Demi Lovato
Photo: Hollywood

Trace Cyrus has confirmed that he and Demi Lovato have broken up.

Miley's older brother told People magazine that he and the Disney starlet, who released the album Here We Go Again on Tuesday (July 21), have put an end to their romance because of age and distance.

"Demi is one of my good friends, and I definitely became very, very close with her in the past few months, and it's something I really wanted to make work. But unfortunately, we both have very busy schedules — we're both on tour right now," said Cyrus, who is the lead singer of Metro Station. "I'm always on the other side of the world and so is she, so it just seemed like something that can't work out at this time."

Cyrus and Lovato sparked rumors of a relationship in the spring, when they began tweeting back and forth. "We gave it a shot, and that's all you can do," Cyrus said. "Every time I hung out with that girl or talked on the phone with her, it was amazing. She's someone I can totally relate to."

Perhaps also making it difficult is the former couple's four-year age difference. "She is a lot younger than me," said 20-year-old Cyrus of Lovato, 16. "When someone is that much younger, you're looking for different things in relationships. Maybe when she's older and we've both matured, we'll be looking for the same thing and it can work out."

Last month, when MTV News asked Lovato about the rumors, she flatly denied that the two were dating. "I'm single! Yeah, I'm definitely single," she said, adding, "I try not to listen to rumors. Rumors are stupid. They're not true. I mean, of course you get stuff like that all the time. You read it online, and you're just like, 'Why did they even make that up?' But, I mean, I don't really remember them, 'cause they're not important to me."

• Demi Lovato
• Metro Station

Miley Cyrus
Photo: MTV News

Those "Twilight" ladies may have just kept her out of the top spot on our Woman of the Year list (don't worry, she also made our Teen Queens Who Ruled 2008 list), but it will be all about Miley Cyrus come New Year's eve. The tween mogul will help MTV close the door on this eventful year when she headlines "FNMTV Presents: A Miley-Sized Surprise ... New Year's Eve 2009."

The show will air live from 8 p.m. till 9:30 p.m. ET with live performances from Cyrus, Metro Station, All Time Low, The Academy Is ... and Kevin Rudolf.

There will, of course, also be a live countdown from Times Square during a rebroadcast of the show at 10:30 p.m., but the real action will be broadcast from the house of one lucky fan, where host Cyrus will give a special performance in his/her bedroom. The "Hannah Montana" star will surprise the fan earlier in the day and spend the afternoon hanging out with them, visiting their friends and helping their favorite charity. Miley will also dropping some serious gifts and treats on the unsuspecting fan all through the evening, during which Metro Station will also set up in their bedroom, while the other artists will perform from MTV's Times Square studio.

The show will be hosted from New York by twin Australian singers Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, a.k.a. the Veronicas. All during the night, MTV and Pepsi will encourage viewers to type into a live text-to-screen dialogue about how they plan to refresh themselves and the world in 2009. People in Times Square can text NYE to 66333 to submit messages that may appear on MTV 44 1/2 (MTV's high-definition Times Square screen), and TV viewers can text CHANGE to 66333 for the chance to see their comments appear on a crawl at the bottom of the television programming throughout MTV's New Year's Eve shows.

MTV will also upload select clips from NYE programming as mobile video to all carrier partners as well as photo galleries, MTV News coverage and Remote Control blog coverage on the MTV mobile Internet site at m.mtv.com. MTV.com will feature photos, clips, and performances, including two performances from the night that won't be seen anywhere else.

• The Teen Queens Of 2008

• Miley Cyrus
• Metro Station
• The Veronicas
• All Time Low
• The Academy Is...

Metro Station
Photo: MTV News

• Metro Station
• Miley Cyrus

Metro Station
Photo: MTV News

Metro Station frontman Trace Cyrus might say he doesn't want to stand in the shadow of his super-famous sister, but that doesn't mean he's not opposed to her appearing in his band's new video.

"I think my sister and my dad might be in it, though we're still waiting on them to get here. A little family cameo," he told MTV News on the set of the video for "Seventeen Forever," the latest single from their breakout debut album. "[Miley] might be riding around in a bumper car, or she might be the girl who starts a drag race. And my dad is going to be some sort of carny guy or something, running a ride or something. It will be interesting to see them playing crazy parts."

