The Backstreet Boys with John Norris

Photo: MTV News

Remember the good old days when the Backstreet Boys and ‘NSYNC were battling it out for boy-band supremacy, yet they wanted it to look like there was no rivalry and that things were cool between the two groups? Well, all these years later, the Backstreet Boys finally admit that there was definitely some competition during the late-’90s pop explosion.

“A healthy competition creates this big ball of energy that just doesn’t stop and continues to grow,” Nick Carter said. “Obviously, with ‘NSYNC and with us — we’re allowed to say it now, it’s OK — it was a lot of fun, and it pushed us to be better as a group. I’m sure it pushed them as well. It’s just like [Michael] Jordan and [John] Starks … and the world loves it. We were happy to be a part of it. And we’re still striving to be better.”

“We all fed each other,” Howie Dorough agreed. “Everyone was trying to be on top of their game. … The media sometimes made us out to have a rivalry going on. … There was never any animosity amongst us, but it made for a lot of fun for the fans to get out there and support both sides.”

And it wasn’t just during the fun times that loyal Backstreet Boys fans stood by their sides. The guys recall the time when A.J. McLean used the “Total Request Live” stage to tell the world that he was going into rehab in 2001. He says he chose “TRL” — which ends its 10-year run November 16 — because it was the obvious place for a pop act to go when announcing big news.

“I was definitely happy with that decision,” McLean said. “We had talked about how we were going to approach it. I left it up to the four other guys, ’cause I was going through such turmoil in my head. But I think the reason why we picked ‘TRL’ was because it was our hub. That’s where everything started for us. … What better way to reach the fans? What better place for us to talk to people and be that honest with the situation?

“I still, to this day, have not watched the episode,” he added. “I’ve seen bits and pieces of it, and then when I see Kevin cry, I stop.”

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the guys recall having the power to shut down the center of the Big Apple during a “TRL.” “You used to be able to see out the windows, and then after that, they blacked out the windows and wouldn’t let us go near the windows,” Brian Littrell remembered. “We literally shut down Times Square. I remember it being calmer, then it became crazy.”

The guys will be on hand for the “TRL” finale, where they’ll be performing some fan favorites for the crowd. Nick isn’t ready to see it go. “Sad. This is something that we’ve been a part of since the beginning,” he said. “So many great memories. Why are you taking it off? What’s wrong with you guys? Things have to change.”

The guys are no stranger to change. In 2006, founding member Kevin Richardson left the group, and now the guys are pursuing “new goals.” Dorough said Richardson is in “such a good place right now,” raising a family and pursuing an acting career.

“In the beginning of the tour [this year], we left a gap onstage where Kevin would be, and then it started closing up,” Carter said. “We love him to death. We have to move on. We have new goals and dreams.”

The guys have since released new music and plan to release more next year. They also continue to tour, all with Richardson’s blessing. And despite how weird it still is to not have him around, they have no plans to slow down anytime soon. “We’re the happiest we’ve ever been. We’re all united,” McLean said, and Carter added that this is going to be the beginning of a new era — a fresh start for the guys.

And pop music today is as hot as it was nearly a decade ago, thanks to acts like the Jonas Brothers, and the Backstreet Boys are passing the boy-band torch to their former tourmates. “They opened for us on the ‘Never Gone Tour.’ They’re a talented bunch of kids. They’re growing up fast,” Littrell added. “I don’t feel reluctant to give them advice. I’ll never forget: We were doing a show in Florida with the Temptations, and one of those guys stood up and said, ‘This is show business, and as you’re doing your show, your business could be running out on you.’ I’ll never forget that.”

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Aubrey O’Day

Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

On Tuesday night’s live season-three finale of “Making the Band 4,” Diddy confirmed the rumors that Aubrey O’Day is no longer in Danity Kane. He also kicked out D. Woods, leaving only Aundrea Fimbres, Dawn Richard and Shannon Bex in the group he so carefully put together before our eyes four years ago.

“I would rather be hated every damn day of my life for being real than loved for being something I’m not,” O’Day defiantly told Sway on the special that aired Tuesday night.

Diddy, who spoke to the girls and the audience via satellite, had some advice for tabloid target Aubrey. “Check this out, baby girl,” Diddy said. “See, your attitude is gonna have you in a dark and lonely place. … What you need to do, at the end of the day, is humble yourself.

