Lady Gaga is keeping her lips sealed when it comes to her highly anticipated return to the VMA stage later this month.

The VMA performer stopped by Ryan Seacrest's radio show, in an interview that aired Tuesday (August 13), and talked a bit about her August 25 performance.

"Would you like to see some diagrams?" she joked when asked about what fans should expect from her VMA performance. But, she did confirm she wouldn't be wearing any meat to this year's show, where she is slated to perform "Applause." "We're narrowing it down. I've cut out the poultry and I've cut out the vegetables, " She said of her outfit. "We're going more with textiles."

With Gaga back on the scene after undergoing hip surgery earlier this year, she opened up about why she decided to name her song "Applause." "It's a little deeper. When I was finishing the [Born This Way] tour, I was physically breaking," she said. "I was in a lot of pain, but didn't know where really. I have a strong threshold for pain, so I kept slapping myself saying, 'Get it together.' The only thing that kept me going was the applause. And I was able to drown out the pain and finish the show."

With less than two weeks until she hits the VMA stage, Gaga admitted that she was ready to drop her new single, on Monday, despite having originally intended to drop her lead ARTPOP single on August 19.

"I've actually had this song for a year and it's been killing me," ...

Hip-hop music was built off of competition and Kendrick Lamar gave fans and artists alike a reminder of what it is like to take rap's battlefield.

On Monday night, Big Sean dropped a leftover track originally recorded for his upcoming Hall of Fame, and it featured Jay Electronica and a fiery verse from K-Dot. After proclaiming himself the king of New York (and the west coast) Kendrick name-dropped a gang of his rap friends, but he wasn't so nice about it.

"I'm usually homeboys with the same n----s i'm rhymin with/ But this is hip-hop and them n----s should know what time it is/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/ Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/ Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/ I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n----s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n----s/ They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n---as," the Black Hippy MC rapped with an extra grit to his already gravelly voice.

"I hear u loud and clear my n---a... @kendricklamar," Pusha T tweeted right after the song was released.

Rap artists from all over have since been flooding Twitter weighing in with their own reactions since the track debuted on New York DJ Funk Master Flex's Hot 97 radio show. "I never really tweet about music. But good lord.. @kendricklamar just like.. Bodied everyones entire year's worth of raps lol," Just Blaze wrote in awe.

Veteran hip-hop producer Pete Rock Read More →

Hip-hop music was built off of competition and Kendrick Lamar gave fans and artists alike a reminder of what it is like to take rap's battlefield.

On Monday night, Big Sean dropped a leftover track originally recorded for his upcoming Hall of Fame, and it featured Jay Electronica and a fiery verse from K-Dot. After proclaiming himself the king of New York (and the west coast) Kendrick name-dropped a gang of his rap friends, but he wasn't so nice about it.

"I'm usually homeboys with the same n----s i'm rhymin with/ But this is hip-hop and them n----s should know what time it is/ And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/ Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/ Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/ I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n----s/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you n----s/ They don't wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you n---as," the Black Hippy MC rapped with an extra grit to his already gravelly voice.

"I hear u loud and clear my n---a... @kendricklamar," Pusha T tweeted right after the song was released.

Rap artists from all over have since been flooding Twitter weighing in with their own reactions since the track debuted on New York DJ Funk Master Flex's Hot 97 radio show. "I never really tweet about music. But good lord.. @kendricklamar just like.. Bodied everyones entire year's worth of raps lol," Just Blaze wrote in awe.

Veteran hip-hop producer Pete Rock Read More →

There's been a lot of talk about how Lorde, a 16-year-old singer from New Zealand, has the capacity to save music with her expertly spun, wiser-than-her-years, totally offbeat pop tracks. Well, more fuel has just been added to that fire, as her upcoming debut LP, which drops September 30, finally has a name: Pure Heroine.

Lorde Instagrammed the title and cover art Monday (August 12), followed up by a tweet reading: "her-o-ine n. 1. a woman noted for courage and daring action. 2. a woman noted for special achievement in a particular field." It's a fitting definition for the young singer, considering Lorde is the first woman in 17 years to top the alternative chart with her single "Royals."

Despite her early success, Lorde admits that she doesn't wholly stand by every track that she's ever written — even songs like "Million Dollar Bills," off of her recent Love Club EP. "I'm the kind of artist that writes something and thinks it's cool for like 48 hours and then hates it," she told MTV News.

Reflecting on the track listing for Pure Heroine, however, Lorde touches upon one track, "Ribs," that she still digs — despite her critical and evolving ear.

"A big stress for me is getting old," she said, majorly bumming out anyone and everyone not in the tween demographic. "I'm in an industry where so much importance is placed on the fact that I'm 16.... So that song is kind of about that."

Check out the full Pure Heroine track list below:

» "Tennis Court"
» ...

There's been a lot of talk about how Lorde, a 16-year-old singer from New Zealand, has the capacity to save music with her expertly spun, wiser-than-her-years, totally offbeat pop tracks. Well, more fuel has just been added to that fire, as her upcoming debut LP, which drops September 30, finally has a name: Pure Heroine.

Lorde Instagrammed the title and cover art Monday (August 12), followed up by a tweet reading: "her-o-ine n. 1. a woman noted for courage and daring action. 2. a woman noted for special achievement in a particular field." It's a fitting definition for the young singer, considering Lorde is the first woman in 17 years to top the alternative chart with her single "Royals."

Despite her early success, Lorde admits that she doesn't wholly stand by every track that she's ever written — even songs like "Million Dollar Bills," off of her recent Love Club EP. "I'm the kind of artist that writes something and thinks it's cool for like 48 hours and then hates it," she told MTV News.

