Billboard picks the Oscars’ 10 coolest music performances, from Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson’s battle of the “Dreamgirls” divas to a 14-year-old Michael Jackson and Madonna channeling Marilyn Monroe.

Breaking artist and unexpected Guns n’ Roses opening act Alberta Cross recently stopped by the Rolling Stone offices to treat us to a trio of acoustic renditions of songs off their debut album Broken Side of Time, which was finally released stateside earlier this year. For this special performance, Alberta Cross scale back on the Brit-pop grandeur and feedback on their debut LP, showcasing the gritty roots rock sound at the heart of frontman Petter Ericson Stakee’s songs. Up top is “ATX,” with “Old Man Chicago” and “The Thief & the Heartbreaker” ready for your viewing pleasure below. For more on these up-and-comers, check out our review of Broken Side of Time.

“Old Man Chicago”

“The Thief & the Heartbreaker”

Can’t wait for Motion City Soundtrack’s U.S. tour in April? Well we can totally tide you over until then.

As previously mentioned, team Buzzworthy was embedded on the frontlines with camp Motion City Soundtrack when they played at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza with their pals The Swellers, This Providence and Set Your Goals. We got in deep to deliver a great preview feast of what will come in the Spring.

We hung out with the bands before and after the gig (see photos); recorded some of their sets (Motion City Soundtrack’s, plus all the opening band pals) and even interviewed the groups on various subjects from their musical influences and stage fright to being on the road. Here’s a taste of six MCS songs including, “Disappear” and “The Future Freaks Me Out.”

More videos from the show after the jump.

Check out interviews with all the groups.

Live performances by The Swellers, This Providence and Set Your Goals.

After this bitterly cold winter, if that doesn’t get you psyched for Spring, we’re not sure what will.

Cold Wars Kids recently stopped by the Rolling Stone offices for an intimate performance of a pair of songs off the band’s recent EP Behave Yourself. Above, watch the Long Beach indie rockers showcase the EP’s opening track “Audience,” then hit the jump for two more songs: Behave Yourself’s “Santa Ana Winds” and a moving cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Cosmo’s Factory closer “Long As I Can See the Light,” which the band has been performing live at recent shows.

“Santa Ana Winds”:

“Long As I Can See the Light”:

[Video: Eric Helton/Matthew Murphy; Editing: Matthew Murphy]

If you missed Christofer Drew’s visit to MTV yesterday, where he chatted live with fans on Buzzworthy, and then played a live four-song Never Shout Never set with just his guitar, a harmonica, a stool, and a handful of Never Shout Never fans. And if you’re a fan, you know that really don’t need much else besides Christofer, a guitar, and his biting yet beautiful lyrics.

Check out the set list below, get photos of Christofer performing at MTV, and watch Never Shout Never’s live take on “What Is Love” from his MTV.com appearance on Thursday, February 4 in New York City.

MTV Set List

“Lovesick”

“If You Go Leave Your Key In The Mailbox”

“The Day That Music Died”

“What Is Love”

Look for the live chat to start at 3:00 pm and the performance at 3:30 pm (both Eastern Time).

Chat With Christofer Drew From Never Shout Never

Do you want to know what it’s like to have Never Shout Never’s Christofer Drew play just for you? Well, get ready. We’ve been prepping all week for a visit from acoustic pop-rock sensation Christofer Drew of Never Shout Never, to bring him directly to your laptop or desktop. The time is nigh. This afternoon, Thursday, February 4 at 3pm ET, Christoper will be stopping by for a live chat and performance on MTV.com. He’ll take dedications and requests (Think ‘em up now!) and then right afterwards set up shop for acoustic performance of all the NSN hits.

Tune in a little early (around 2:30 pm ET) to join in the pre-buzz action and start chatting with other fans about what you think he should play. In the meantime we’ll whet your appetite with this new video clip of “What Is Love?” (Now we’ve got to make sure the floor is super clean. You know how he plays without shoes? We want everything to be perfect.)

