Britney Spears in "Slave 4 U"
Photo: Jive/Zomba

Valentine's Day — you either love it or hate it. It makes sweethearts swoon and others want to stab fat cherubs with a bow and arrow. Between the chocolate hearts, the red roses and the teddy bears shoved in our faces, the holiday stirs up a cocktail of emotions: happiness, despair, jealousy, grief, sadness, desire ...

MTV News has all your mood swings covered. In honor of this beloved and dreaded holiday, we're rolling out the Best Love Songs, Best Breakup Songs, Best Make-Out Songs and Worst Love Songs in recent memory. It's our Valentine's Day gift to you, minus the dinner-and-a-movie part. So slip into something comfortable, and stay for a while.

Lust is in the air tonight — impress your love with your vast knowledge of iPhone apps another night. Grab your valentine-of-the-moment and get your groove on.

10. Tweet (featuring Missy Elliott) - "Oops (Oh My)"
Follow along to this striptease with your crush tonight.

9. Rufus Wainwright - "Instant Pleasure"
Rufus swaps foreplay for instant gratification in this indie classic. Hey, at least he's direct with his intentions.

8. John Mayer - "Your Body is a Wonderland"
John sings about getting touchy-feely in this 2003 track. Even Alice is blushing.

7. Christina Aguilera - "Dirrty"
Christina takes it from the couch to the wrestling pit for full-on body contact.

6. The Donnas - "Take It Off"
I guess I can take off my shirt — I mean, coat. Only if you assist — I mean, insist. That came out funny. Is it a little hot in here?

5. MGMT - "Electric Feel"
Granted, most of us here at MTV News spaced out in bio class. But, we're pretty sure this "electrical eel" business is a reference to sex. We also know kids come from cabbage patches.

4. Nine Inch Nails - "Closer"
Get your freak on to the driving beats of this intense R-rated wonder. File this one under the "hot & heavy" category.

3. Kings of Leon - "Sex on Fire"
The Followill boys ignite our libidos with "Sex on Fire." Let the track consume you and your hookup hottie.

2. Chris Isaak - "Wicked Game"
This airy lullaby has been one of the dreamiest make-out songs on the planet for the past gazillion trillion years.

1. Britney Spears - "I'm a Slave 4 U" Brit snags the top spit-swapping spot for making us sweat along to this smash hit single.

Do you love it or are you just not that into our picks? Tell us why in the comment section below.

Now that you have the tracks to set the mood, you should gauge your plans with what the celebs are doing. No date? Don't forget that there are single, hot guys that you might have a chance with. Happy Valentine's Day!

• Valentine's Day: Best Make-Out Songs

• Chris Isaak
• Britney Spears
• John Mayer
• Christina Aguilera
• Nine Inch Nails

Scene from 'NSYNC's 'Gone,' directed by Herb Ritts
Photo: Jive

Celebrity photographer Herb Ritts, who directed videos for Madonna, 'NSYNC, Britney Spears and others, died Thursday morning of complications from pneumonia. He was 50.

In March, Ritts worked with Shakira on the video for "Underneath Your Clothes," and last year he was responsible for the desolate apartment visuals in 'NSYNC's heartbroken "Gone," the saucy bounce of Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny" and the sandy, sexy beach scenery in Britney's "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know."

Two of Ritts' other well-known videos similarly boasted a skillful blend of sand and sex appeal — Madonna's "Cherish" and Chris Isaak's breakthrough "Wicked Game," one of two clips Ritts tackled for the crooner. "Wicked Game" and another Ritts clip, Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," won Best Male Video and Best Female Video at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.

Herb Ritts was born in Los Angeles in 1952 and majored in economics at New York's Bard College. Shortly after college, in the mid-1970s, Ritts taught himself photography, snapping pictures of friends.

One of his subjects was a friend's boyfriend, then-unknown actor Richard Gere. His shots of the future star led Ritts into the world of celebrity photography with full force. He photographed everyone from Jack Nicholson to Michelle Pfeiffer to Mick Jagger, gaining unprecedented access with many of his subjects, including a paralyzed Christopher Reeve and a post-brain surgery Elizabeth Taylor.

Ritts' work often appeared in magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. He sat actress Brittany Murphy atop a child's rocking horse for a recent Interview magazine cover.

His photos graced album covers, including Madonna's True Blue (1986), and appeared in advertisements for companies like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, the Gap and Giorgio Armani. He published books of his work and has been displayed in galleries and museums.

Ritts passed away at the UCLA Medical Center, according to his publicist. As of Thursday evening, a family gathering was being planned, with a larger public service to follow in January. Ritts is survived by his mother, Shirley Ritts; brother, Rory; sister, Christy Thrasher; and his partner, Erik Hyman.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to the Herb Ritts Jr. Foundation, c/o Grant & Tani, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1000, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

• Madonna
• Janet Jackson
• *NSYNC
• Britney Spears
• Chris Isaak

Enrique Iglesias
Photo: Interscope

For Jennifer Lopez, it was fun while it lasted — Alan Jackson's Drive will reclaim the top spot on next week's Billboard 200 chart.

Jackson's LP sold over 183,000 copies last week to return to #1 next week, according to SoundScan data released Wednesday (February 20). Creed's Weathered also returns to familiar territory, as it will check in at #2 with nearly 144,000 albums sold. Lopez' remix album, J to Tha L-O!, will drop two spots and round out the top three after moving almost 134,000 units in its second week in stores.

The new chart will reflect an overall sales surge, though most artists won't make any significant headway in their chart positions. One person that doesn't apply to, however, is Enrique Iglesias, whose new single, "Escape," will help his album of the same name jump from #21 to #10 after selling almost 82,000 copies last week.

