30 Seconds to Mars' Tomo Milicevic and Jared Leto
Photo: MTV News

In keeping with the grand tradition of pretty much everything they do, 30 Seconds to Mars' upcoming This Is War album will feature — no lie — 2,000 different covers, each showing an image of a fan.

And, unbeknownst to them, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta too.

Confused? Well, let us get you up to speed. Back in June, as they were putting the finishing touches on War, 30STM decided to involve their fans in the creation of the album artwork, asking them to submit pictures of themselves. The band would then select the 2,000 best images, which would be used as covers for the album itself and shipped randomly to stores around the world.

Seeing this as a relatively huge opportunity, 30 Seconds to Mars' fanbase sprung into action, inundating the band with all kinds of images. And, seeing this as a way to play a pretty amazing prank, so did Saporta. He sent in a photo of himself and sat back and waited, never expecting that he'd actually make the cut.

Only, he did. Of course, he didn't reveal this until Thursday, (November 12), when he was talking to MTV News about something else entirely (in this case, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo). During the interview, he randomly mentioned the 2,000 covers project, and then let it slip that he would be featured on one of them.

"I'm on one of the covers," Saporta laughed. "I made it."

We didn't believe him, but he insisted it was true. As luck would have it, we were due to sit down with Jared Leto and company later that afternoon. So, naturally, we had to ask them if Saporta had pulled a fast one. Were they aware that they had chosen the lead singer of Cobra Starship as one of their cover stars?

"That's a surprise. But there are all kinds of surprises out there with these album covers," Leto told MTV News. "We looked at each photo, and yeah, it was a royal pain in the ass, but worth it. I mean, 2,000 record covers is a lot ... to look at."

And, in 30 Seconds to Mars' defense, Saporta's grinning mug probably slipped through the cracks — after all, they were looking at a lot of images.

"All the images all amazed us. I mean, you have people that you would never think would submit. I mean, I think we might have had a few pictures submitted from prison," Leto laughed. "And then we got some from people on the opposite side of the spectrum too. And that was the best part of the experiment to me — you see this cross-section of people that's pretty beautiful."

So, aside from Saporta, who else made the cut? Well, Leto didn't want to give away all of his cover stars just yet — though from the sound of things, This Is War truly will feature everyone. Including Leto's mom.

"Everyone [is on a cover] from a stranger, to my mom, to Terry Richardson, to Gabe and on and on and on. And there are surprises. We're not going to release every name that we put out there," he said. "It will be totally random, and I'm hoping that stores don't just have all the same of one cover. ... But it is a giant experiment and it really rests upon all the people that participated. We're so thankful people did. It drove the record company crazy, but it's always good when you can do that."

• 30 Seconds To Mars
• Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

The video was posted Friday, but Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta didn't see it until Monday. And even though he's watched it about six dozen times since, Saporta still doesn't believe that it's real.

We're talking about an interview clip with Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, posted on MTV.com last week, in which he says that, if he could tour with any band ever, he'd pick Cobra Starship.

Seriously.

"You might be thinking that's crazy, but I really dig [them]," Cuomo says in the video. "I dig their attitude. ... They've got a very 21st-century outlook. They don't take themselves too seriously. They're there to have a party, put on a good show. That, to me, is the kind of band you want to tour with."

Obviously, Saporta was blown away by the comments.

"Honestly, when I first saw it, I was looking at it on a small screen, and I honestly thought that someone made an app. Like, 'Get Rivers to say whatever you want!' or something," Saporta laughed. "I thought it was just a flash app or something. And then I realized it was real, and I was like, 'Holy sh--.' We're all huge Weezer fans. We can't believe it."

Like most, Saporta fell in love with Weezer after buying their 1994 debut, The Blue Album, and the infatuation only grew from there. He's even a huge fan of their just-released Raditude, mostly because he thinks it shares the same kind of party-hard sentiments that his band expounds.

"There's definitely a lot more electronic beats on the new Weezer record, and that's flattering, because he's saying 'I like how they mix up genres,' and I can tell by listening to the new record that he's thinking about that ... it's new and fresh," he said. "You can tell he gets how music is made these days, and he's trying his hand at it. And obviously, we like to party too, so there's that."