Darius Rucker is four recording sessions and about six songs into his second country album, which he plans to have out later this year.

Today’s good news comes with a healthy dose of sarcasm in the form of a very special video message from Never Shout Never’s Christofer Drew, who gets a special phone call from his Big Important Tour Manager Guy (who looks A LOT like his actual tour manager, Jeremy).

If you hate surprises and enjoy a good spoiler in your life, the voice on the other end of the call is about to inform the Never Shout Never brain child that on Thursday, February 4, Christofer Drew will be coming to MTV in New York City to perform an acoustic live set. The MTV Buzzworthy Blog (an easy way to remember how to find it is that you’re reading it right now!) will be streaming the entire set live and hosting a live chat with Christofer beforehand. After the performance, you can watch a full-length performance of “What Is Love,” plus photos and footage of Never Shout Never at MTV.

The live chat with Christofer Drew starts at 3pm ET, with the live acoustic performance to follow.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it…

Photo: Winter/Getty

The 52nd Annual Grammys are about to begin, and Lady Gaga is already the talk of the night with her white geometric hoop dress (and a few early wins). Will Beyoncé convert more of her 10 nominations into trophies? Will MusiCares honoree Neil Young nab his second-ever Grammy (he scored his first earlier tonight)? Will Britney Spears steal the spotlight by simply attending the show? Follow along as we track the action all night long.

Look back at the best of Rolling Stone’s Grammy coverage.

7:58 p.m.: The show is about to begin and RS already has something to celebrate — victories for Jeff Beck, Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and Kings of Leon. Keep up with the winners here.

8:00 p.m.: Lady Gaga opens the show on a stage dubbed “The Fame Factory.” Adam Lambert is likely jealous of her mint-green-sparkled Kiss-style outfit, with its giant shoulder wings and platform shoes. She cuts off “Poker Face” after the first chorus, gets dropped into a fiery pit like a Batman villain to be turned into a monster — actually, she lands at a piano facing Elton John! They’re both covered in soot and duetting on her track “Speechless,” performing a sort of glitter-off as they seemingly blend in John’s “Your Song.” “Thank you, love you, Sir Elton John,” Gaga ad libs.

8:07 p.m.: Stephen Colbert proclaims the night important because it reinforces “the right of celebrities to congratulate each other” and jokes he’d like to see a special collabo tonight: Adam Lambert and “any sense of personal restraint.” Even better, he whips out an iPad to read the nominees for Song of the Year (”Jay-Z, did you not get one of these in your gift bag?”). Winner: the writers of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”

8:13 p.m.: Jennifer Lopez intros Green Day? Who plotted that?! Billie Joe Armstrong and Co. team up with the cast of their soon-to-be-Broadway-musical American Idiot for “21 Guns.” Somewhere the cast of Glee is weeping with joy.

8:24 p.m.: Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel remind us there’s still time to vote on which song Bon Jovi will play tonight on CBS’ Website. And since they’re multitasking, they also give out the award for Best Country Album. Winner: Taylor Swift’s Fearless. “I feel like I’m standing here accepting an impossible dream right now,” she says, ending a sincere acceptance speech.

8:27 p.m.: Beyoncé time! After marching through the crowd with a SWAT team, B … grabs her crotch! During the first verse of “If I Were a Boy.” Didn’t see that one coming. Few performers sing this well live. Beyoncé is beyond a force to be reckoned with. With her all-lady band kicking it up a notch, she swings into her cover of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” and segues back into “Boy,” all while hair-flipping and jetting around the stage.

8:39 p.m.: Seal acknowledges that Leonard Cohen has received one of the Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Awards, and introduces Pink.

Check out the 2010 Grammys’ big moments in photos.

8:40 p.m.: We’re surprised Pink isn’t hanging from the ceiling yet, but her “Glitter in the Air” promises to get interesting (she said it would be “wet” on the red carpet).