Chris Isaak's Always Got Tonight will debut at #24 after selling over 57,000 albums in its first week. Other debuts include the Pat Metheny Group's Speaking of Now (#101), Australian country singer Kasey Chambers' Barricades & Brickwalls (#104) and folk singer Fernando Ortega's Storm (#197).

The biggest chart-climber by far will be John Williams, who will benefit from Olympics Fever. In just his second week on the charts, Williams, composer of the official theme of the 2002 Winter Games, will jump (triple lutz perhaps?) from #146 to #98. The album, American Journey, moved over 16,000 units last week.

Another impressive move is Frank Sinatra's leap from #75 to #32, thanks to a Valentine's Day sales push behind his Greatest Love Songs.

On a downward course are the Chemical Brothers and Jay-Z. Come With Us will slide back 30 spots in its third week (from #66 to #96), while Jay-Z's MTV Unplugged will fall from #69 to #89.

• Enrique Iglesias
• Jennifer Lopez
• Alan Jackson
• Creed
• Chris Isaak

Jon Bon Jovi
Photo: VH1

Jon Bon Jovi and his guitar-slinging sidekick, Richie Sambora, have signed on to join Creed, Lenny Kravitz, No Doubt, Jewel and a host of others at Sunday's My VH1 Music Awards.

The Bon Jovi tag team will act as presenters at the event, joining fellow presenters Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ellen DeGeneres, Jenna Elfman, Gary Sinise, Christian Slater, Kelsey Grammer, Benjamin Bratt, Chris Isaak, Tommy Lee, Damon Wayans, Calista Flockhart, Isaac Hayes and others at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium to help dole out the awards.

Creed, Kravitz, No Doubt, Jewel, Mick Jagger, Sting, Nelly Furtado and Mary J. Blige will hit the stage to perform as well, while "Will and Grace" star Eric McCormack will preside as host.

If viewers don't like Sunday night's show (despite the rich roster of talent), they'll have no one to blame but themselves. From top to bottom, fans have shaped the program, selecting not only the night's winners, but also the categories they will compete in.

So far, fans have been throwing their love to U2 and the Dave Matthews Band, showering the acts with six nominations each (see "U2, Dave Matthews Lead My VH1 Music Awards Nominees"). No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is running close behind with five nominations, while Staind and Alicia Keys head into the night with four nods each.

Beyond bestowing honors on Favorite Male and Favorite Female, the show looks to settle who has the finest belly button in all the land as Stefani, Britney Spears, Mark McGrath, Destiny's Child and Jennifer Lopez vie for the Navel Academy award. Meanwhile, steamy entries from Spears, Kravitz, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and the united front of Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink are up for the Is It Hot in Here or Is It Just My Video? award.

In more conventional categories, Kravitz, Moby, Sting, Iglesias and Elton John will duke it out for Favorite Male, while Stefani, Keys, Aaliyah, Madonna and Janet Jackson are up for Favorite Female. Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Staind and Destiny's Child will compete for Favorite Group.

Fans can cast their votes at VH1.com, and polls will remain open until the winners are announced.

The awards show will be carried live on VH1 beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday, December 2.

• Bon Jovi
• Chris Isaak
• Isaac Hayes
• Creed
• Lenny Kravitz

Singer Chris Isaak will star in a new comedy series, titled "The Chris Isaak Show," for pay cable network Showtime.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming one-hour series will mix fact with fiction, and offer a behind-the-scenes look at the singer's life.

Isaak, who is executive producing the new series, will be acting alongside his real-life bandmates, as well as actors who will portray fictional characters.

The Stockton, California native, best known for his song, "Wicked Game," is no stranger to acting. In the past, Isaak has appeared in films such as "Little Buddha," and "That Thing You Do!"

He has also appeared in episodes for television series such as "From the Earth to the Moon," "Friends," and "The Larry Sanders Show."

His music, meanwhile, has been featured in films such as "Wild at Heart," and "Eyes Wide Shut."

Isaak told the Hollywood Reporter that the new series would center on his life, "only cleaned up to make me nicer."

Showtime has ordered seventeen episodes of "The Chris Isaak Show," and plans to begin airing the series later this year.

• Chris Isaak

Atlanta singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins has firmed up tour plans that will see him open a string of dates for guitar-toting crooner Chris Isaak.

Mullins and Isaak will hit the road early next month, and will play together for the bulk of November.

For Mullins, the gig marks what is so far the peak of a long eight-year climb through indie-land that saw the performer release eight albums on his own. The bridge from the world of the independents to a major label came courtesy of "Lullaby," Mullins gruff-yet-serene tale of city life. The video for that track is currently a Buzz Clip, but before that it was getting heavy radio play in Atlanta, where it first caught the ear of major labels.

Mullins hardly sees the success of the song as a surprise, however, as he apparently knew he had stumbled across something big when he first penned the song.

Mullins recently explained to MTV News. "It just happens that way. When I write a song that's gonna move me, it typically moves my audience, the people who like my music. So I hoped, I hoped that it would get some attention because I sure liked the song when I wrote it." [28.8 RealVideo]

Mullins will get the chance to drum up even more attention when he hits the road with Isaak starting November 3 in Minneapolis. Here's where to catch them:

• 11/3 - Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
• 11/5 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
• 11/6 - Milwaukee, IL @ Riverside Theatre
• 11/8 - Detroit, MI @ Detroit State Theatre
• 11/10 - Columbus, OH @ Ohio Theatre
• 11/12 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
• 11/20 - New York, NY @ Roseland

• Chris Isaak
• Shawn Mullins