Britney Spears in "Piece of Me"

We asked for your help, and you did not disappoint. You voted in record numbers, whittling the list of Moonman hopefuls for Best Male Video and Best Female Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards down to the final five, as the nominees were revealed Friday (July 25).

After thousands of votes on VMA.MTV.com (along with ballots from select industry insiders), two diverse battles are set. A pair of legendary pop icons will square off against two relative newcomers and one wily underdog in the fight for Best Female Video. Pop queen Britney Spears takes another step on the comeback trail as her "Piece of Me" grabs a nomination, while Mariah Carey will try to end her VMA dry spell with "Touch My Body." "American Idol" champ Jordin Sparks scores a nomination for her Chris Brown collaboration "No Air," and Rihanna is in the running as well with "Take a Bow." Quirky long shot Katy Perry rounds out the Best Female race with her cheeky summer anthem "I Kissed a Girl."

Meanwhile, hip-hop's hot streak continues in the Best Male Video category as two of the hottest MCs in the game face off against some of R&B's leading men. Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" exploded this year, so it's no surprise that he's in the running, along with T.I., whose "No Matter What" chronicles his struggles over the past year. Chris Brown and Usher made the list with "With You" and "Love in This Club" respectively, and Flo Rida is in the mix with "Low."

Of course, when one door closes, another opens, my friends — voting in two other categories is now officially open at VMA.MTV.com. Hundreds of hopefuls will now duke it out in the Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Pop Video categories! The nominees will be announced on next Friday's installment of "FNMTV." After that, two more rounds of voting remain to determine the nominees for Best Dancing in a Video, Best New Artist, Best Rock Video and the highly coveted Video of the Year.

The 25th VMAs will take place at the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood on September 7. The Jonas Brothers are confirmed to perform, and British funnyman and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" co-star Russell Brand was just announced as the show's host.

• You're In Control Of This Year's VMAs

• Britney Spears
• Mariah Carey
• Jordin Sparks
• Rihanna
• Katy Perry
• Lil Wayne
• T.I.
• Chris Brown
• Usher
• Flo Rida

Lil Wayne and T-Pain in "Got Money"
Photo: Universal Motown Records

Cash Money Millionaire Lil Wayne always has the dough, but in his new video for "Got Money," he's giving back to the community — just not with his own moolah.

Based loosely on Spike Lee's "Inside Man," Weezy is practically a modern-day Robin Hood as he plays one of the masterminds of a bank heist in which he and his team plan to give the loot to the citizens in his New Orleans hometown as compensation for what they lost because of Hurricane Katrina.

Toward the beginning of the clip, Weezy and his model-looking accomplices storm the bank and strong-arm the establishment. While the workers empty the vaults, Wayne makes it rain, letting his hostages get some of the greenbacks. During the performance scenes, Wayne's collaborator T-Pain joins in, wearing a T-shirt that says "He Sings ... ," while Wayne's shirt reads "He Raps ... ." And there are a bunch of other guests, such as Ray J, but we won't spoil the surprise.

We can give away that Wayne's artist Mack Mane (remember when Wayne says, "Mack, I'm going in," at the beginning of "A Milli"?) raps the last verse, making the TV version a remix of sorts. The video debuts Monday on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Jams, MTV Hits and MTV.com, with airings all day starting at 6 a.m. ET.

The N.O. Fireman hasn't just been showing up on his own music-video sets. He recently completed clips with David Banner for "Shawty Say" and the Game for "My Life." The latter finds Wayne and his West Coast homey doing some soul-searching in a graveyard, among other places.

• Sneak Peek Of Lil Wayne's 'Got Money' Video!

• Lil Wayne
• T-Pain

Rick Ross
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

Rick Ross says he's laughing at the bloggers. Well, some bloggers certainly are taking liberties with the Miami MC's recent corrections-officer scandal .

Since TheSmokingGun.com reported earlier this week that the rapper was once a prison guard, some people have been posting Photoshopped pictures of Ross on various police-movie posters. There's Ross' head on RoboCop's body, Ross' head replacing Martin Lawrence on a fake "Big Momma's House" poster, Ross' face replacing Sylvester Stallone's on a faux "Cop Land" poster — you get the picture (no pun intended). Meanwhile, the message boards have been heating up with talk of rap's Biggest Boss. Some people are confused, while some have vilified him.

This is the same guy whose music they were pumping just two weeks ago. His music is still just as banging as it was prior to this scandal, and from the two freestyles he just dropped, his skills have not diminished. So the question is: With so many people having bought into Ross' 'hood-legend persona, has this dance in the rumor mill created a rift between Ross and his fans that can't be patched up?