But will Cobra Starship actually be able to tour with Weezer? Well, schedule-wise, it's looking good. And even if it wasn't, well, Saporta would make it work for Cuomo and company, no matter what.

"Dude, I would love to make it happen. There are a bunch of holes [in our schedule]. We're trying to figure out what we're doing," he said. "We come back from Australia in March, and then we're going to see. ... We basically have the spring and summer to tour, so if Rivers wants to go out, we're there. No matter what it takes. I'll even do his laundry."

• Cobra Starship
• Weezer

Pete Wentz's tattoo
Photo: http://twitpic.com/n8mqc

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz isn't just a friend to Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta — he's also his label boss and friendly rival. As a result, the two have been maintaining a prank war for the past few months, culminating in a recent victory for Saporta.

Paying up on a bet he made a few months ago, Wentz got a new tattoo on his leg — a tattoo of Saporta's face.

"Well, I promised Gabe if 'Good Girls Go Bad' went platinum, I would let him pick a tattoo to put on me," Wentz said in a statement. "A man with such humble beginnings, of course, chose a self-portrait." As a result, there is now a permanent mark on Wentz's calf that features Saporta's face and the inscription "Gabey Baby Made Me Go Bad."

This is merely the latest shot in the public prank war that has been going on between Wentz and Saporta for months. Last month at the MTV Video Music Awards, Wentz wore a T-shirt that revealed Saporta's phone number, and while he was unable to reveal all the digits on the live broadcast, Saporta's number still got out there, forcing him to change it.

Saporta struck back a few weeks ago at Los Premios MTV, where he announced Wentz's e-mail address (in Spanish!) during the broadcast.

For those keeping score at home, Saporta is definitely in the lead, though according to Wentz, there may still be more to come. "I held through with the bet," Wentz said. "But let's see if Gabe holds through with his end of the bet if Hot Mess goes gold."

• Fall Out Boy
• Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz onstage at Los Premios on October 15, 2009 in Universal City, California
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Last month at the MTV Video Music Awards, Pete Wentz decided to play a joke on his pal Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta by revealing his phone number live on the show.

Luckily for Saporta, MTV producers intervened, and Wentz was never able to complete the prank. Unluckily for him, things didn't end there: Saporta's phone number still got out, but Wentz had nothing to do with it (a vindictive T-shirt printer did).

"So basically this year for the VMAs, MTV was very nice to allow me and Pete to present an award together. Little did I know that Pete had a little practical [joke] planned, where he had my phone number printed on the front of a shirt," Saporta told MTV News on the set of Cobra Starship's "Hot Mess" video. "But MTV was like, 'You know, we're not super-kosher with that, you've got to tape it up.' But still, he took his jacket off and started pulling the tape off to reveal my number.

"My number never got out, but here's the catch: That shirt was professionally printed at some T-shirt place, and of course, someone at the T-shirt factory leaked an image of my shirt on the Internet," he continued. "So I would get, like, 20 calls a day, kids pranking me, singing me songs, whatever. I thought it was funny for a while, and I thought that if I neither confirmed nor denied it, it would go eventually away. Guess what? I was wrong. I was dead wrong."

It seems that the phone calls continued while Saporta and Cobra Starship were over in Europe, and, well, international phone calls are expensive. It got to be so much of a problem that Saporta was finally forced to cancel his number ... and to swear revenge on Wentz.

"In Europe, every call that comes in is a dollar. So if you let it go to voicemail, that's another dollar, so I'm getting 40 calls a day at $2 each ... that's $80 a day, man! I mean, I have a hit single, but I haven't seen a dime from it yet, man! Eighty dollars is a lot of money," Saporta laughed. "So I canceled my old phone number, got a new number, and I made sure that my new phone number has '666' in it, that way no one will mess with me ever — including you, Pete Wentz! By the way, Pete, I know your e-mail address."

And he wasn't kidding: Because last week at the Los Premios MTV '09 awards in Los Angeles, Saporta revealed Wentz's e-mail address live onstage, as he was translating Wentz's between-song banter during Fall Out Boy's set (Saporta is Uruguayan). At the time, Wentz didn't seem to realize what was happening — yet another peril of not speaking Spanish — but he sure did later, when his e-mail account was positively crippled with messages. It seems Saporta had gotten his revenge.