8:43 p.m.: Pink sheds her Princess Leia cloak for a bodysuit seemingly made of masking tape and gets her aerial tricks going, spinning on a silk suspended from the top of Staples Center. The people in $15,000 gowns getting splashed by the water coming off of Pink cannot be thrilled right now. Remind y’all of this?:

8:45 p.m.: Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban shout out Loretta Lynn’s Lifetime Achievement Award and present Best New Artist. Winner: Zac Brown Band.

8:54 p.m.: Miley Cyrus tells us we all wanted to be a part of the next performance: it’s the Black Eyed Peas with “Imma Be,” bringing us our first NSFW moment of the night! Fergie said something that had the censor leaning on the mute button. The fashion trend tonight is definitely futuristic military chic. Enjoying the dancers dressed up like parts of turntables. “I Gotta Feeling” this is one of their most embarrassing gigs.

9:04 p.m.: The Jonas Brothers have returned to finish off Stevie Wonder … oh wait, they’re actually introducing Lady Antebellum.

9:08 p.m.: It was always Juanes’ dream to take the stage with an actress from The Big Bang Theory. How appropriate that they’re presenting Best Comedy Album. Winner: Stephen Colbert. “This is a Christmas album, so obviously I should thank Jesus Christ for having such a great birthday.”

9:13 p.m.: A commercial break is an ideal time to peruse our gallery of red carpet photos from earlier tonight. If you wanted to hate your life for a moment, consider the fact that Snookie and the Situation are rubbing elbows with the biggest stars in music tonight while you are rubbing nacho cheese off your fingers.

9:18 p.m.: Norah Jones and Ringo Starr note Bobby Darin’s Lifetime Achievement Award and pass out the trophy for Record of the Year. Winner: Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody.” “I’m not going to lie, we’re all a little drunk, but we’re happy drunk,” says Caleb Followill.

9:20 p.m.: The biggest cheers on music’s big night go to the star of Iron Man 2, Robert Downey Jr. Bonus points to the man he introduces, Jamie Foxx, for his funniest performance since In Living Color. He jokingly compares his Auto-Tune team-up with T-Pain, “Blame It,” to opera before launching into the track.

9:24 p.m.: Chaos! Doug E. Fresh is beat-boxing, Slash is playing the solo from “November Rain” T-Pain is swinging his braids and somewhere Axl Rose is fuming.

9:26 p.m.: Justin Bieber (officially half the size of Ke$ha) and the “TiK ToK” star remind us to vote for which song Bon Jovi will play tonight. If “Bad Medicine” isn’t on the ballot, we will abstain.

9:31 p.m.: Katy Perry and Alice Cooper: finally, an inspired pairing. Cooper didn’t seem to love the banter where Perry said he taught her how to dress like a lady. Hmm. They recognize Florence Greenberg’s Trustees Award and announce Best Rock Album. Winner: Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown. A shout out to Butch Vig for producing “this bastard” before Billie Joe goes to have shots with Kings of Leon.

9:35 p.m.: Leon Russell sits in with the Zac Brown Band, fresh off their win for Best New Artist, for “America the Beautiful,” “Dixie Lullaby” and their most deliciously titled song, “Chicken Fried.” Put your hands in the air if you love patriotism!

9:45 p.m.: Ryan Seacrest gives an effusive intro for Taylor Swift, who’s wearing her version of peasant chic and strumming along to Valentine’s Day soundtrack tune “Today Was a Fairytale.” But wait, there’s more! Stevie Nicks! There are some harmonic issues in their “Rhiannon,” but it’s still a cool moment. Butch Walker and Nicks join for a sweet little version of “You Belong With Me.”

9:52 p.m.: Lionel Richie arrives to introduce the special 3-D Michael Jackson tribute. Note to readers: blogging in 3-D glasses is nausea-inducing and not recommended.

