, man! (Oh No They Didn’t!)

+ To top off our Buzz Bites, we can’t do any better than this: Kanye West galfriend and Buzzworthy object of obsession, Amber Rose, backing that thing up on Project Runway mini-diva Christian Siriano. Ah, you’ve gotta love New York Fashion Week. (Crunk + Disorderly)

Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Dizzee Rascal, Robbie Williams and Jay-Z should all get a sales boost from the U.K.’s BRIT Awards.

+ At Gwen Stefani’s recent L.A.M.B. fashion show in New York City, models strutted the catwalk to 80’s new wave like The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette.” Apparently, that’s the direction No Doubt will be going for their upcoming, untitled album. According to Stefani, any recording session usually starts with her and bassist Tony Kanal listening to the records of their 1980’s youth. Like The Normal and, um, Lionel Richie. (Rolling Stone)

+ Lady Gaga will apparently be striking while the iron is scalding hot. She and her go-to producer, RedOne, will be heading back into the studio in a matter of weeks to begin work on the follow-up to her massively successful The Fame (and its sister release, The Fame Monster). According to RedOne, when he and Gaga get in a groove the magic happens, and happens fast. The two recorded her smash, “Bad Romance,” on her tour bus. (MTV News)

+ The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when Nicki Minaj was reunited with her stuffed, pink monkey (that is not a euphemism), Oscar. The baddest Barbie had lost the keepsake a little while ago and was offering a 50,000$ reward for it, claiming she would travel to the ends of the earth to find it. The fine folks at Idolator took that idea and ran with it, superimposing Nicki onto shots of some of the world’s great monuments and attractions. So if you ever wondered what Nicki Minaj would look like at Greece’s Parthenon…it’s your lucky day. (Idolator)

+ This will be welcome news to fans of Kanye West’s actual music and haters of his public outbursts. Looks like we’ll be getting more of the former and less of the latter in 2010. Kanye is currently sequestered in Hawaii (nice work if you can get it), working on the highly anticipated follow-up to 808’s And Heartbreak. According to Big Sean, one of the artists in West’s G.O.O.D. Music stable, the album will be called Good Ass Job. Can’t wait. Music sounds better with you, ‘Yeezy. (Rap Radar)

+ Speaking of Mr. West, just because he’s in the bunker working on new music doesn’t mean his better half ain’t out there in the world looking fabulous and adorable. Two important Amber Rose Internet sightings to call your attention to. One: check her out wearing some straight up Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation shades at Nicole Miller’s New York Fashion Week show, here. And then watch her half-sing, half-lip-sync the Backstreet Boys‘ “I Want It That Way,” (with a quick break to apply lip gloss) here. (Oh Not They Didn’t!)

The hottest, coolest music shots this week were in Super Bowl-laden FLA and snowy, Fashion Week-overrun New York.

Billboard Bits serves up the best bite-sized nuggets of music news and gossip every afternoon.

The fashion world is reeling today over the tragic death of British designer Alexander McQueen, fashion’s l’enfant terrible, who came up under the tutelage of his friend and idol, Isabella Blow, and was responsible for some of the most avant-garde fashions sent down the runway and red carpets on the Kate Moss (whose hologram eerily hovered over his the runway of his Fall/Winter 2006 show), Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, and, most recently Lady Gaga.

We thought we’d pay tribute to Alexander McQueen’s untimely demise by showcasing our favorite McQueen looks on one of his biggest fans — Lady Gaga, whose “Bad Romance” single debuted during the end of Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2010 show in Paris. Obviously the love and adoration was mutual between these two icons.

Lady Gaga At The 2009 VMAs: Lady Gaga wore Alexander McQueen’s red lace dress when she accepted her 2009 Best New Artist VMA for “Poker Face.” Gaga’s red dress was from Alexander McQueen Fall 1998 collection.

Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” Gold Dress: Alexander McQueen’s sky-high, jewel-encrusted armadillo heels attracted most of the awe and attention in “Bad Romance,” but the gold origami-fold dress Lady Gaga wears in the beginning of “Bad Romance” is from Alexander McQueen’s Spring 2010 collection.

Lady Gaga’s Black “Bad Romance” Dress: The little black dress Lady Gaga wears in the beginning of her “Bad Romance” video is also Alexander McQueen.

Lady Gaga’s Jeweled “Bad Romance” Dress: The reptilian sequined dress with a bubble skirt is from McQueen’s Spring 2010 collection.

“Dance In The Dark” Cover: The cover of Lady Gaga’s “Dance In The Dark” single features Gaga in a gold paillette-covered shrug from Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2007 collection.

(Credit: French Vogue)

Lady Gaga In French Vogue: In the November 2009 issue of French Vogue, a statuesque Lady Gaga was draped in a lacy, ruffled Alexander McQueen dress from Fall 2006.

(Credit: Red Carpet Fashion Awards)

Lady Gaga In Alexander McQueen’s Black Sweater Dress: Lady Gaga took to the streets in Alexander McQueen’s right-from-off-the-runway black sweater dress, encoiled in knit tubes.

