Lady Gaga's is the kind of uniquely Gaga video, full of eye-popping imagery and layered with meaning, that it's easy to assume her Little Monsters have been trying to dissect some of those crazy moments all day.

It premiered Monday (August 19) morning, the same day she confirmed she'll be opening the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday, August 25 by performing the track for the first time.

So, while fans might find their own meanings in the visual, MTV News spoke to Inez van Lamsweerde, one half of the directing duo Inez & Vinoodh, about the video. "She'll do anything in this video to make her audience happy and give them inspiration," Inez said on the phone, hours after the premiere, noting that she and Vinoodh were inspired by silent movies and early horror films. "We wanted to bring it back to a very basic element."

Wonder What You'd Look Like In Gaga's "Applause" Makeup? We Found Out...

She added, "There were all these kinds of, let's say, tricks in there, but then the big idea was really to have her symbolize this moment of her hip breaking. That's why she's sort of holding up her right leg as a trophy and this idea that no matter what it takes, she'll get back onstage."

Inez broke down the video's key scenes for MTV News.

The Clam Bikini
She explained that "we were extremely inspired by Botticelli's painting," for that look where Gaga appears in a clam shell bikini, her curls cascading around her shoulders. She added ...

"X Factor" underdogs Fifth Harmony may have shocked viewers when they made it into the finale, but since then, have certainly proved the doubters wrong.

Since signing with mentor Simon Cowell's Syco label, the girl group — composed of Dinah-Jane Hansen, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Hamilton, Camila Cabello and Ally Brooke — saw their lead single, peak at #1 on the U.S. iTunes charts.

During their time on the "X Factor," they covered songs from all artists, including Demi Lovato and Ellie Goulding, which is why MTV News decided to enjoy an afternoon of karaoke in New York City. Watch the video to see the girls in action!

The bubbly fivesome said their go-to karaoke songs include Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" and JoJo's "Too Little Too Late," but after combing through thousands of songs, they decided on Britney Spears' iconic "Oops!...I Did It Again."

Yet, before the quintet showed off their vocal skills, they sat down to discuss their new uptempo pop single, "Me and My Girls," which they co-wrote.

"What's so cool about that song is girl party songs are all about going out and meeting boys," Cabello said. "We are like, 'No, we are going to stay in our pajamas, we are gonna eat some pizza.' "

Fifth Harmony, who admitted to being a little nervous for their upcoming album, have enlisted some of music's top producers, including Julian Bunetta who has worked with One Direction, to help put together a debut.

"It's a variation, we talk about different things and different sounds," Lauren said of the album. "But we get ...

Lady Gaga writhes on a bed, emerges from a top hat and, yes, even wears a tail in her eye-popping . It premiered on Monday (August 19), the same day she confirmed she'll be opening the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday, August 25.

Directed by fashion photographers, Inez & Vinoodh, the video is full of surreal, trippy imagery that re-imagines Lady Gaga in a clamshell bikini, doing her best Venus impression, and perhaps, most memorably, at one point plants her head on a swan's body. And while that may serve as the most unexpected set-up, her Little Monsters can't get enough of that clamshell bikini.

John told MTV News, "When she had the seashells on and she was thrashing around on the ground, it was so raw and real. I loved it."

"Probably the seashell look [was my favorite]," Reed said of the video. "It was revealing and baring everything."

Check out the most GIF-worthy 'Applause' moments!

However, Rachel, who traveled all the way from Ireland to be in NYC for the video premiere, couldn't get that swan scene out of her head. "There was this bit and she was like lying on a bed and she turned into a goose, it was all actually absolutely incredible," she noted of that bird transformation. "She was teasing it so much on Twitter and then when I saw it, it was so good."

Jimmy shared that he felt the scenes where she's in her clown makeup really spoke to him because he felt it symbolized her pain she must have felt while ...

The countdown is on until Lady Gaga opens the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. And her Little Monsters know that when Gaga takes the stage Sunday to perform her ARTPOP single, "Applause," anything is possible.

"It's always a surprise. You never know what you're gonna get from Lady Gaga," John told MTV News in Times Square on Monday (August 19). Little Monsters gathered there to check out the premiere of Gaga's eye-popping when it was confirmed she'd be kicking off Sunday's festivities. "I'm sure I'm going to love it and I'm going to watch it over and over again."

Sam added, "I have no idea. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what it's going to be like. I think it's going to be the best performance."

Fans are hoping she will bring to life some of the very artistic (and GIF-worthy) looks from her brand-new video for "Applause," be it a clamshell bikini, swan or tail.

"I think she is just going to have on clams," Moses predicted. "I think she is just going to have a silk skirt on and some 20-inch heels."

Wonder What You'd Look Like In Gaga's "Applause" Makeup? We Found Out...

"I think, knowing Gaga, she's going to try to incorporate something from the 'Applause' video," Jimmy said. "I know that all the different looks have a meaning that will be in V magazine and all those different looks mean she's not just one icon, she's every icon."

Between bleeding onstage in 2009, wearing meat the following year and then ...

Lee Thompson Young, who starred in the Disney Channel series "The Famous Jett Jackson," was found dead in his L.A. home on Monday, according to TMZ. He was 29 years old.

The actor was currently starring in the TNT series "Rizzoli & Isles," and when he didn't show up for work, staffers called his landlord to check on him. The landlord reportedly found Young dead, with a gunshot wound believed to be self-inflicted.

No official cause of death has been released.

Young made his acting debut in 1998 with the Disney Channel series "The Famous Jett Jackson," about a high-profile teen action star, who just wants to live a normal life in his North Carolina hometown. The series ran for three seasons (including a TV movie), and memorably featured Beyoncé in one of her first acting roles with her girl group Destiny's Child. Britney Spears and Eartha Kitt also made cameo appearances.

