One woman has created a holiday-themed music video that would make Patrice Wilson (of “Friday” fame) shake with jealousy. Presenting: “Fourth Of July” by Rosa G (a.k.a. Karla Solarte).

With a rousing chorus (“Love the 4th of July/ I do it up big on the 4th of July”) and patriotic imagery oozing from every frame (flags! fireworks! eagles!), this is the perfect video to play on loop at your celebratory BBQ.

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.

Goddamnit, Paul Rudd, you ageless, unnaturally kind and generally superchill dude and number one man on probably/literally everyone’s sex list regardless of sexual or gender identity: why are you just so fantastic? How is it that you never cease to impress and amaze with your overall awesomeness? What is your trick? How do you make us love you with every single insignificant thing you do? Are you a sorcerer or a warlock? There are honestly not enough adjectives in the English language to describe you — that’s how hyperbolic our appreciation of you is, Ruddy boy.

All of which was quadrupled when we saw this photo a Reddit user posted his pregnancy announcement photo (which under most circumstances would garner nary more than an “eh,” if not a full-blown “ugh”) wherein Rudd got in on the gag, complete with a reference to the Judd Apatow film “Knocked Up,” in which he played a part.

How do you do it, Rudd? What is your secret? Tell us, tell us now! And for the love of Kelly Clarkson, never change, OK?

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Have you ever wondered what Kendrick Lamar would sound like rapping one of Eminem’s hits? What about Jay Z’s? Or 50 Cent’s?

Of course you have. Who cares when K. Dot’s next album comes out? The real question is, what does he sound like rapping “My Name Is”?

Fear not, your questions have been answered. On Wednesday, which marked the two-year anniversary of the Los Angeles native dropping his indie album Section.80, XXL unearthed some old footage (they didn’t specify exactly when it was from, but it seems likely that it was filmed around that time) of the “Swimming Pools” rapper trying his hand at some hits from hip hop biggest stars.

Not bad, Kendrick.

Adam Fleischer

I'm serious about these snacks. Catch me @adamfleischer

After five seasons, arguably the most popular (or second most popular, sorry to snub you Lea Michele) cast member of FOX’s “Glee” just announced that he’s been let go from the show.

As to what these personal issues are, as Colfer explains, “explanations coming shortly.” Whether those will be explanations from him, FOX, or both, stay tuned.

Colfer is best known for his role on the FOX show, but has branched out in recent years as a best-selling author, and indie film producer. Colfer is leaving the show as it enters its final (sixth) season in the Fall.

Alex Zalben

You can follow Alex on Twitter (@azalben), but not in person because that would be weird.

Apparently, “The Fault In Our Stars” author John Green really likes wearing makeup. So much so that he took to YouTube to post an entire video in which he sings its praises.

“When I was younger, I basically thought women wore makeup for men, which speaks to a sick and very deep part of the patriarchy in which men imagine that women orient themselves toward attracting men instead of having, like, meaning and pleasure inside their own lives that has nothing to do with dudes,” Green said in the video.

After wearing makeup himself, however — for TV appearances and whatnot because he’s a big star now — Green changed his tune.

“When I wear makeup, I genuinely don’t derive pleasure from thinking about how I’ll look to people watching me,” he said. “I just like the way I look; it makes me happy.” He also opines that it feels nice to touch your face “gently and kindly.”

You do you, John. You do you.

Brenna Ehrlich

Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book "Stuff Hipsters Hate." She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.

With additional reporting by Janelle Myers

Seth MacFarlane, You Surprise Me
Thanks to “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane the “Reading Rainbow” Kickstarter reached beyond its $5 million goal: $6,408,916 to be exact. Five days before the end of the Kickstarter, MacFarlane vowed to match every donation up to $1 million to help surpass $5 million and bring “Reading Rainbow” to over 7,500 classrooms. Bravo to him and the rest of the 105,857 backers, and congrats to Levar Burton!

Awesome Ariana Grande News
In case you missed “Total Ariana Live” Wednesday night, Ariana Grande debuted her latest single “Break Free” and announced that she will perform that song at the VMAs.

Will Lily Allen Twerk?
Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz Tour just got hotter, because Lily Allen will join the “Wrecking Ball” singer for seven tour dates starting on August 1. Sheezus is super excited and couldn’t keep her emojis to herself.

Guess Who Was At Dave Coulier’s Wedding
Dave Coulier (a.k.a. Uncle Joey) got married in Montana on Wednesday, and there was no mountain high enough to keep most of his former “Full House” co-stars from attending. Bob Saget, John Stamos, Candace Cameron Bure (DJ) and Andrea Barber (Kimmy Gibbler) were all there to watch Coulier wed his longtime girlfriend Melissa Bring. Unfortunately, Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen missed it.