"I think real n---as won't think so," the Clipse's Malice said a couple of days ago in New York when asked if this episode will hurt Ross' credibility. "That don't mean what he's talking about [in his rhymes] ain't true. The thing I wish is he came clean, if in fact that is him [in the photos]. 'Cause you ain't gotta make no excuses for whatever you did. You might have thought differently at one point in time. I don't think that should discredit that man."

"I'm not even going to go that far into it," said Mal's brother, Pusha T. "I don't know what it's gonna do to him, what it can or what it should do to him. I know the hip-hop community has given passes for much [worse]."

Fabolous suggested that his Def Jam labelmate keep making hits and not to let the banter get to him.

"I don't know if it will really hurt him," Fab said on the set of Ryan Leslie's "Addicted" video. "As an artist, I think Rick Ross makes great music. He's always shown me love and respect whenever I met him. Everybody has a past. I don't know if [being a prison guard] is his past or not. That's not my place to say. I think if he continues to do what he does, sweep all that garbage under the rug — you know what? That's success. That's success taking a shot back at him. All of a sudden past pictures come up. He should just keep doing what he do."

Maino, on the other hand, wasn't as forgiving. During a recent listening session for his album, he gave his opinion on Ross. (The footage was posted on Blogxilla.com.)

"I'm disappointed," the Brooklyn MC said when asked about Ross. "I'm really disappointed. I pride myself on being 100 percent who I am. If I went to college and had a job before, I would just say that. ... Him, in my opinion, I just think he should have just addressed it. ... 'Look, man. I was 19. It was a part of my life. ... I got to the coke later.'

"I don't have a problem with what he was doing before the rap game," Maino added. "That ain't my beef with him. The thing is, he was denying he was doing it. He said [the pictures] was Photoshopped and wasn't real."

Fat Joe didn't speculate on the authenticity of the pictures, but he did give a little insight into Ross the person. "He's a great dude. He's my friend," Joe said. "We'll just wait to see what [else] he has to say about it."

In n videotaped interview that recently hit the Web, Rick Ross denied ever being a prison guard.

• Fabolous And The Clipse Address Rick Ross Rumors

• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Clipse
• Maino
• Fabolous

Britney Spears (file)
Photo: Chris Wolf/FilmMagic.com

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's custody settlement is final, according to TMZ.com.

Under the settlement, which was filed Friday (July 25) in L.A. County Superior Court, Spears must pay $250,000 in Federline's legal fees. Also, Federline will get $20,000 a month for child support, up from his previous $15,000. The agreement doesn't mention visitation, TMZ reported.

On July 17, Spears agreed to give Federline sole legal and physical custody of their two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, while she would retain visitation rights. Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told E! News last week that the agreement had been signed by all parties but still needed to be approved by the court.

TMZ says Spears will have three days and one night a week with her sons, with more visitation possible in the future. The singer has only been allowed monitored visits with her children since late February, following her multiple hospitalizations. She was recently granted the right to have one overnight visit a week as well.

According to E!, the Federline camp credited Spears' father, Jamie — who was appointed the co-conservator of his daughter's estate in February — for helping to get the troubled 26-year-old singer back on the right path. The conservatorship is up for review at the end of July, at which point a court commissioner will decide whether to make the arrangement permanent. Kaplan said that there is language in the custody agreement that anticipates a possible end to the conservatorship, but he couldn't discuss what those terms are. "Nobody can predict what the future will bring, but ... to the extent possible, I think we have really anticipated how to proceed," he said.

• Britney Spears
• Kevin Federline

Photo: MTV News

• Kanye West

Jan Bender on "In Their Boots"
Photo: MTV News

A lot of young veterans feel lost when they return home from a war zone. They've often been trained for very specific combat jobs, which don't always translate well to civilian life.

But one 25-year-old former Marine, who was trained to cover fierce firefights in Iraq as a combat correspondent, has found an equally compelling calling as a civilian: He's telling war-related stories that are happening right here at home while the combat continues to rage in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The parallels between this job and what I did as a combat correspondent are pretty strong," said Jan Bender in the Culver City, California, studio where he hosts "In Their Boots." The live, interactive Web show combines documentary-style stories about veterans who have returned home, families left behind by loved ones who are deployed and an interactive Web chat with the people featured, as well as experts on the issues and questions from the Internet audience.

"I'm still dealing with service members and their families, but also vets that have already stepped out of uniform," Bender said. "We're just kind of a little different angle. Whereas before I was talking about everything that it took to build up to prepare to go to war, now I'm dealing with those who have gone to war, come home and maybe have issues because of that or dealing with struggles."