“I got love for Aubrey. I don’t have any beef with her,” he added. “I just want to work with the young lady that I signed, not the person that fame has made her.”

“I don’t think any of us has been happy for a long time,” admitted D.Woods, who Diddy said had gotten “caught up in the wrath” of Aubrey.

MTV News reached out to a rep for Danity Kane to see where the future of the band stands now that Aubrey and D. Woods are no longer in the group. It’s being reported that D.Woods has plans to work with another group, the Girls Club. O’Day, who recently made her Broadway debut in “Hairspray,” has not announced what she will be doing next.

“Tonight is a representation of the end of a chapter in my life; it’s not the end of the book,” O’Day said in a backstage interview before the finale. “I will do everything possible to make my mark on this industry, and Danity Kane and Puff provided me with this amazing opportunity to go out and really touch people’s hearts. I think the way that we were able to inspire people was something that I will never be able to achieve in that way again in my life.”

On Tuesday, it was also confirmed that there will be another season of “Making the Band.”

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We want to close this era of `TRL’ in a big celebratory way, and 10 is a great number,” Sirulnick said. “And 10 is the number that `TRL’ counted down every single day for 10 years, and we hit this 10th (anniversary) and we thought, `You know what? This feels like the right time and let’s celebrate it and let’s reward it. And let’s let it have a little bit of a rest for a minute.’ Let it catch its breath! Been working hard — for 10 years!”

For the finale, Sirulnick said he hopes to celebrate with many of the “folks who helped make `TRL’ what it is — whether that’s Justin (Timberlake) and his guys in N’Sync, the Backstreet Boys, Britney, Eminem — I think we would love to see all of them here.” That includes former host Carson Daly.

Some of the people who were made famous on the show are expressing their sadness.n a statement, Eminem said: “I’m going to miss `TRL.’ … Where else will I be able to start feuds, defend my honor vigorously and act like an angry teenager on national TV? Oh wait … The VMAs!”

It looks like FNMTV will be the networks new flagship show. From Carson Daly to Pete Wentz what a journey.

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Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Britney Spears and Joe Jonas at the VMAs

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

While the Jonas Brothers didn’t get to introduce Britney Spears at the Video Music Awards as they had hoped, they did get to meet her later on in the night.

The boys, dressed in suits, posed with a smiling multiple-VMA-winning Spears, who was decked out in a shimmery asymmetrical minidress, for a picture together backstage at the show.

The brothers, who didn’t win any awards themselves, told UsMagazine.com before the awards show that they wanted to meet the one and only comeback kid.

“We really hope we get to meet her,” Kevin Jonas told the site following their rehearsal of their new single, “Lovebug,” on a New York City set at Paramount Studios for the VMAs, which aired live from Hollywood on Sunday. “That would be an honor,” Kevin added. His brothers agreed.

“I wanna meet her,” Nick said.

“She was the first CD I ever bought, so it would be cool,” Joe revealed.

“You want to pull for Britney and hope for the best,” Kevin added.

The Jonas Brothers were excited about their first VMA performance. “Everyone dreams of being on the Video Music Awards, so to be here is incredible,” Kevin told Us. “It is always a new experience. Something brand-new.”

After the VMAs, the Jonas Brothers headed off to London for the premiere of their hit Disney movie, “Camp Rock.”

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Image Credited to Nikki Katz

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Britney Spears dedicated her win at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) to her two sons, thanking the boys for “inspiring” her.

The Toxic hitmaker triumphed at Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles, taking home three awards for her Piece of Me promo: Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of The Year.

And when Spears took to the stage to collect her trophy for Best Female Video, she couldn’t resist crediting her children, Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James, with her success.

She told the audience, “I’m speechless. Oh, my goodness, thank you! I first wanna thank God for blessing me like this. My family …my two beautiful boys for inspiring me everyday.”

The star went on to dedicate her two subsequent awards to her longtime manager Larry Rudolph and her fans.

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Lil Wayne

Photo: Paul Morigi/WireImage

Lil Wayne fans are Lil Wayne fans to the 10th power: The dude has a fanatical following. At his headlining shows, the audience members can recount the story behind every one of his many tattoos, tell you the number of diamonds in his teeth and, of course, recite his most obscure underground lyrics. They fervently cheer for his every move onstage, even when he sips from one of his red plastic cups.