Young went on to act in a number of TV series, including "Scrubs," "FlashForward," "Smallville," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and his current series, "Rizzoli & Isles," in which he played Detective Barry Frost alongside Angie Harmon's Jane Rizzoli.

He also had a handful of film credits on his resumé, most notably starring as Chris Comer in the 2004 film "Friday Night Lights," based on the novel by Buzz Bissinger.

Young was born on February 1, 1984 in Columbia, South Carolina, and attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, graduating with honors.

Moby, Selena Gomez and The Weeknd — what do all of these musicians have in common? They all appear to be hardcore fans of up-and-coming New Zealand musician, Lorde. The Weeknd is the latest to join the singer's "love club," releasing a cover of her number-one single "Royals" ahead of his Kiss Land album drop in September.

When MTV News asked which artists Lorde aspired to be like a few weeks ago, the singer told us, "The Weeknd is really powerful in how they do things and I really like The Weeknd's music," naming Abel Tesfaye as one of her more modern influences.

Tesfaye, apparently, feels the same way, as the artist better known as The Weeknd dropped a cover of Lorde's most popular single this weekend via SoundCloud. Tesfaye gave the track his dark polish, adding a layer of shadow to the anti-consumerism anthem as well as his signature soaring vocals to the refrain.

Tesfaye seems an apt person to cover Lorde, as both entered the music world shrouded in mystery — The Weeknd back in 2010 when he started uploading tracks to the Web anonymously before releasing his debut mixtape, House of Ballons, in 2011, and Lorde, whose music started growing in popularity even when there were no known photos of the singer.

Lorde's debut album, Pure Heroine, drops on September 30, just a few weeks after The Weeknd's major label debut, Kiss Land, which comes out September 10.

Lorde's Royal Decree: 'Pop Music Doesn't Have To Be Stupid.'

Tesfaye also recently dropped a ...

It's been a week since Kendrick Lamar threw his rap gauntlet down on Big Sean's And while none of the actual rappers that K-Dot called out have issued a lyrical response, a number of other MCs have, including Joe Budden and Uncle Murda, who answered Kendrick's call over the weekend.

Budden had been teasing his answer record all week, and on Saturday, he finally decided to let it loose. Like the majority of "Control" responses, Joey's freestyle was laid atop Big Sean's original instrumental, but the Slaughterhouse MC managed to break away from the pack with densely-packed bars that exhibited his rap cred.

Budden respectfully aimed his attack at Lamar, while other rappers caught collateral damage. "This ain't for bandwagon fans, sit ya asses in the same spot/ Y'all the same n---as that made Trinidad Jame$ hot," he rhymes dismissively about the Atlanta upstart who happened to drop his sophomore mixtape, 10 PC Mild, the day after Kendrick's fiery verse became the chief topic of conversation.

The New Jersey MC went on to note that he wasn't offended at Kendrick's rhyme, which seemed to ruffle so many rap feathers. Budden did, however, challenge a few rappers: A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Tyler, the Creator and Meek Mill all became subjects of Joe's rhyme. "To me it's just one Joey that's Bada$$," he spits.

Budden does soften his stance by the end of the verse though. "This ain't a dis/ I don't want it to get spun wrong," he raps before telling Kendrick, "This is ...

VANCOUVER — She may be showing off her new dance moves, covering Rihanna and singing all of her hit songs, but the fun doesn't stop for Selena Gomez once she steps off the stage on her Stars Dance World Tour.

Last week, MTV News got an exclusive look backstage at the Stars Dance kickoff in Vancouver, British Columbia, with Gomez showing us what a day in the life is like for her while on tour.

Gomez invited us back into her zen-like dressing room, with lights hanging from the ceiling and sheer purple curtains draping over the couches. Relaxing incense overpowered the room. The "Come & Get It" singer, who admitted pickles and fried Cheetos are her food of choice on tour, sat on the floor among her dancers, doing some last minute homework for the show — watching videos of her idol, Britney Spears.

"That's our inspiration I think because it's just so good," Gomez said of Spears. "I think that's the vibe, I want everybody to be able to come in."

Throughout the day, Gomez rode her bike, "Dolce," through the venue, while her dancers rolled around on scooters, keeping up their energy for the show. At night, minutes before she hit the stage, she gathered her crew for one final pep-talk.

"Preshow rituals, we usually just kind of get together, I have about 20 minutes of lockdown where I do vocal warm-ups," Gomez revealed. "And then my dancers come in and we hype each other up. We just kind of run around, get the adrenaline going through us and ...

With only days until hits theaters, Ariana Grande and The Wanted's Nathan Sykes are giving fans a peek at the romantic side of the flick with the music video for off the soundtrack.

The video's concept is pretty simple. In addition to catching the glimpse of the two singers in the studio — we see them in the booth and at the piano — it also features some of the footage from the film, which hits theaters on Wednesday. We also see Sykes and Grande playing pool and getting cozy on a couch in between sessions.

Four days after "Mortal Instruments" debuts, Ariana will take the stage during the VMA pre-show Sunday, along with Artist to Watch nominee Austin Mahone. She'll perform "The Way" and "Baby I" two songs off her September 3 debut album, Yours Truly, while DJing duo Nervo serve as the guest DJs on the red carpet.

In addition to appearing on the "Mortal Instruments" soundtrack, "Almost" will also appear on Grande's album. When MTV News caught up with Grande, she told us just how amazing it was linking up with the Wanted singer.

"And Nathan just sang the hell out of it. I thought it was Brian McKnight. I'm like 'Who is this?' Honestly I wasn't expecting it. I didn't know he had that in him. I saw him perform live on one of the radio shows that we were at together and I was like, 'Damn he can sing.' This song I think will pleasantly surprise a lot of people," ...