Wentz responded to MTV News' e-mail about Saporta's stunt — and from the sound of things, the prank war between the two sides has only just begun.

"Gabe is a 'Hot Mess' in more ways that one. ... He tried to give my e-mail address away when he was translating my banter into Spanish for fans. E-mail addresses are like nuclear weapons, and the other side only has a moment to react," Wentz wrote. "Trust me, I have something up my sleeve for Mr. Saporta. It feels like we're pranking on each other like siblings. Imagine whose number I could give you (friend/family of Gabe) to convince him of a Midtown reunion [Saporta's former band]. Though I did call him a 'puta' from stage."

To be continued, we're sure ...

• Cobra Starship
• Fall Out Boy

Cobra Starship's Nate Novarro and Gabe Saporta
Photo: MTV News

Though Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad" went platinum and earned the band a pair of MTV Video Music Awards noms, it was far from perfect. In fact, there were some fairly serious problems with the song (and the accompanying video) — problems Gabe Saporta and company decided to iron out with their new video for "Hot Mess."

"The problem with 'Good Girls Go Bad' — and this is why it really didn't let us go to the next level — is that we didn't have matching outfits," Saporta laughed. "This video, we really thought about it. We said, 'Hey, we're going to have matching outfits! We're gonna take it to the next level. We're gonna top "Good Girls Go Bad." ' "

Those matching outfits — which are basically studded jumpsuits — play an integral role in the "Hot Mess" video, which sees the guys (and gal) of Cobra Starship reborn as the Cobra Cleaning Crew, a crack squad that patrols the city, cleaning up aforementioned hot messes (which are basically partied-out girls in various states of undress). It's keeping with the free-spirited vibe of the "Good Girls" clip, only on a slightly higher budget. Such is the case when you're a band that's already scored one hit and is looking for a second.

You know, to add to their collection of platinum plaques.

"As far as the plaques go, I melted my platinum down and sent it to Paul Wall," drummer Nate Novarro laughed. "He's making me a grill. Big time."

• Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship
Photo: MTV News

When it came time for Cobra Starship to shoot the follow-up to their breakthrough "Good Girls Go Bad" video, they didn't want to mess with the formula for success. So they brought in the same director, shot in the same city and imported the same hot babes. The only difference this time around was the facial hair.

"The treatment doesn't matter ... all that matters is Kai Regan is directing the video. He sent me a couple of treatments, I didn't read 'em," Cobra frontman Gabe Saporta laughed. "All I know is that he made our last video and it was the best video we ever made. We got nominated for two VMAs, so this video is going to be as awesome, if not awesomer.

"And to make it even more awesome," he continued. "We all grew mustaches."

"I had one — no one told me, I shaved it," drummer Nate Novarro added, dejectedly. "I had a good one."

No worries, Nate. The "Hot Mess" video looks like it's going to be pretty great even without your mustache. While we won't reveal all the details just yet, we can tell you that it features the guys — and gal — of Cobra Starship trooping around New York City in studded jumpsuits, armed with Cobra Clean (which you might remember from episode seven of "Cobra Cam" — it gets ya sweet), on a mission to round up all the hot messes (read: partied-out babes). And, yes, hijinks ensue.

"We play the Cobra Cleaning Crew in this video, and our job is to go around the city cleaning up the hot-mess girls that are too much to handle," Saporta explained. "Our album is called Hot Mess, we worship the hot messes, but at the end, the question arises: Can we handle them? It's a moral dilemma."

Don't worry — judging from what we saw, the whole "dilemma" bit doesn't seem to stop anyone from partying super hard. Like we said, Cobra didn't want to mess with the formula for success. Basically, this one is about the ladies. Er, women.

"Women are both the corruption of all men and the success behind every man," Saporta laughed. "A very beautiful dichotomy."