As it turns out, Miley and her dad Billy Ray are most definitely in the video, which the band shot near Santa Clarita, California. Miley ended up shooting a bumper-car scene — she rams her brother just as he's about to seal the deal with one rather lucky lady — and the elder Cyrus did, in fact, end up being cast as a carny, albeit one in a cowboy hat and a sleeveless T-shirt. If it sounds like just your average night at the county fair, well, then you're pretty much right on. Sort of.

"We kind of based it on the story of 'The Lost Boys.' We just took the vampires out of it," Trace laughed. "Just the whole carnival idea of, like, kids coming together. ... They come in and take over this park, and we're gonna perform for them. There's definitely going to be some stunt guys here who are going to be doing jumps and stuff. It's gonna be wild."

It certainly sounds wild. And though the "Seventeen" shoot went until 6 a.m., the guys in Metro Station didn't seem to mind. After all, they never even expected they'd get to make a video for the song, which launched them from anonymity to MySpace sensations back in 2006.

"We didn't expect this much to be put into this video. Once we did [the video for] 'Shake It,' we definitely wanted to do something totally different, and for this we wanted a story line," Cyrus explained. "It's a very meaningful song for us. It's the first song me, [co-frontman] Mason [Musso] and [synth guy/ bassist] Blake [Healy] made. Me and Mason had been going over to Blake's house for a few months and ... all three of us were like, 'Why are all three of us getting together? We should be friends but I don't know if we're a band.' But then finally one day Blake had the lyrics to 'Seventeen Forever,' and we went over and recorded the song. And after the weekend was over, Blake edited it and put it on MySpace, and it was kind of like an overnight success.

"When I heard the song, that was the first time I thought maybe something could happen," he continued. "I know when my parents heard it, it was the first time they were like, 'This blows our mind. We didn't realize the kind of music you were making!' We finally found the sound we wanted, and we established the sound for Metro Station. We were so happy for it."

From that discovery came their first hit, "Shake It," which landed in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and put the spotlight squarely on the band — and Cyrus' sister. So they're leaning extra-heavily on the video for "Seventeen Forever," because, as Trace put it, "We're finally at the point where people just see us as Metro Station.

"It's like we've said all along, you know, we're doing something totally different than our families. And I think people finally have realized that. They might find out about us through an interview, and, of course, the interview is about our families, so that's what their mind focuses on," he said. "But when they hear our music and they see us, they're like, 'Wow, this is something totally different than Disney Channel, than "Hannah Montana." ' We have our own style and our music has its own sound like no other. It feels good to have people recognize that."

• Metro Station's Carnival Ride

• Metro Station

Katy Perry at the MTVu VMA Tour near Baltimore Tuesday
Photo: MTV News

LARGO, Maryland — On Tuesday, the mtvU Video Music Awards Tour descended on Six Flags America near Baltimore. It was one of the hottest days yet this summer, but that didn't stop thousands of fans from cheering on All Time Low, Metro Station, Boys Like Girls and VMA nominee Katy Perry.

The show was free, but fans had to get admission bracelets near the main entrance, and those were gone soon after the park opened. Judging by the line to get in, which snaked through the park, the show was easily the biggest attraction there. As the temperature pushed 100 and the venue reached capacity, several fans had to be taken away in stretchers after collapsing from heat exhaustion. Even the artists started feeling the heat. "I almost passed out from heat exhaustion. Every five minutes I'd look at my drummer and say, 'I'm going to die from heat exhaustion,' " Perry said.

Still, spirits remained high throughout the day. "Not only do I love playing shows, but I also love riding roller coasters, so this is the best of both worlds," All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth said. The band made one of the concert's most memorable moments when they played an energetic cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella."

With the VMAs only weeks away and most of the nominees announced, talk of potential winners and losers was rampant backstage. While All Time Low, Boys Like Girls and Metro Station all had a good number of fans nominate them for Best New Artist, they didn't get enough votes to put them in the top five with Katy Perry.

"I feel like I just kind of showed up on the scene, and I'm nominated with more established artists. They're on their third single, and I'm still kissing girls," Perry said of her nomination. And what if she wins? "I'd love to have a Moonman. Everyone wants a Moonman, but I think this is just the beginning, and if I get lucky enough to win, I'm going to create a necklace out of it," she laughed.

Her tourmates say they'll be supporting her when it comes time for the big show. "Her single is enormous. Everyone has it stuck in their head right now; it's like a song of the summer," Boys Like Girls guitarist Paul DiGiovanni said. At the end of her set, during "I Kissed a Girl," the singer came down off the stage and sang the last verse with the cheering crowd.