If Jan looks familiar, that's because we first met him on "MTV News Presents: Iraq Uploaded" when he spoke to us about the footage he shot of the battle of Fallujah back in 2004. (If you've seen any footage of that grueling fight, chances are Jan filmed some of it.) But he said he considers his work here to be just as vital.

"When you watch the news you hear '13 dead in Baghdad' or 'Seven injured in Fallujah,' but that's where people lose track of the story," Bender said. "So what happened to those seven injured? What happened to those families? How does that translate in America, to populace here? We're just trying to raise those stories up — and not just stories about death and the people who are injured, but people that are just changed, maybe even in positive ways."

With the help a team of talented editors and producers, Bender has done three live episodes of the show and is planning on continuing the weekly broadcasts until at least the end of the year. The show aims to be non-partisan, and it largely achieves that goal. The project was, however, organized by the Brave New Foundation, a political organization that has released so-called "attack videos" against Republican politicians and members of President Bush's cabinet. Bender remains adamant that the show is about people and not politics.

"We're not here to debate about the war," he said. "I think everyone else is doing a fine job at tearing the argument at the seams and trying to figure out who is wrong and who is right. We're looking at the challenges and the hardships and the struggles and the triumphs they experience from having served, or loving someone who served, or supporting someone who served in these conflicts."

And who better to tell those stories than a young man who was there? In fact, the show didn't recruit Bender — who looks the part of a rugged former-Marine-turned-television-host — he found it ... by applying to be an intern!

"I was a junior at Ball State University looking for a summer internship and I ran into the producers," Bender said. "One thing led to another, and then they decided I'd be the best man for the job!"

"He was perfect," said producer Amanda Spain. "We couldn't have asked for anyone better. I had a whole list of people to call, and then we met him. And since he's a veteran, other vets really open up to him in ways they won't with me."

For his part, Bender is still getting used to being the face of the show. "I've never had that much desire to be on this side of the camera," he said. "I just love telling stories."

And so far, he seems to be adjusting to the bright lights and hi-def cameras pretty well. His Marine Corps buddies? Well ...

"The Marines that I served with are gonna bust my b---s about this pretty hard," he said. "They always thought it was funny that I was a camera guy in the Marines to begin with, but I'm prepared to take the bashings."

"In Their Boots" broadcasts live Wednesdays at 7 p.m. ET. You can also watch previous episodes on the Web site.

• Jan Bender Helps Tell His Fellow Vets' Stories

Game on the set of his "My Life" video shoot
Photo: Willie T.

No more speculation necessary: The Game says he wasn't taking a shot at Eminem in a recently leaked track.

After a version of the L.A.X. song "My Life" hit the Web on Wednesday night, fans were confused by some lyrics that seemed to be aimed at Slim Shady: "All the pictures of me and Em, I burned them/ So there ain't no proof I walked through 8 Mile/ And so since it ain't no Proof, I'll never walk through 8 Mile."

The Compton rapper explained himself with a statement on Thursday afternoon (July 24). "When I originally wrote the song 'My Life,' I was trying to think back on events that affected my life and how they changed me," Game said. "When I first got signed to Aftermath and G-Unit, I was exposed to so many different people — from Dre to Em to 50 to Proof. I always identified with Proof. We were always cool, and he would reach out to me whenever I was going through something. I remember when Proof died vividly, and now every time I think about going to Detroit, I get depressed. That is what I was trying to say in that verse. And the more I looked at it, I realized that people would take it the wrong way."

Game went on in his statement to say that the references to Em and Proof have been taken out of the song. True to his word, a new version of "My Life" surfaced Thursday with new lyrics: "I ain't no preacher, but here's my Erick Sermon/ So eat this black music and tell me how it taste now/ And f--- Jesse Jackson because it ain't about race now."

"I decided to change it so that this bullsh-- wouldn't happen, and now it's happened anyway," Game continued in his statement. "For the record, this is not the version on my album, this is not the version that radio will get, and this is not the version that I just shot the video to. Furthermore, I apologize to anyone who took this the wrong way as that was never my intention."

Game and Lil Wayne have indeed finished the video for "My Life." Game and Travis Barker also have a video for "Dope Boys" that should be hitting soon. L.A.X. is due August 26.

• The Game, Lil Wayne And Young Buck On The 'My Life' Video Set

• The Game
• Eminem

Russell Brand
Photo: Claire Greenway/ Getty Images

Chris Rock, Jack Black, Jamie Foxx and Russell Brand ... yeah, Russell Brand!

The British comedian will take the reigns as host when the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards air live from Los Angeles on September 7.

