In the hallways of "Hunger Games" High, 28-year-old actress Jena Malone is the new kid on the block, enrolling in the beloved series for sequel "Catching Fire." But as Malone told MTV News during San Diego Comic-Con, the close cast welcomed her with the enthusiasm of a Friday night pep rally.

"Working with this cast is so incredible," Malone enthused. "They're really so sweet and supportive. They kind of let me go wherever I wanted, so that was fun. Then I could just be crazy, and they were like, 'That's cool.' "

A little bit of crazy is most certainly called for in the portrayal of District 7 tribute Johanna Mason, whose first meeting with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) involves a strip (without the teasing).

"She's just so feisty and unpredictable," Malone enthused. "Being able to bring that element to any scene you're doing on set, whether it's like really straightforward or not, kind of allows this element of surprise."

Malone credits not only the veterans but fellow newbie, director Francis Lawrence, with creating an environment where she felt comfortable really digging into the layers of her cunning character.

"Jen and Josh, Liam and Willow, everyone had already sort of worked together and had this tight-knit — so I was kind of glad Francis Lawrence was a lone wolf coming in along with this giant reprise of a cast, as well as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jeffrey Wright and all of these incredible people," she said. "So it didn't feel like it was one person coming in trying to, like, fit ...

Just in time for the dog days of summer, Ariana Grande has released her throwback, summer love anthem "Baby I" on Monday (July 22).

With its shimmering and bright production, the up-tempo song is the perfect follow-up for Grande's flirty lead single, Much like that first single, it features the "Sam & Cat" star's soaring vocals over some vintage production tailor-made for a mid-'90s Mariah Carey.

The song is all about her crush, with Grande singing to her dream lover, "Baby I got love for thee so deep inside of me/ I don't know where to start/ I love you more than anything/ But the words can't even touch what's in my heart."

As of press time, the single was sitting at #3 on the iTunes charts after she tweeted out the link in the early hours of Monday.

"Baby I," which manager Scooter Braun has already dubbed his choice cut on the release, is the latest tease off Grande's album, Daydreamin', slated for release later this summer.

When MTV News spoke to Grande back in May, she noted that her debut would be inspired, in part, by Carey. "You know I love just like old R&B. I love the '90s, that whole vibe. I love Mariah Carey, of course, she's the goddess of all vocals," she said, adding, "I just can't wait for them to hear the rest of it because it just gets better. 'The Way' is a great song in my opinion but the rest are, I think, better. So it's cool."

In addition to playing stops ...

Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Austin Mahone are currently having a blast on Swift's Red Tour. And they immortalized the fun — and their 2013 MTV Video Music Award nominations — via a series of buddy-buddy tweets, snaps and videos.

This past weekend, Sheeran started off the chain of love with an retweeted his friends in support.

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Each of the three musicians reacted to their nominations in their own ways. After discovering that he was nominated for an Artist to Watch, Presented by Taco Bell Moonman for his Colin Tilley-directed "What About Love" video, Mahone tweeted his glee — "JUST FOUND OUT I'M NOMINATED FOR A VMA!!!" He also told MTV News he plans to "throw a party, invite my friends and go crazy!" to celebrate his nomination.

Taylor, for her part, tweeted wryly: "Two VMA nominations!! If you vote and get us one, I promise to keep a firmer grip on the mic this time ;)" She was nominated twice for "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Video of the Year, Best Female Video).

If she and Sheeran win, they plan to team up to celebrate by putting on "loads of bling and pretend[ing] to be rappers," Sheeran said.

We wonder if the trio plans to sit together when the show goes down Sunday, August 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Selena Gomez said she wanted to throw "a huge party" for her 21st birthday. And that's exactly what she did in the early hours of Monday (July 22), the day of her actual birthday, when she dropped a celebratory clip for her Stars Dance cut "Birthday."

The gritty clip follows Selena and her pals as they party in a graffiti-filled warehouse, mirroring the lyrics of the up-tempo jam where she sings, "Blow your dreams away with me."

The video is the second official release off Stars Dance, following up "Come & Get It." Whereas the "Come & Get It" clip was a production that included several costume changes and choreographed dance routines, this video's more laid-back vibe seems to capture Gomez on a typical night with her friends.

On Saturday, two days before her own big day, Gomez and friends like Lily Collins gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel for a 20s-themed fete in honor of another birthday girl, Julianne Hough, according to a report. Gomez not only wore a flapper-inspired LBD, she accessorized it with some devil horns. She did celebrate her birthday in the early hours of Monday morning — with tacos! She wrote, "My cake was... Jack n the box tacos... Yes." #turnupNOW indeed!

Gomez will keep the party going this week when she drops her new album, Stars Dance, on Tuesday. And, she's made it clear to MTV News earlier this summer what her primary goal is.

"To be honest, most of the record actually speeds up once I release [the first single] 'Come & Get It'," ...

Kanye West is a noted perfectionist. So although many fans saw his leaked "Black Skinhead" video online a few weeks back, on Monday morning (July 22), Yeezy presented the clip the way he intended it to be seen on KanyeWest.com — and gave it a provocative new title.

Titled "Blkkk Skkkn Head," the final Nick Knight-directed clip isn't much different from the leaked version. As soon as fans log on to 'Ye's website — which has been a hub for all things new during his current Yeezus run — they'll find an image of three figures wearing black hoods in the style of the Ku Klux Klan. After several seconds, the three masked men open their eyes and the video begins as the screen turns from mostly white to almost all black.

There are growling Dobermans and a CGI-version of West bouncing up and down to the punk-inspired drum roll. Though the rapper is digitally enhanced, his mannerisms were captured perfectly so that each move feels authentically Kanye. Stylistically, it matches his May , save for Yeezy's glowing eyes, sparkling chain and beefed-up muscle mass.