Benefits and charity events often bring out the prim and proper in most attendees’ fashion sensibility. While these events are often an opportunity to wear stylish evening wear, you rarely see people making a fashion statement.

Well, if we have learned anything over the last year or so, most people are not Lady Gaga.

Perhaps as a form of commentary on that very prim and proper attitude, Lady Gaga put on her best pearls to attend a charity event for AmFar in New York City last night. She just happened to have those pearls glued to her face.

Gaga’s style for the evening could best be described as Couture Zombie Chic. Reminiscent of the outfit she rocked while rocking her GRAMMY opening performance with Elton John (you can see that here, in our Gaga at the GRAMMYs recap), Gaga, wore all white everything, from her jacket, her undergarments-on-the-outside and her vertigo-inducing heels; just a flash of her MAC Viva Glam pink lipstick offset the albino effect.

The zombie part comes from the dusting of chalky dirt that seemed to cover her body. Who knows, perhaps soon we’ll see girls switching from glitter to dirt for their nightclubbing look.

Gaga actually performed at the AmFar gala, playing a reportedly superb take on her new song, “Future Love.”

You can see more shots of Gaga in all her pearl-faced glory over at the Daily Mail.

Cross-generational and eccentric pop divas Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper sat side by side on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday to talk about major women’s health issue, as the new faces of an AIDS awareness campaign.

(Credit: Craig Gleason)

You’re know you’re pretty much printing your own money when you’re… printing your own money. Case in point, Lady Gaga, who, as you know — unless you live somewhere that uses shells as currency (in which case you’re probably not reading this) — is pretty famous. So famous that she inspired artist Craig Gleason to break the law (though I’m sure the U.S. Treasury would let it slide in this case) and create a series of hand-painted dollars that satisfy the heretofore unchartered intersection of George Washington and Lady Gaga. Perhaps you saw Craig Gleason’s Gaga dollars back in December. But it looks like he just created some brand-new ones, featuring the razor blade sunglasses from her “Bad Romance,” video, one of her very Matthew Barney Haus of Gaga outfits, and her mirrorball dress with intense shoulders.

The latest Gaga dollars are available on Craig Gleason’s blog (which you can find by Googling his name or a combination of two felonies). Or hit him up at his Etsy shop to see how many regular dollars it takes to buy Gaga dollars. (Worth it at any price, I say!) If only I could use Gaga dollars to buy me some unwearable Alexander McQueen armadillo heels.

Lady Gaga, in an interview with Elle Magazine last December, spoke openly about looking forward to having kids — Baby Gagas! — one day. Then we saw these photos of Lady Gaga carrying a baby while she was out shopping, showing off her maternal/ Angelina Jolie instincts. The thought of Mama Gaga got us to thinking that she’d make a most excellent mom. And here are five reasons why we wanna see Lady Gaga rockin’ the Baby Bjorn.

+ You could borrow her clothes.
Yeah, the Latex reindeer ensemble might be a bit much for eighth grade. But once you hit your couture phase, Mama’s closet is gonna look like a treasure chest!

+ She would nurture your creativity.
I highly doubt that Lady Gaga would be the kind of mom who would insist you run off and become a lawyer, thus casting your dreams of becoming an interpretive dancer or video installation artist into the dustbin of what-could-have-been, while you slave away in Advanced Studies In Buying And Selling Stuff And Accounting For It 202. Gaga feels more like the nurturing, feel-free-to-finger-paint type of gal.

+ Auntie Beyonce and Uncle Elton!
After making two videos together (Bey’s “Videophone” and Gaga’s upcoming “Telephone“) Beyonce and Gaga are practically sisters. Or at least cousins. Can you imagine being babysat by Beyonce? Be still my beating heart. And, ever since their GRAMMY-opening duet, Elton John and Gaga have been like two peas in a pod. How cool would it be to be sitting around the lunch table in third grade, “Oh yeah? You like The Lion King? THAT’S MY UNCLE ELTON! WHACHOO KNOW ABOUT THE CIRCLE OF LIFE?!”

+ You’d never have to wonder what your mom was like when she was younger!
This might actually go against you. You can’t really yell at her about how she doesn’t understand, how she was never different. Because she probably does understand and she was different. Any fight about your mom being a square who doesn’t get you will probably end with her saying, “Mommy, once made a music video where she had alien eyes and sat in a bathtub nekkid.” That’s when you will have lost the argument.

+ You’d be well-fed.
Not to be stereotypical, but Gaga, like many Italian women, is a whiz in the kitchen. “”I come from an Italian family — what more can I say? I love to cook. I am really good at Italian food. So I make great meatballs, pasta and all sorts. I love it,” she told England’s Daily Star. So you know you’d be all set in the home-cooked meal department.

Lady Gaga will play North American and European arenas this year and Live Nation Entertainment’s global touring division will take the reins as promoter/producer.

Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is replaced at No. 1 by Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” (RCA/Sony Music Entertainment) on European Hot 100 Singles, but Gaga maintains pole position on Billboard’s European Albums chart with “The Fame” (Interscope/Universal).