Brand's big Stateside break came earlier this year, in his scene-stealing role as Brit rocker Aldous Snow in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." He recently did some standup work in Los Angeles, and next up he'll star alongside Adam Sandler in "Bedtime Stories."

"I am proud to be hosting the MTV VMAs," Brand said. "I'm going to celebrate by doing lesbian kisses with both Britney and Madonna, and I'll be giving Michael Jackson a special award to celebrate his birthday — which, coincidentally, is also a lesbian kiss."

He may be new to U.S. audiences, but Brand's a major comedy star in his native England, building a following with his stand-up and parlaying that success to various hosting and acting gigs. He's also found success as an author, columnist and radio host.

The VMA stint won't be Brand's first MTV paycheck — he's hosted various shows on MTV UK over the years. He's also played big stages before, hosting the Brit Awards in 2007 and the NME Awards in 2006, and appearing at the UK leg of the Live Earth concerts at London's Wembley Stadium.

Brand now joins a list of VMA hosts that includes acclaimed comedians (Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy), music moguls (Sean "Diddy" Combs), Oscar winners (Jamie Foxx) and, well, Christian Slater.

(Head here for an opinionated take on Brand's career.)

The VMAs air live from the Paramount Pictures Studios at 9 p.m. ET on September 7. The night begins with MTV News' live red carpet preshow at 8 p.m.

Scrabulous game on Facebook
Photo: Scrabulous

As the Facebook phenomenon continues to tighten its grip on the social-networking universe, new applications are popping up more quickly than cheesy videos on your FunWall. So far, movie quotes, popular board games, even excerpts from books have all danced around potential copyright infringement, but after a year of heavy usage, one application has finally been challenged.

Scrabulous — one of the most highly used Facebook applications, boasting an average of more than a half-million daily users — is under legal fire from Hasbro and Mattel, both of whom hold copyrights to the popular board game Scrabble.

The possibility of a lawsuit has loomed since January, when Hasbro threatened to sue creators Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla. On Thursday, Hasbro moved forward with its threat, arguing in its suit that the application is an infringement upon Scrabble intellectual property.

Supporters of the wildly popular game argue that Scrabulous helps, not hurts, the Scrabble franchise by exposing more people to the game itself and have even gone so far as to create a Save Scrabulous application.

Vidya Wang, a supporter of Scrabulous, said, "I have bought tons of Hasbro original products, for myself and my students, friends and relatives, because of the free marketing done by people like the brothers who built Scrabulous."

The Save Scrabulous application lets users sign a petition stating they will not buy Scrabble if the suit follows through and that they will encourage their friends to do the same. So far, the app has more than 600 users.

Now that Facebook's popularity has become common knowledge, is this just the first of many applications that may be shut down due to legal issues? Let us know in the comment section.

Mandy Jiroux and Miley Cyrus in their YouTube clip
Photo: YouTube

Is Miley Cyrus feeling a little pressure to hang on to her pop-princess crown?

As Disney continues to churn out young stars with Miley-size aspirations, the adolescent landscape is dotted with hopefuls eager to be the answer to the question: "Who will be the next Miley?"

Two of Disney's newest stars and front-runners for the tween-queen crown — 15-year-old "Camp Rock" star Demi Lovato and her 16-year-old best friend, Selena Gomez — have reached out to their fans via a YouTube channel, creating a video featuring the pair chatting about typical teen fodder, ranging from makeup and cosmetic dentistry to Selena's "Power Rangers" T-shirt.

And while Demi and Selena's video is a big hit on the Internet, garnering more than 3 million views to date, it seems as if Miley isn't much of a fan. She's taken the battle for teen-pop supremacy into her own hands, creating a YouTube response video. The video, featuring Cyrus and her 22-year-old friend Mandy Jiroux, mocks Miley's fellow Disney stars.

The response includes scenes of Miley and Mandy interspersed throughout Demi and Selena's video, resulting in close to five minutes of the "Hannah Montana" star and her sidekick mimicking Demi and Selena nearly word for word on everything from the (now-removed) gap in Demi's teeth to her choice of all-black attire.

But the blows aren't limited to verbal punches; Miley goes so far as to wear a "Ninja Turtles" tee, an obvious jab at the "Power Rangers" shirt Selena dons in her video. The outcome is a not-so-subtle spoof of the Miley wannabes. The video closes with a graphic that reads: "Parody of: Demi Lovato & Selena Gomez! Check out our friends' YouTube!!!!! XOXOXO M & M," clearing up any questions as to who the video's targets are.

Miley isn't the only celeb to take her feud viral: Ice-T and Soulja Boy Tell'em recently exchanged harsh words via YouTube as well.

• Meet The Heiresses To Miley Cyrus' Throne

• Miley Cyrus