It's the kind of dilemma most artists would kill to have.

Actually, it's one that no other artist has ever had before: what song to play when you're performing on your third MTV awards show of the year.

After rocking the MTV Movie Awards and mtvU Woodie Awards, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had to come up with a new song to play for Sunday night's 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

So, they picked their marriage equality anthem ? because they didn't want to repeat themselves, but more importantly because they think it's a song that's perfect for these times.

"'Same Love' has turned into a song that has been embraced by the mainstream and that was played by the radio," Macklemore told MTV News on Saturday (August 24) after the duo's rehearsal for the big show. "There is a lot more people that are familiar with it now than six months ago and the timing is perfect. It's a powerful record and it needs to be heard in America right now. And equality is at the forefront of what's going on in politics right now."

That strong message will beam out on a night when Mack & Lewis are up for six awards, the highest total of the night, tying them with another of the evening's performers, Justin Timberlake. On the night they make their VMA debut, they'll join a superstar roster that also includes Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Drake, Robin Thicke and Bruno Mars.

The emotional "Same Love" video, which is up for Read More →

The rehearsals for Sunday night's 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Brooklyn's Barclays Center are on totallock down. (Hell, we work here and we can't even get into them!)

While we count down the hours until Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Robin Thicke, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Miley Cyrus, Drake and Bruno Mars take the stage, we've been scouring their social media feeds and stalking them outside of rehearsals to get a glimpse of what they may have in-store for us come Sunday night.

Lady Gaga

We know three things for sure about Lady Gaga's performance:

1. She's performing first. 2. She'll be doing "Applause." 3. It will be her first performance in a really, really long time.

Other than that, we don't know much. But Mother Monster finally gave us a glimpse with a couple of pictures from rehearsals.

Miley Cyrus

One of the most active VMA updaters is Miley Cyrus. The twerk-crazy singer just can't stop giving her fans glimpses at her performance prep. She's spent her time in New York wisely, revealing bits of her Bangerz album cover , then, finally, the whole thing.

She also lobbied hard for the Best Song of the Summer VMA and licked just about everything in reach ... including one of our MTV News reporters.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

On Saturday (August 24) Macklemore snuck out a picture from backstage of Lady Gaga and Kanye's West's wireless packs, which is about as much as anyone outside the Barclays Center has seen of them ...

For all of the "Vampire Academy" fans who have watched and rewatched the trailer for the YA adaptation, you know there's lots of fighting, lots of partying and a sultry bit of sex. With all the lust and the charm going on in our first glimpse of the movie, MTV News thought we'd ask star Zoey Deutch herself about what it was like to film the sexy scenes.

"Mom, they're making me feel weird," Deutch, who plays dhampir Rose Hathaway, cried out during our VMA All Access live stream. We had to ask, given that she and Danila Kozlovsky pulled in the most questions online.

Why are "Academy" fans so amped up about the scene? Zooey has an idea.

"That's because he's so hot and steamy," she said. "What do I say? I'm naked!"

Deutch said the romance aspect is "vital" to the film, and despite her onscreen vulnerability, the scene wasn't that awkward.

"No, not at all because I can't express to you — Danila, who plays Demetri, the naked one there on his back, everyone should be like him. He is one of the greatest people I've ever met, so he has worked on a lot of films where he's had to do much more, um, intimate things than that. And he's very giving — that sounds wrong &#8212, he was very respectful of me in the process, and it's fine 'cause we're such close friends."

The pair became close over the course of the shoot, but interestingly enough they never screen-tested together during the film's casting. Zooey just supposes ...

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Like any young-adult adaptation, it's the kiss between the heroine and her love interest — in this case, Shailene Woodley as Tris, and Theo James as the mighty Four.

Long before Morgan Spurlock got behind the lens to direct two other pop stars reached out to the "Super Size Me" director to put his expert spin on their lives.

When Spurlock sat down on the VMA All Access Live Stream, he explained the journey it took to get to work with One Direction, who are slated to appear at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

While he said he's "always" wanted to direct a film about a musical artist — he listed the Rolling Stones' "Let' Spend the Night Together" and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" as inspirations — it took a while to find the perfect opportunity.

Will One Direction's Girlfriends Be In 'This Is Us'?

And it took a while for it to all work out. Three years ago, Spurlock told us, Paramount called him about possibly directing Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." Unfortunately, there was "no way" he could do it, since he was busy working on "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold."

"Then last January I got called again. They said, 'Hey would you want to come meet with the studio about the Katy Perry film [2012's 'Part of Me'].' And at that point I was finishing two movies, both 'Mansome' and 'Comic-Con: Episode IV,' so there was no way I can add a third," he said. "So then comes June last year. I had finished both movies. I had nothing. Sony called and said 'Hey, ever hear of One Direction?' [I said,] 'Yes, I have and I'm there. Yes! I am not letting ...

As promised, there is no room for romance in the upcoming One Direction documentary, Director Morgan Spurlock previously stated that the Harry Styles/Taylor Swift relationship wouldn't make it into the film, out August 30, and in fact, none of the members' romantic relationships are featured in the flick.

Spurlock opened up to MTV News about his decision to omit that aspect of their personal lives, but instead focus on their hectic careers and familial relationships.

"I made it a point to leave relationships out of the film. They're young men and from the very beginning I said I don't really want to have their girlfriends/relationships be in the movie 'cause god forbid in the middle of this shooting, somebody breaks up with a girlfriend," he explained. "And now I've got a story point that really isn't a story point; it doesn't really matter."

Spurlock revealed that that was the case for one of the guys, Liam Payne, who ended a relationship with longtime girlfriend Danielle Peazer in the midst of making the 3-D doc/concert film.

"And, in fact, over the course of us shooting that happened to Liam," Spurlock recalled. "Like Liam broke up with a girl he was dating over the course of this. I think the story Liam tells about relationships is a much better story.

Catch One Direction during our All Access live stream at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (August 24)!

"Like in the film he's got a great line where he's like 'I just want to make sure somebody appreciates me for me, that's it's not ...

BROOKLYN, New York — We must admit, the special edition KAWS Moonman is really cool; so cool that Drake is ready to go to some extraordinary lengths to get his hands on one.

"I might have to tell Macklemore like, 'Yo, I'll buy that trophy off of you if he beats me'," Drizzy told MTV News on Friday night after he finished rehearsals for Sunday night's 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

"I really want one bad. 'Started From the Bottom' was like my first time stepping up as a director, getting a director's credit with Little X," he said. "I couldn't ask for a better moment. I need the trophy for my house, period — even if somebody else gets one I might buy it off them."

Macklemore & Ryan Lewisare nominated for six awards, including one for "Can't Hold Us" in the Best Hip Hop Video category, where they will go head up against Drake ("Started From the Bottom"), Kendrick Lamar ("Swimming Pools") A$AP Rocky ("F---in' Problems") and J. Cole ("Power Trip").

Last year, Drake and Director X (formerly Little X) struck gold when they took home the rapper's first Moonman for Best Hip Hop Video with "HYFR" at the 2012 VMAs. The video found Drake reliving a bar mitzvah, while his YMCMB brethren looked on. It was different, fun and at times comical, a winning formula that X and Drake drew from for "Started."

"It's just a great moment. 'Started From the Bottom,' first song off Nothing was the Same, I directed the video, crazy video, a ...