Reflecting on the track listing for Pure Heroine, however, Lorde touches upon one track, "Ribs," that she still digs — despite her critical and evolving ear.

"A big stress for me is getting old," she said, majorly bumming out anyone and everyone not in the tween demographic. "I'm in an industry where so much importance is placed on the fact that I'm 16.... So that song is kind of about that."

Check out the full Pure Heroine track list below:

» "Tennis Court"
» ...

When it rains, it pours. And on Monday, the Katy Cats were not only gifted with the official release of Katy Perry's new single, but also her duet with John Mayer, "Who You Love."

And the Paradise Valley cut is true to Mayer's musical form. It's folky and acoustic as the two real-life lovers trade lines about the one they love. "My girl, she ain't the one that I saw coming / Sometimes I don't know which way to go / And I tried to run before but I'm not running anymore," he sings.

Perry answers, "My boy he ain't the one that I saw coming / And some have said his heart's too hard to hold / And it takes a little time / But you should see him when he shines."

The two singers have been dating on and off since last summer. While Mayer confirmed their breakup back in April, Perry told Vogue in June that she still had feelings for her ex. Then in July, Mayer hinted at a reunion during a concert.

Perry opened up about the song to SiriusXM Hits 1, explaining the origin of her giggle at the end of the track. "I think that's just a love giggle," Perry explained. "It's like the ones that Mariah Carey had in 1990 and stuff like that . . . Yeah I think I was going for that, I think I was just so happy, I love that song."

Mayer's Paradise Valley drops August 20, while Perry will drop Prism on October ...

Katy Perry just might be channeling famed cinema underdog, boxer Rocky Balboa, on her new single, That's according to songwriter Bonnie McKee, who co-wrote the track with Perry.

"It was just kind of a natural progression for her. She's grown up and she's been through a lot and it seemed like the right thing to do," McKee explained to MTV News on Monday (August 12).

Perry has certainly made it clear she is no longer a candy-coated California Gurl in the lead-up to the song's release, having burned her blue wig and also buried that persona in the ground.

But, McKee notes, "It wasn't like a conscious decision, like 'Hey, let's not do something cutesy.' It is very 'Rocky.' Like I said she's been through a lot, so it makes sense."

McKee, who has called Perry her "soul mate," recalled the circumstances in which the two wrote the track. "We wrote it, I think, it was the spring up in [Perry's hometown of] Santa Barbara [California]. It was a blast; it's always fun to go up there," she said. "We go up there and we camp out in her hometown and kind of get into the vibe."

The fierce females then headed to the studio and enlisted super-producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cirkut. And, as soon as they laid it down, they knew they had made pop music gold. "It was just one of those moments where there was magic in the studio," she said. "I think it's a really unique feeling when you ...

Katy Perry is on the prowl, and she's headed straight to the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

After dropping her "perform the feisty song at the VMAs, joining Kanye West and Lady Gaga on August 25's itinerary.

So how will the Prism singer get to Brooklyn's Barclays Center for the 9 o'clock show?

In a new TV promo, she takes a cue from Miley Cyrus, who got dirty slinking through the tunnels of New York City. Perry descends into the subway, her loyal Katy Cats at her back. Leopard-print and tiger stripes are in abundance, on crop tops, muscle tanks and high-waisted skirts. Before she catches the D train with her growlin' gang, Katy turns heads on the streets with her fashionable crew, wearing creepers, knee-highs, a plaid skirt and pitch-black hair.

7 Reasons Katy Perry's 'Roar' Rules!

Granted, she has more luxurious transportation at hand; she came to NYC in her gold semi Monday morning.

But in the promo, Katy made her entrance into the graffiti'd neighborhood by crawling out of a manhole. But how did she get underground? Well, you know, she's been channeling a darker persona lately, burning her candy-colored wig and burying her California Gurl, so maybe that's just how she rolls. In manholes with the cool kids.

So off to Brooklyn Katy Perry goes &#8212 Jay Z-style. We'll see you there!

Don't miss Katy's performance and the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25 at 9 p.m. ET.

In case you didn't already know, Lady Gaga doesn't give an eff what the critics think of her. Gaga solidified that assertion on Monday (August 12) by releasing "Applause," the first single off of her upcoming record, ARTPOP — and a self-affirmation of the most epic proportions.

The title should be self-evident, but the jam is essentially about Mother Monster's intense need for her fans' adoration in the form of good old-fashioned claps. In a sense, the song is a readymade rebuttal to anything negative critics might lob her way — and a rallying call for her Little Monsters to dole out that life force that sustains her: applause.

MTV News took a close look at the official lyrics below. Once you peruse Gaga's musical mission statements, let us know: Do you give the track a standing "O," or a chorus of "Boos"?

Lady Gaga Is Over Critics.
The reviews have started to pour in for Gaga's new track, but — good or bad — Mother Monster won't be hearing any of that.

As she stated on Twitter Sunday (August 11), Lady Gaga does not truck with music critics: "Dont focus on ANY blogger criticism. I have been a producer/songwriter/musician for over 10 years. Trust the artist bloggers are not critics."

Gaga reiterated that assertion at the very beginning of "Applause," growling: "I stand here waiting/for you to bang the gong/to crash the critic saying: is it right or is it wrong?"

We're guessing her loyal band of monsters is currently at the ready, primed to strike down any detractors. Gong!

Lady Gaga Wants To ...