9:53 p.m.: Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher take the stage as footage from “Earth Song” (some of it seen in This Is It) rolls. The leaves are popping behind the singers — it’s a pretty cool effect. The singers fall back as MJ’s voice gets turned up, and the Grammys cut to an awesome shot of Beyoncé rocking out in her 3-D glasses. The performers turn to stare up at a classic photo of Jackson and the crowd leaps up for a standing ovation.

10:00 p.m.: Prince and Paris Jackson, Michael’s two eldest children, accept their father’s posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award. “Our father was always concerned about the planet and humanity,” Prince says. “Through all his songs, his message was simple: love. We will continue to spread his message and help the world.” “Daddy was going to perform this year,” Paris adds. “Thank you, we love you, daddy.”

10:08 p.m.: Sheryl Crow announces that Doug Morris has received the President’s Merit award to Industry Icons, then passes the stage to Bon Jovi, who are set to play “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” and a song to be named by fans who are still voting. Jennifer Nettles trots out for “Home,” providing some solid harmony. And to the surprise of nobody, fans want to hear “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

10:16 p.m.: Placido Domingo and Mos Def joke about either dating or working with each other. Either way, we’re confused. Appropriately, they’re passing out Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Winner: Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West’s “Run This Town.” Jay and Rihanna (and Solange Knowles’ son) accept sans Kanye, but Jigga calls him a “genius.”

10:24 p.m.: Wyclef Jean offers salutations from Haiti and a brief lesson in Creole. “The music industry is still alive, even though there ain’t no more record companies,” he adds, apropos of nothing. The following performance of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by David Foster, Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli will be up for sale on iTunes, with all proceeds going to benefit Haiti.

10:31 p.m.: Only 42 minutes until Eminem, Lil Wayne and Drake perform.

10:36 p.m.: Let’s pause to thank Chase for reminding us all how excellent the Michelle Branch song “Everywhere” is.

10:37 p.m.: President and CEO of the Recording Academy Neil Portnow speaks about how the music community rallies in a time of crisis — and how they raised $4 million honoring Neil Young at the MusiCares gala. He goes on to encourage fans to buy records: “Let’s all truly value music by supporting and compensating these gifted creators of the music we treasure.”

10:40 p.m.: Adam Sandler lightens the mood a tad and introduces the Dave Matthews Band, who kick into “You & Me” with Tim Reynolds, a string section and a horn section, which generates one of the most effective and beautiful live performances of the night.

10:46 p.m.: Ricky Martin and Glee’s Lea Michele name the nominees for Female Pop Performance. Winner: Beyoncé’s “Halo.” “I’m sorry, I’m nervous,” she says, in a moment of genuine awe. “I’d like to thank my family for all their support, including my husband.” That’s you, Jay-Z!

10:53 p.m.: LL Cool J is conveniently a musician and a CBS TV star. That makes him extra qualified to note Honeyboy Edwards’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

10:56 p.m.: Maxwell arrives to sing his Grammy-winning song “Pretty Wings.” If only Robin Thicke was here to have a smooth-off. His special guest: Roberta Flack. We can never get too much “Where Is the Love.”

11:00 p.m.: Always a poignant moment: the memorial reel reminds us we’ve lost Mary Travers, Teddy Pendergrass, DJ AM, Vic Chesnutt, Ellie Greenwich and many more this year.

11:03 p.m.: Jeff Bridges announces the Les Paul tribute as the Grammys cut to an insane shot of Lady Gaga wearing a lightning bolt. But back to Les Paul, who gave us the solid-body electric guitar. Jeff Beck and Imelda May kick off the tribute, with Beck eschewing his yellow Fender for a sunburst Les Paul on “How High the Moon.”

11:11 p.m.: Quentin Tarantino gives a moment to Clark Terry, another Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. And now for something completely different. Some big ups for Drake, who is about to perform with “not one, but two of the most inglorious bastards in all of rap history”: Eminem, Lil Wayne (and Travis Barker on drums).