• Cobra Starship

Leighton Meester
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/ Getty Images

Leighton Meester has finally released the first single off her forthcoming debut album. After the "Gossip Girl" star teased fans with her duet with Cobra Starship, the VMA-nominated "Good Girls Go Bad," as well as the leaked track "Birthday," the actress-turned-singer has hooked up with Robin Thicke on "Somebody to Love."

Although no release date has been set for the record, Meester recently spoke to EW.com about the track, produced by Mike Caren and Oligee (Flo Rida, Cobra Starship). "I so often get love confused with sex and vice versa," she said about "Somebody to Love." "And the song is basically about how I can't get any — I can't find anyone to love."

The song, which mixes Meester's pop-electronica vibe with Thicke's smooth R&B stylings, harks back to Madonna's early-'90s dance music. Meester told EW that she was über-excited about working with Thicke. "He's so soulful, and his voice is so flawless and beautiful," she said. "I don't even think he knows how much I love him."

The song was written by Rico Love, who has worked with artists like Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé and Usher. "I was honored when I found out that my record was chosen to be Leighton's first single. It's exciting to be able to show a different side of my work and me," Love said in a statement. "I listen and study all types of music, and I want to share that with the world. What better way to do that than with one of the biggest stars in entertainment today."

"GG" fans shouldn't worry that Meester has any plans to leave her home on the Upper East Side for her music career. For now, she feels perfectly fine being both an actor and a singer. "I don't know if I can really choose a favorite of what I want to do more or what I love more, 'cause I feel like I always felt I can do both," she told MTV News earlier this year. "I feel like it goes hand in hand. Singing really is acting. In a lot of ways, it's much more personal. I love music, and being able to work on that is amazing."

• Leighton Meester
• Robin Thicke
• Cobra Starship

Sara Paxton at <i>Us Weekly</i>'s fashion week part in New York City on Wednesday
Photo: Bennett Raglin/ WireImage

"The Beautiful Life: TBL" star Sara Paxton wasn't amused by Kanye West's stage invasion during Taylor Swift's Best Female Video acceptance speech. But Paxton does think it was quite gracious of Beyoncé to give Swift a second chance to thank her fans for her Moonman.

"I feel bad for Tay Tay Swift," Paxton told MTV News on the red carpet at an Us Weekly party on Wednesday. "Why do I keep calling her that? No, we're not [friends], but I just call her that 'cause I love her so much. She's so cute I want to put her in my pocket. But Beyoncé, what a classy lady. She's classy. What a class act."

At the same Us Weekly party, Cobra Starship, who were at the VMAs when the whole incident went down, said that they are still trying to process just what happened that night. "I totally stopped tweeting for about 30 seconds and paid attention," frontman Gabe Saporta said about the incident. "It was kind of surreal. I thought it was planned for a minute."

Guitarist Ryland Blackinton, however, was less surprised, since it wasn't the first time Kanye's acted up at an awards show. "I wondered if it was going to happen, because he did it at the [MTV Europe Music] Awards too, and I've watched that video a couple times when Justice won the award," he explained. "And I wasn't as surprised, but it was surreal to see it happen right in front of you."

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards might have wrapped, but the party is far from over. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes updates, party reports and much more.

• VMA 2009: The Entire Show On Demand

• Taylor Swift
• Cobra Starship
• Beyoncé

Cobra Starship at <i>Us Weekly</i>'s fashion week party in New York City on Wednesday
Photo: MTV News

VMA nominees Cobra Starship had a good view of Sunday night's most talked-about incidents: one involving Kanye West and Taylor Swift, the other involving Lil Mama, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The band's perspective on both moments? Crazy stuff is supposed to happen at the VMAs!

"I totally stopped tweeting for about 30 seconds and paid attention," frontman Gabe Saporta joked about when West jumped onstage and hijacked Swift's acceptance speech. "It was kind of surreal. I thought it was planned for a minute."

Guitarist Ryland Blackinton, however, was less surprised, since it wasn't the first time Kanye's acted up at an awards show. "I wondered if it was going to happen because he did it at the [MTV Europe Music] Awards too, and I've watched that video a couple times when Justice won the award," he explained. "And I wasn't as surprised, but it was surreal to see it happen right in front of you."