The hip-hop world has been screaming for years that Weezy is the hottest MC in the game (he even earned that title in our first “Hottest MCs in the Game” competition, although he slipped to #3 this year, possibly due to the delayed release of his latest LP, Tha Carter III), and of course, that album was the first since 2005 to sell a million copies in a single week. But still, Wayne is not a household name along the lines of a Jay, Kanye, 50 or Eminem. Now Weezy gets the chance to bring his charismatic showmanship to arguably the biggest stage of his career: the MTV Video Music Awards.

Will a memorable performance at the VMAs help catapult Wayne to true superstardom?

“The energy should be his highest ever, now that he’s the #1 dude in the game,” said Datwon Thomas, editor in chief of XXL magazine, which dressed Weezy as an astronaut for its current issue. “It would be kinda cool if he came out in the Moonman suit, like he did for our cover!”

King magazine Editor in Chief Jermaine Hall agreed that the VMAs could be a turning point for Weezy. “[It's] a huge stage for him. He’s under more pressure because it’s the type of show that speaks directly to the consumers that put him over a million,” he said. “It’s a perfect opportunity to break a third single to his audience, or give the T-Pain song ['Got Money'] some more legs, so I imagine his show will be over the top.”

In 2007, Wayne had just a few days’ notice to write a verse for his appearance with Nicole Scherzinger at the VMA preshow, and he’ll also be teaming up with Kid Rock for a performance during this year’s show.

But the big difference this year could be in his stage presence. Wayne has performed so much in the past year, evolving from the spirited rap stallion who ran around the stage with the Hot Boys to the rock-and-roll wizard of swagger we know today.

New York radio host Miss Info has witnessed that transformation. “The learning curve that Weezy is on in terms of his lyricism from then until now was just unreal,” she said. “Or maybe we all missed the potential, because he hadn’t developed a personality big enough to match it. Now … Weezy is able to communicate a total package to his fans. There’s a voice, a delivery, a style, a look and a larger-than-life, not-of-this-planet personality all working together. It’s like a one-man Team Weezy.”

Wayne’s not afraid to appeal to fans of all genres, mastering the art of crossover. One minute he’ll slay hip-hop purists via spontaneous freestyle as metaphors roll off his tongue with precision and fluidity. Then he’ll pick up the guitar and play a whole song.

“Wayne has a rock-star element to his stage show,” Hall said. “He’s probably one of the few MCs who can rock a song a cappella and [have] the audience feel a connection to him. Not comparing him to [Mick] Jagger or any of those dudes, but those rock dudes can tell the band to chill, and rock a solo, and the audience throws a lighter in the air and enjoys it all the same … old or new song.”

Thomas agreed that Weezy gives something extra with each performance: “He isn’t just rapping to the crowd; he is performing his song for them. Facial expressions, vocal inflections and the like help him convey his outer-space lyrics to us mere mortals.”

Wayne’s otherworldly unpredictability will be key during this year’s VMAs. Everyone will want to know if he can condense his skills into a mini-set that we’ll remember five years from now. Given his diverse arsenal of techniques to kill the crowd, it seems very likely that he can. And let’s not forget, there are so many records on Tha Carter III that a national television audience has never seen him perform, he’ll have plenty of choices — from the frenetic “Phone Home” to the pensive “Tie My Hands.”

No matter what Wayne has planned for the night, some people would like to see him go off script. “There are the iconic [awards show] moments that are meticulously planned and flawlessly executed,” Miss Info said, “and then there are the iconic moments that result from genius and chaos (rest in peace, ODB). The best Lil Wayne moment would be a spontaneous rejection of what has been meticulously planned. Weezy is already booked to perform, and his set has already been planned, so that’s half of the winning formula right there. Can’t wait for showtime.”

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“There’s a lot of virginity and lesbianism going on at the [VMAs],” MTV Video Music Awards host, comedian Russell Brand, told reporters Thursday.

Katy Perry will sing “Like a Virgin” at the awards. But the Jonas Brothers are ”God’s favorite virgins,” Russell joked.

A few other sneak peeks from the VMAs:

• Christina Aguilera will perform her new single “Keeps Getting Better.”
• T.I. will debut a new song with Rihanna.
• Kanye West will close the show.

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