11:13 p.m.: Cherish this, folks — this may be the last we see of Weezy for a while (his sentencing is scheduled for February 9th). And the censor forgets to take his/her finger off the mute button! Between bleeps, Wayne is rapping “Drop the World,” his Rebirth collabo with Eminem. Drake arrives for “Forever,” and the censor sighs with relief. Jamie Foxx is capturing this on his video camera, Taylor Swift is rocking out at her seat.

11:24 p.m.: John Legend and Carlos Santana pat each other on the back. But there’s serious business here: Album of the Year. (We kind of want to see Lady Gaga win so she has to accept in that outfit.) Winner: Taylor Swift. She’s the youngest to ever take home this prize.

11:30 p.m.: And we made it! The final tally: six wins for Beyoncé, four for Taylor Swift, three for Kings of Leon, three for the Black Eyed Peas, and two for Lady Gaga.

Check back tomorrow when we’ll have a full report from the ground — what you didn’t see on TV during tonight’s broadcast of the Grammys.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the two biggest players in the $4.4 billion worldwide concert business, received U.S. Department of Justice approval Monday for a merger that is likely to affect every live-music fan, artist, agent, manager and promoter. In a statement, Ticketmaster’s chief executive, Eagles manager Irving Azoff, called the decision “a great win for fans,” but some in the business fear the companies’ combined power will make it difficult for outsiders to promote shows and sell tickets. “It’s disappointing to me. It’s just another step in eliminating competition,” says Buck Williams, a Nashville agent who represents R.E.M. and Widespread Panic. “They’ve pulled the rug out from under the entrepreneurs, to some degree.”

The new Live Nation Entertainment, which will begin merging its operations as early as Wednesday, will own a huge chunk of the business: Ticketmaster’s Front Line management company represents the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Christina Aguilera and many other artists, while Live Nation’s exclusive clients include Madonna and Jay-Z; Ticketmaster has exclusive ticketing deals with most of the major U.S. arenas, while Live Nation owns and operates 140 top venues overall, including most of the amphitheatres; and, of course, Ticketmaster sells some 140 million tickets a year.

These combined assets make reps for some music stars optimistic. “My hope and belief is that there is going to be an expanded opportunity for touring artists to [experiment with] a variety of different products,” says Jim Guerinot, manager of No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails and others. “And I look forward to trying those things.”

Azoff and Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapino, spent much of 2009 arguing the merged company would have the clout and flexibility to fix the “broken” concert business. The new Live Nation Entertainment, they said, would have the power and flexibility to cut costs, make more money from the lucrative resale market and ultimately reduce ticket prices and service fees. In one of the first major antitrust decisions during the Obama Administration, the Justice Department agreed — to a point. Before approving the merger, U.S. attorneys forced Ticketmaster to license its software to top competitor AEG Live and forbade the merged company from retaliating against any concert venue that uses a non-Ticketmaster ticketing outlet.

The agreement “promotes robust competition for primary ticketing services and preserves incentives for competitors to innovate and discount, which will benefit consumers,” said Christine Varney, an assistant attorney in the Justice Department’s antitrust division, in a statement. (Executives for Live Nation and Ticketmaster were unavailable for interviews. Several of the new companies top competitors refused comment or didn’t return phone calls. AEG reps would only give a statement saying its Justice Department deal “will foster our ability to compete effectively in the ticketing, venue operation and live event promotion businesses.”)

Will the merger lower ticket prices, as Azoff and Rapino insist? It’s too early to say, but several artist reps were skeptical. “I don’t think prices are going to come down,” says Tom Windish, a Chicago agent who represents Animal Collective, Hot Chip, the Knife and dozens of other top indie artists. “I don’t think it’s going to change that much. I don’t see Live Nation getting less money, I don’t see artists getting less money and I don’t see Ticketmaster charging a surcharge that’s lower than [what] they can possibly get. If anything, it’ll be higher.”