The video for "Black Skinhead" also features an interactive component that allows you to slow down the motion speed and song's sound, as well as capture still images that can be shared across social-networking sites.

This new clip, like Yeezus' first vid, "New Slaves," was presented in black-and-white and delivered to the public in an unorthodox way. While "Slaves" was projected onto walls in the streets of various cities around the world, "Blkkk ...

Good news, fans: The first movie based on your beloved book series doesn't suck — at least according to "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" stars Jamie Campbell Bower and Kevin Zegers.

When MTV News caught up with the actors at San Diego Comic-Con, they confirmed that they have both seen either the final (or nearly final) cut and were very pleased with what they saw.

"It looks amazing," Bower said. "I'm super stoked to just share it with everybody."

There are plenty of occasions in which actors are forced to promote movies they're not terribly proud of, but that's not the case here. In fact, it turned out exactly how Zegers envisioned it.

"The great thing about the way that we shot [the movie] is that it was not so reliant on green screen," Zegers says. "It's not like we were in some room that had a bunch of green walls and we were pretending to do stuff — it was pretty practical. And it's a character movie, so a lot of the way that it felt on set is what ends up on film. It was exactly what I expected it to be, which was really good."

Bower is no stranger to big YA book-to-film adaptations, having also been a part of the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" films — "I've made a career out of playing small roles in major movies," he jokes — and feels very beholden to the fans.

"I know without the fans of the books and without those people we wouldn't be able to be sitting here talking ...

MTV2's Guy Code headed to San Diego for Comic-Con last week, and, somehow, in-between all their usual bro-centric hijinks, they also found time to stage an award show: "Guy Code Honors."

As you can probably gather from the title, said show lauded those who have made tremendous contributions to world of pop culture, TV and comics — great wingmen, bad-ass chicks, greatest super heroes and, uh, Vin Diesel — and even celebrated the lifetime achievements of Bruce Wayne's loyal manservant (and, really, ultimate wingman), Alfred Pennyworth. There were also exclusive sneak peeks at hotly-anticipated flicks like and and MTV's breakout hit

"Guy Code" castmates Jon Garbus, Damien Lemon, Chris Distefano and Jordan Carlos served as hosts for the raucous party, and there were also musical performances, from Danish pop-punkers New Politics — who blasted through "Tonight You're Perfect" and "Harlem" — and DJ/provocateur Dillon Francis, fresh off his headlining set at MTV Clubland's Artist To Watch showcase in NYC.

And if there was an audience custom-built for Francis's tongue-in-cheek electro, it was the Comic-Con crowd. Seems they get clever, and as such, they went wild for his performance, which featured a delightfully over-the-top take on "IDGAFOS" and a spindly version of "Bootleg Fireworks." There were oversized cutouts of his smirking face, a massive pair of maneki-neko flanking the stage, even a customized California flag. It was pretty ridiculous, yes, but also pretty rad.

And as such, we couldn't wait to bring you these two exclusive clips from Francis's "Guy Code Honors" set ...

The countdown is on! The Wanted's next album, Word Of Mouth, will drop on September 16, and they just "CAN NOT" wait.

"We are really excited to announce our brand new album is called #WordOfMouth and will be released on September 16th!!," they wrote early Monday. "We can't wait for you to hear it we know you've been really patient but hopefully you'll think it's worth the wait!! #WordOfMouth."

They also confirmed that they are shooting the video for the lead single, this week. After the song was teased in the season finale of their E! show it will officially be released on August 11. They added, "Makes us smile to see so many of you really happy with the news, we CAN NOT wait for you to hear the album #BestIsYetToCome #WordOfMouth."

Manager Scooter Braun recently explained what fans should expect on this record, which will include their first single, as well as "The Night," which he said is one of the songs that really sums up who the group is these days.

"They had a bunch of records that wasn't them and now we have the album that we feel like is them," he said. "And we have the song that's going to lead it off, like I said 'We Own the Night.' It is that record. And [it's] very, very, very exciting. It's a perfect Wanted party anthem, but like a memory anthem. It's one of those songs you'll sing in bars forever. These boys are all about having a good time and this ...

SAN DIEGO — Which was the more entertaining revelation to come from the panel at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend: the very blunt story Jennifer Lawrence told involving a slobbery kiss with Josh Hucherson during filming, or the footage of a bare-chested Sam Claflin as fan favorite character Finnick Odair in the brand-new trailer?

Both got plenty of traction at the movie's SDCC debut. But in addition to confirmations that the Oscar hasn't changed our beloved, candid J Law one bit and that Claflin looks mighty fine sans shirt, plenty more news about the second movie in the "Hunger Games" series came out of San Diego. Here are the essential takeaways.

Coming Soon
You've probably already watched it one or six times, but the brand-new trailer showed us Finnick and the other veteran tributes, a split-second view of the arena, the Victor's Village, the Capitol, and plenty of Panem's civil unrest.

New Cast
Finnick, you guys. Finnick! Be honest: How long did you pause the trailer to check out Sam Claflin (and his torso)? Though Claflin didn't make it to San Diego, his castmates and director did called him a "sex god." Also impressive: the well-spoken Jeffrey Wright, who seemed as intelligent as his character, Beetee, during the panel. And although Jena Malone didn't get to talk much onstage, she was very enthusiastic about her role in the series when speaking with MTV News' Josh Horowitz beforehand.

Girl Power
The stereotype that Con attendees are all smelly, basement-dwelling fanboys still persists, but an informal visual survey of the ...