Must See Video Of The Day
What happens when you put internet phenomenon, screaming goats, with the epic theme of ‘Jurassic Park’ together? You get the hysterical Jurassic ...

You thought you knew Ariana Grande‘s “Problem,” but you had no idea. Until she took the stage at “Total Ariana Live” and stripped the smash dance hit down to a jazzy, breathy, and beautiful version that was as close to vocal nirvana as anyone will ever get.

Arianators are used to the slick, Iggy Azalea-backed, electro-pop version of the No. 1 hit. But in her “Total Ariana Live” version of “Problem,” the 21-year-old, who’ll be performing live at the 2014 VMAs, breathed new life into the song that’s already been taking over the summer, turning the high-energy sax-backed smash into an intimate, touching ballad.

While the original is a carefree kiss-off, this revamp tapped into the pain of a breakup, serving as a reminder that not only can she sing, but she can always surprise.

Caitlin White

MTV Weekend Editor. Acts like Madonna but listens to Merle.

In case you were wondering if it’s possible for Ariana Grande to be impossibly adorable at all times, yes. Yes, it is. Take for instance her ability to drop multiple F-bombs while upping the cute barometer… While channeling A$AP Rocky and Barbra Streisand… AT THE SAME DAMN TIME.

During “Total Ariana Live,” host Sway challenged the “Break Free” singer to a round of “Hip-Hop Mix-up,” which is like a hip-hop roulette game that involved Ariana randomly spinning two wheels, landing on a hip-hop song, and a musical style to sing in. Her job? Mix it up.

Leave it to Ari to game the system (again, in all her adorableness). She manipulated spun the wheels and the first wheel landed on “Broadway” for singing style (“Oh, it landed on Broadway,” she said with mock surprise). For her second spin, she got A$AP Rocky‘s “F—in’ Problems.” “There, I spun it. It landed where I wanted,” she coyly said.

Then Ari proceeded to NAIL the flow (in a rendition that might make Babs proud), in all its F-bomb glory. Quick, someone write a Broadway play around her rendition! Because we’d definitely f—ing watch.

For the second part of the game, Sway told Ariana Grande she could invite someone else to play, so she asked her friend Tyler to step up to the wheel. Again, there was some “careful coordination” of the game piece. Tyler (and Ari) chose randomly landed on Eminem‘s “Love ...

The full force of the Arianator army descended on Times Square today for Ariana’s Grande‘s “TRL” resurrection, aka “Total Ariana Live.” And even fans who didn’t make it into the MTV studio were waiting outside in the rain. Why? Because Ariana had promised to debut her new Zedd-assisted single “Break Free” on the show tonight, and when she did, she lit up the stage, the studio, and the Internet like a Christmas tree. (A dancing Christmas tree. Picture it. Isn’t that the happiest visual ever?)

After playing a hip-hop mix-up game and performing a stripped-down version of her hit single, “Problem,” Ariana finally unleashed “Break Free” into the world. The uplifting, anthemic dance track instantly lifted the audience off their feet, and plenty of fans took to the dance floor to show off their moves.

But even more fans took to Twitter to let the world know how much they loved the new song. (Many of which used the preferred method of expressing enthusiasm on the Internet: ALL CAPS!)

In case you missed it, check out a snippet of “Break Free” below.

Get More: Ariana Grande,
Ariana Grande videos

Can’t wait to see her sing the new track live? Don’t worry, she’ll be performing it live for the first time ever at this year’s VMAs on August 24th, live at the Forum in Los Angeles.

Listen to preview of “Break Free” at ArianaGrande.mtv.com!

Read More →

Lecrae named his upcoming album Anomaly. He did so, presumably, because he feels that word describes who he is. And his first single from the project lyrically illustrates why.

“Let me guess, you counting money to the ceiling/ Difference ‘tween us like at least a couple million/ It’s foreign cars, pretty girls everywhere you go/ Yeah I heard it 30 times on the radio,” the Reach Records founder raps to open “Nuthin,” which he dropped on Tuesday (July 1).

In his second verse, Crae points out what he feels like other rappers aren’t talking about: “And every song talking ’bout they selling work on every corner/ Don’t talk about the laws, taking kids away from mommas/ Don’t talk about your homie in the trauma ’cause he shot up.”

The last line sounds like a personal reference to a story Lecrae told MTV News last year.

“When you see your cousin go inside a party, he comes outside, sits in the car and pow, pow, catches two to the head, you start thinking about life and death and the reality of that,” he said. “That really happened to my cousin.”

Anomaly is set to drop in August.

Adam Fleischer

I'm serious about these snacks. Catch me @adamfleischer