Photo: MTV Hope for Haiti Now via Getty Images:

Tonight, dozens of big-name stars from Springsteen to Madonna are joining forces to help raise money for relief work in Haiti. Rolling Stone will be following all the musical action as it happens right here. Watch some of the best performances, and in addition, take an opportunity to flip through music biz vet Jeff Antebi’s photos from Haiti and our other coverage on the industry’s response to the horrific earthquake:

• Hope for Haiti Now: Bruce, Madonna, Jay-Z and More Photos From the Telethon

• Inside the Recording of Bono and Jay-Z’s Haiti Single “Stranded”

• Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga and More Stars Rock to Aid Haiti

8:00 p.m.: Alicia Keys opens the telecast alone at a grand piano singing “Prelude to a Kiss” from As I Am.

8:04 p.m.: George Clooney, the telethon’s organizer, explains why this benefit is so important while the camera pans past the bank of all-star phone operations.

8:07 p.m.: All four members of Coldplay are strumming away to a rendition of “A Message” live in London.

8:13 p.m.: “A small prayer for Haiti,” says Bruce Springsteen before starting an acoustic version of “We Shall Overcome.”

8:16 p.m.: We spy Ringo Starr in the phone bank!

8:20 p.m.: Stevie Wonder is at the piano performing an excellent medley of “A Time to Love” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with a choir.

8:24 p.m.: Wyclef Jean mournfully describes the scene he encountered in his homeland in the days following the earthquake.

8:25 p.m.: Shakira offers a stirring, stripped-down version of the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You” backed by the Roots.

8:34 p.m.: John Legend takes the piano for traditional “Motherless Child,” and really digs into the bridge.

8:39 p.m.: Mary J. Blige and her high hair are putting a soulful spin on “Hard Times Come Again No More,” a 19th century song that’s been covered by Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan.

8:44 p.m.: Another pan of the star-bank reveals LL Cool J, Randy Jackson and Common manning the phones.

8:47 p.m.: Taylor Swift (safe from Kanye West, who will not be appearing on the telethon) gently strums “Breathless” by Better Than Ezra.

8:53 p.m.: There’s no shortage of melisma during Christina Aguilera’s performance — the debut of a new song that features the lyrics “If you lift me up.”

9:01 p.m.: A very buff-looking Sting picks up an acoustic guitar for a jaunty, jazzy rendition of his classic “Driven to Tears,” backed by the Roots, who seem to be the house band in this New York studio (a role they’re clearly comfortable with thanks in part to their day job on Jimmy Fallon’s show).

9:06 p.m.: Beyoncé teams up with Chris Martin (on piano) for a powerful version of her I Am … Sasha Fierce ballad “Halo,” changing the lyric to “Haiti I can see your halo” live from London.

9:13 p.m.: Sheryl Crow is flanked by Kid Rock and Keith Urban for an acoustic “Lean on Me.” All the artists have really been staying on message with their selections tonight.

9:21 p.m.: Madonna, dressed in a tight black leather jacket, is leading a choir in an emotional acoustic version of “Like a Prayer” from the New York studio. Paring the song down brings out its defiantly uplifting core.

9:30 p.m.: Justin Timberlake has settled in at the piano for a slow, shuffling rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (a song quite appropriate for the occasion, though Cohen has called for a brief pause in covers of his tune). He’s accompanied by Matt Morris, who Timberlake signed to his own label.

9:34 p.m.: Taylor Swift takes a phone call!

9:36 p.m.: Ringo Starr is answering phones, and now the Beatles are in the building: Jennifer Hudson is beautifully embellishing “Let It Be” (backed by the Roots). Is this the right pick, or would you rather have heard “Hey Jude” or “All You Need Is Love”? “With a Little Help From My Friends” (with Ringo)?

9:42 p.m.: Haitian artist Emeline Michel has taken the stage, putting a quite unique spin on Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross” (one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).

9:48 p.m.: The biggest collaboration of them all has arrived: Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge singing the Swizz Beatz-produced “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).” For the story behind the track, click here. Is it us, or is the mix slightly off? Getting lots of Rihanna, just a bit of Bono.