Blackinton even had some additional eyewitness information about the incident. He revealed that after he jumped offstage, he had another surprise for Beyoncé as if his misguided rant about her "Single Ladies" video wasn't enough. "After he did it, he came back and he kissed Beyoncé on the cheek, as if he had done her a favor," Blackinton recalled. "And you could see on her face, she was like [uncomfortable]. He had half a bottle of Hennessy in him."

As for that other stage attack by Lil Mama during the Jay-Z/ Alicia Keys performance, well, the group still hasn't quite figured that one out yet. "What was up with that with Lil Mama? That was planned too?" Saporta asked and was astonished to learn that it wasn't. "No! She was just like, 'I'm gonna sing for a little bit?' It's cool. Her lip gloss was poppin', so at least that was good."

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards may have wrapped, but the party is far from over. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes updates, party reports and much more.

• VMA 2009: The Entire Show On Demand

• Cobra Starship
• Kanye West
• Taylor Swift
• Jay-Z
• Lil Mama

Alicia Keys at <i>Us Weekly</i>'s fashion week part in New York City on Wednesday
Photo: MTV News

With only one day left in Fashion Week, some of New York's most stylish individuals from all walks of life came together to party at Avenue nightclub on Wednesday (September 16). Alicia Keys, Cobra Starship and Kanye West's girlfriend, model Amber Rose, were just some of the fashionistas being celebrated by Us Weekly.

Also being honored were "The Beautiful Life" star Sara Paxton, fashion designer Vera Wang, Whitney Port and none other than Martha Stewart.

"Well Martha Stewart's here," Paxton said excitedly. "It's kind of awesome. I'm standing next to Martha Stewart. It's pretty awesome. I'm really into Martha. Don't tell her!"

Meanwhile, Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta, looking dashing in Dolce & Gabbana, spoke about everything from being at this year's Video Music Awards to having the band being recognized for their style. "It's a good thing to have a stylist to make you stylish," Saporta said about his being recognized. "But I think we always have our own style. I'm not sure we're always this formal."

Two partygoers who didn't have much to say about the VMAs last night were Keys and Rose. Rose didn't stop to talk to anyone, opting instead to rush inside to the party. And Keys, who had addressed both the Kanye West and Lil Mama stage invasions earlier on the Today show, declined to speak about the show, then proceeded to show off her blinged-out diamond-encrusted cuff.

"So I'm not going to talk about this because the moment was too amazing. And to be able to be in New York City and singing 'Empire State of Mind' with Jay-Z was far more incredible than anything else," she said. "So I would like to leave that vision in the people's forefront of their minds."

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards might have wrapped, but the party is far from over. Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes updates, party reports and much more.

• Alicia Keys
• Cobra Starship

Taylor Swift, Ne-Yo, Katy Perry, More In VMA 2009 Storyboard Sketches

• Ne-Yo
• Taylor Swift
• Katy Perry
• Cobra Starship

MTV.com Exclusive: Cobra Starship

• Cobra Starship

2009 VMA Nominees

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Green Day
• Kings Of Leon
• Paramore
• Fall Out Boy

Kanye West, Clipse, Cobra Starship Live In New York

• Kanye West
• Clipse
• Cobra Starship
• Lykke Li
• The Roots

Pete Wentz And Cobra Starship At Angels & Kings In Chicago

• Cobra Starship

Lollapalooza 2008

• Duffy
• Rage Against the Machine
• Radiohead
• Katy Perry
• Raconteurs

Cobra Starship, Wyclef Jean, More At mtvU's Campus Invasion Tour 2008

• Cobra Starship
• Wyclef Jean
• Naledge
• The Spill Canvas

Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade 2008: Purple Carpet Arrivals

• Paramore
• Good Charlotte
• Mary J. Blige
• Cobra Starship
• Gym Class Heroes

2007 VMA: Fashion By The Numbers

• Nicole Scherzinger
• Maroon 5
• Yung Joc
• Cobra Starship
• Boys Like Girls

Fall Out Boy, Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Osbourne, More At "Snakes On A Plane" Premiere

• Fall Out Boy
• Cobra Starship
• The Sounds
• Gym Class Heroes