She's already a world-renowned activist, playwright, performer and feminist — but "The Vagina Monologues" scribe Eve Ensler definitely had time to talk pop when we spoke with her following a very special conversation held for MTV staff as part of its Pioneers series.

On the heels of her latest book, "In the Body of the World: A Memoir," in which she chronicles her recent experiences of working in the Congo and her subsequent diagnosis of uterine cancer, she held back little during the discussion (her candidness is perhaps one of her most noted, beloved traits). She jumped from topics like female empowerment to Rick Ross's recent date-rape controversy (in which she chastised both Ross for making light of such a scarring situation). Despite the words directed at Ross, Ensler showed nothing but love for the personality of one of pop's reigning princesses.

"I'm a huge Rihanna fan," she exclaimed about the singer, whose catalog is rife with tracks on female, sexual empowerment (see: "Cake," "Cockiness"). "I think she has a kind of agency over her sexuality and she's open about her sexuality, she has enormous grace and she's immensely talented. And I find her, I just find her brave; there's something very daring and original and completely herself about her that I completely connect with."

Ensler, whose "The Vagina Monologues" broke boundaries for its outspokenness around the plight of women when it first debuted in 1996, appreciated Rihanna's ownership of her power. But her comments shed no light on the abusive relationship with Chris Brown that the singer is so often defined ...

Since Tuesday night's premiere of "Come & Get it" was the first in over a year for Selena Gomez, she wanted to make sure the video was everything she hoped it would be.

The pop star set the tone early on with her performances of the track. The single, inspired by Bollywood and Bhangra beats, is the first off her upcoming fourth album. So for the video, Gomez knew that she wanted not only to come off as more mature but also to have more creative control over this new direction she was presenting to her fans.

Teaming up with Anthony Mandler— the director has collaborated with everyone from Rihanna to Gomez's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Justin Bieber — the two worked hard to come up with a cinematic theme that fit the song. But when it came time to shoot, Selena took over.

"I think he got mad at me," Gomez said of Mandler during our special "MTV First." "They have the [video] time codes, so I was emailing [changes] back and forth with Anthony and my label. ... But it worked. It was such a collaboration and he really did a great job."

One thing Mandler was happy to let Gomez take complete control of was her wardrobe, which ranged from a sleek, black corset dress to what appears to be the chiffon Marco Marco ensemble she sported for her 2013 MTV Movie Awards performance.

"I worked with my stylist that I've had since I was 15, and when Anthony came on board he was really supportive of wanting me to have ...

MTV knows how to throw a raucous party, and like any good host, we're sending out our save-the-date cards nice and early. So mark your 2014 calendars: the MTV Movie Awards will air on Sunday, April 13, while the Video Music Awards will take the stage on Sunday, August 24.

This year saw the Movie Awards pushed up to April to kick off the summer movie season in the way only MTV could (Iron-Mangina, anyone?). In addition to the Rebel Wilson-hosted ceremony, MTV continued its yearly Sneak Peek Week tradition, offering up exclusive first looks at films "This Is the End," "Pain & Gain," "The To Do List," "The Heat" and "The Bling Ring."

MTV's other landmark awards ceremony will experience its own first in 2013: The Video Music Awards will call Brooklyn's Barclays Center home for its 30th anniversary on Sunday, August 25. That's right, after three years in Los Angeles, the Moonman will pack his bags and return to New York. (The last Big Apple-set ceremony took place in 2009 at Radio City Music Hall.)

"From hip-hop to hipsters, Jay- Z to MGMT, Brooklyn musicians have a long history of dominating the 'spotlight' on MTV. Brooklyn is a cultural Mecca — the hippest, coolest place for young people across the country, and has played a crucial role in the careers of some of 2013's biggest bands, like Fun. and the Lumineers," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in a statement.

"Now, it is only fitting that the first time Brooklyn will ever host a major awards show, we are ...

You can always enter group therapy if your gambling addiction gets out of control, but if your partying and dancing get out of control, well, Group Therapy condones it.

Above & Beyond — a.k.a. British DJs Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki — are bringing their Group Therapy tour to Las Vegas starting with a weekend stay at Wynn Las Vegas on May 17 and 18. And even though the trio has been touring non-stop since 2011 after the trek's namesake album was released, they're still diving headfirst into every gig they've got.

In this exclusive clip, they do exactly that. After getting a urgent text from secret agent Miss Moneypenny, requesting Group Therapy immediately, McGuinness calls his partners up in the air. They turn around their private plane and jump out, parachuting down to Sin City, where Vegas partiers anxiously await.

But if you're looking for McGuinness, "something's come up," he says, glancing at a woman in gold lounging on his bed.

Check out the clip to see the guys make their way to Vegas at high speed (and look at all those fancy cars!). The video was directed by British director Steve Glashier, who had also worked with the band for their "On A Good Day (Metropolis)" video in 2010. Glashier gave a dramatic, spy feel to the clip, but the band admits it wasn't out of the ordinary for them.

"Steve's a brilliant documentary filmmaker," said McGuinness. "He's able to make our everyday lives look like the movies. It's just a typical day at the office for us."

And as for Vegas, ...

Kenny Chesney will top next week's Billboard albums chart by a country mile. His brand-new Life on a Rock sold nearly 153,000 copies to claim the #1 spot — the seventh of his career — easily outpacing last week's chart champ, Michael Bublé, whose To Be Loved sold nearly 96,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience holds strong at #3, selling more than 68,000 copies, followed by Fantasia's Side Effects of You, which sold more than 36,000 copies. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's The Heist leaps all the way up from #11 to #5, selling more than 35,000 copies (and posting a solid 24-percent increase in sales over last week's numbers).

The rest of the Top 10 is rounded out by Blake Shelton's Based on a True Story (#6, nearly 35,000 copies sold), Pink's The Truth About Love (#7, 26,000 copies sold), Bruno Mars' Unorthodox Jukebox (#8, nearly 26,000 copies sold), the Randy Rogers Band's Trouble (#9, more than 25,000 copies sold) and Imagine Dragons' Night Visions (#10, more than 24,000 copies sold).

LL Cool J's much-discussed Authentic album opened soft at #23, and former "American Idol" favorite Jessica Sanchez couldn't generate much heat with Me, You & the Music, which debuted at #26.

Country will undoubtedly rule next week's charts, too, with Lady Antebellum's Golden expected to debut strong. Other notable releases include the Jay-Z helmed Great Gatsby soundtrack, 98 Degrees' 2.0 and She & Him's Volume 3.

Billboard 200 charts:

1) Kenny Chesney, Life on a Rock (153,000)
2) Michael Buble, To Be Loved ...