9:51 p.m.: Stevie Wonder takes a call! “A whole lot of littles make a whole lot of lots,” he tells his caller.

9:53 p.m.: Dave Matthews and Neil Young’s acoustic selection is perhaps the most mournful track of the night, Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken.”

9:58 p.m.: Yéle Haiti founder Wyclef Jean brightens the mood a bit with “Rivers of Babylon,” another track from the soundtrack to The Harder They Come (one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time). “Let’s rebuild Haiti, man,” he yells as the song jumps into a funky breakdown and he shouts out Anderson Cooper.

Hope for Haiti Now: check out photos from the all-star telethon.

And that’s the end of a very emotional two hours of live television. The songs performed on the telethon will be available for sale via iTunes as a full album ($7.99), a two-hour video of the telecast ($1.99), and individual tracks (99 cents; available in several days). Amazon’s MP3 store and Rhapsody will also be selling the performances in the coming days; all three services will be donating the profits to Haiti relief.

For more of Rolling Stone’s ongoing coverage of the music industry’s response to the crisis in Haiti, check out the following stories:

• Inside the Recording of Bono and Jay-Z’s Haiti Single “Stranded”

• Dave Matthews Band, Lady Gaga and More Stars Rock to Aid Haiti

• Radiohead Announce Haiti Benefit Show in Los Angeles

• Rihanna Covers Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” for Haiti Relief

The VH1 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are live tonight at 9pm ET/PT, with host Kristin Chenoweth, live from the Hollywood Palladium.

Now you may not care that the movie Nine is up for Best Sound, but if you’re a Jonas Brothers fan you may care that Nick Jonas And The Administration are the house band for the evening.

Tune in to watch the red carpet and the show — Death Cab For Cutie is performing, Adam Lambert, Zac Efron and tons more celebs are presenting, but, most importantly, Nick Jonas And The Administration will be performing.

Watch the red carpet at 8:30. The show starts at 9!

Paula Abdul? Gone! Simon Cowell? Nearly gone. Kelly Clarkson? Sings “Already Gone.” Tonight, to mark the return of the ninth season of the in-flux American Idol, Rolling Stone will be following the action as it happens in our first live blog of the new decade. The auditions begin in Boston, where Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. “Posh” Spice) will be filling in as guest judge. Join as we track the best and worst hopefuls and remember some of Paula’s best moments.

Look back at photos, interviews and more of our essential Idol coverage.

8:00 pm: Remember when Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert? And then Paula Abdul left Idol? And then Ellen DeGeneres got her job? Ryan Seacrest is introducing “a new beginning.”

8:03 pm: Nine seasons and they still haven’t changed that weird cheesy opening.

8:05 pm: 9,000 hopefuls in Beantown for Kara DioGuardi, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Victoria Beckham. “We’re so coordinated, we look like we’re on a night out,” Posh says to a PA who is having the best moment of his life.

8:08 pm: OK, first singer Janet McNamara has already plugged the Idol video game, pumped herself up in a bathroom, said “wicked” and murdered “Pocket Full of Sunshine.” Perhaps it’s a good time for our first Paula memory?

Remember when Paula spat her gum on Simon during an audition?

8:14 pm: Maddy Curtis is 16 and has three siblings with Down Syndrome. She evidently hasn’t heard that Leonard Cohen has called for a “Hallelujah” moratorium. She’s going to Hollywood!

8:19 pm: Oh look, a cranky hipster! Who’s not amused by the perky guy who’s “not scared to be myself,” Pat Ford. Who’s auditioning with Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” And doing more choreography than she managed on her Circus tour.

Friday eve, kids. It’s time to pile into Doc Brown’s Delorean and do a little time traveling. Back to purposely shoddy dye jobs, second-hand clothes, and the first wave of major label alt rock.

When Radiohead released their second album, The Bends, in 1995, they were, on these shores, living out the twilight of their one-hit-wonder (“Creep”) status.