As for other nominees, Lil Wayne was a big favorite among both All Time Low and Boys Like Girls. "I think Lil Wayne will probably take Best Male Video because he dominated this year," BLG bassist Bryan Donahue said. And for Best Rock Video, Gaskarth said he would "put $400 on Paramore."

This year's VMAs, hosted by British comic and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" co-star Russell Brand, will feature live performances from the Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne and Kid Rock. See how Perry and the other nominees fare when the big show is broadcast live at 9 p.m. on September 7 from the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood.

It's a wrap! Now that the 2008 VMAs have come and gone, check out all the winners, the most surprising moments, the best red-carpet fashions and more at VMA.MTV.com.

• MTVu VMA Tour Hits Six Flags America

• Katy Perry
• Boys Like Girls
• Metro Station
• All Time Low

Metro Station
Photo: MTV News

It's never easy being the brother of someone famous. But when that someone is the most famous teenager in all the world, it's especially difficult to break out from her immense shadow to pursue your own professional endeavors.

Still, Trace Cyrus — who plays lead guitar for synth-pop outfit Metro Station — has managed to do just that, even with his half-sister, "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus, dominating international headlines, both for her music and film work as well as her personal foibles. But if it hadn't been for "Hannah Montana," chances are good that Trace Cyrus never would have met Mason Musso, his Metro Station partner in crime.

"It was our parents who told us we should meet," Cyrus told MTV News this week. "I already knew [Mason's] little brother, Mitchel, because he'd been cast on 'Hannah Montana' with my sister, and [the show is the reason I moved] to California, as [did] Mason's family. One day, Miley gave me a CD of Mason's, and I fell in love with the music. I went down to the ['Hannah Montana'] set one day to hang out with my sister, and Mason was there. We hung out a little bit and talked about music. The next week, I think, I went over to his house, and we recorded our first song. Ever since then, we'd get together every weekend to make music, and I think our parents are shocked that it turned into something more than they expected."

Of course, Cyrus and Musso don't want to be known as their siblings' brothers, and they've worked hard to distinguish themselves from their famous family members.

"My sister and my dad were doing acting and singing, and Mason's brother was doing acting. ... Making music was something we wanted to do so bad, but we didn't know if we'd be able to get out of their spotlights and do our own thing and be our own individual selves," Cyrus explained. "But it's been cool, because Metro Station ... people have taken to it as our own thing — separate from everything and anyone else."

So far, Metro Station's self-titled 2007 debut has sold more than 87,000 copies in the U.S., and the band has toured with the likes of Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack and Forever the Sickest Kids. This summer, the guys are hoping to pick up even more fans as they hit the road with Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte for a trek that starts July 8 in Chicago.

Metro Station signed a deal with Columbia Records soon after an intern working at the label stumbled upon their MySpace page, Cyrus recalled. The intern told his boss about the guys, and before they knew it, they were on a plane to New York, where they tracked the songs they'd been working on for their debut disc. And while his sister isn't the type to offer words of advice, Cyrus said he's learned a great deal about the music business from his father.

The majority of his life was spent in and around the industry, thanks to his honky-tonkin' pop, Billy Ray Cyrus. His summers were spent on the road with his dad, and over the years, he learned firsthand about the inner workings of what can be a soul-crushing business. He learned that fame can be fleeting — one minute they love you, and the next they've forgotten your name.

"I never had my mind set on being an entertainer in the music business," he explained. "I've been playing my guitar, and I've been on tour with Dad every summer since I was a kid. And I've seen mistakes he's made and the stuff he went through with labels, and I know that the music business is scary."

But that hasn't deterred Metro Station from carrying on and working on new material, some of which they may preview for fans on their summer tour. But will Cyrus ever team up with Miley on a Metro Station track?

"Actually, I'm going to sing on one of the tracks on her next album," he said. "I can't say much about it right now, but we will be collaborating."

• Metro Station's 'Hannah Montana' Connection

• Metro Station
• Miley Cyrus

Metro Station
Photo: MTV News

• Metro Station

New Year's Eve 2009: Performances

• Miley Cyrus
• All Time Low
• The Academy Is...
• Metro Station

MTV.com Exclusive: Metro Station

• Metro Station