Propelled by the heartbreaking falsetto and epiphany-inducing crescendo of “Fake Plastic Trees,” The Bends became one of those every-few-years albums whose commercial success matches the critical plaudits thrown its way. They went on to become… well they went on to become Radiohead!

This performance of “Fake Plastic Trees” is taken from MTV’s 120 Minutes back in 1996. Five more albums, countless life-changing shows and groundbreaking videos and industry shaking career moves later, it still screws with your head to watch these shy, awkward Oxford kids make their way through the song that would change their lives.

New Year’s Eve 2010 was a night of celebration. It was also a great night for live music.

Photo: Ufberg/WireImage.com

Paul McCartney became a video game avatar earlier this year with his Fab Four bandmates in The Beatles: Rock Band, but until now the series has been devoid of any solo Macca material. That will change on January 5th, when three tracks from McCartney’s live Good Evening, New York City will be added to the Rock Band and LEGO Rock Band marketplace as downloadable content. The “New York Pack 01″ will feature “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “Sing the Changes,” all taken from McCartney’s epic shows at New York’s new home of the Mets, Citi Field.

Check out rock game avatars of Kurt Cobain, Metallica and more.

The tracks will become available for XBox 360 and Wii on January 5th, while Playstation 3 users can get their hands on the content on January 7th. McCartney becomes the first of the Fab Four to have their solo material feature on the Rock Band series, and continues a partnership with Harmonix and MTV Games that saw the release of The Beatles: Rock Band on September 9th.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, more than 40 years after Beatlesmania took over Shea Stadium, McCartney was chosen to headline the first concerts at Citi Field in July. The sold out run of three concerts found Macca touching upon all aspects of his discography, from the Beatles to Wings to his solo catalog. Billy Joel, who recruited Paul McCartney during the final string of Shea Stadium concerts, also made a guest appearance at the first Citi show.

The concerts were later documented — along with McCartney’s performance atop the Ed Sullivan Theatre marquee that same week — on Good Evening, New York City.

Related Stories:

• Paul McCartney’s Historic Citi Field Stand Coming to CD/DVD
• McCartney Makes History at Citi Field With Billy Joel, Beatles Hits
• Paul McCartney Stuns Manhattan With Set on Letterman’s Marquee

Ke$ha went all in on It’s On With Alexa Chung yesterday. She kind of looks like Lady Gaga’s trashy (trashed?) cousin, in the best possible way.

Dressed like a glammed-up biker gang reject, Ke$ha, with bass player, DJ and backup-singer/dancer in tow, performed her cut, “Tik Tok.” With an American flag hanging in the background she hopped, rapped and sang her way through her hangover anthem.

Sadly, there was no Diddy appearance (the Bad Boy lends his heavy rhyme experience to the recorded version of the song). Would’ve been great to have seen his reaction to the side-hawk-rocking backup singer.

Ke$ha’s Animal album is due out in January and you can catch her on the Lilith Fair this summer.

Elvis Costello’s second release in his “The Costello Show” live performance series will be “Live at Hollywood High,” a complete 20-song concert recording from June, 1978.

Today’s the day We The Kings‘ second full-length album, Smile Kid, featuring the single “Heaven Can Wait,” finally comes out. But tomorrow’s the day We The Kings are holding an exclusive Smile Kid record release party and performance in New York. It’s a private We The Kings event, and you have to be on the list to attend… but we’ll be live streaming the party and performance here on the MTV Buzzworthy Blog, where you can watch the performance, chat live, and request songs.

Come back to the MTV Buzzworthy Blog tomorrow — Wednesday, December 9 at 8pm ET — to watch the We The Kings Smile Kid record release party and live performance, chat live, and request songs. And until then, watch two more episodes of “King’s Carriage” — Travis fears bras and Travis can’t stop sleepwalking!

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue is to release a download-only concert album entitled “Kylie Live In New York.”