Lady Gaga Dedicates VMAs Performance to Her Fans: Inside the Afterparties

Despite the recession, there was no shortage of VMAs afterparties in New York City last night. In fact, many of the show's biggest names converged on a four-block radius surrounding 14th Street and 10th avenue, the same area where Courtney Love played an impromptu set on Saturday night for designer Alex Wang at a Fashion Week party held at the corner gas station.

2009 VMAs: relive the night's big moments, in photos.

But on Sunday night, it was all about Lady Gaga turning heads in her umpteenth costume change of the night (we lost count after five). Arriving at Avenue in a limo with bestie Perez Hilton, the Best New Artist winner incited a mad crush of autograph seekers. Wearing an all-white ensemble (sans underwear) that she described as "Minnie Mouse's wedding," Gaga dedicated the evening's dramatic performance of "Paparazzi" to her fans. "I wanted to say something honest and real and not just give a performance where I was jacking off on stage the whole time about my record," she said. "It was really for my fans, who I knew would be at home cheering and swooning." Inside the club, Gaga was joined by Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Keri Hilson, Kristin Cavalleri and Soulja Boy.

Get an eyeful of Lady Gaga's zaniest outfits.

Around the corner at 1 Oak, MTV.com reports that a verbal scuffle went down between Diddy and his posse and security personnel, which was resolved without incident. Just after midnight, a logjam of people had practically blocked off 17th Street, while inside Jay Z, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake held court in the VIP section.

A few blocks away, Warner Music Group hosted its own post-show soiree at Abe & Arthur's. Green Day along with members of 3OH!3 and All-American Rejects were early arrivals (the Rejects' Tyson Ritter still covered in glitter) in what quickly turned into a crowded scene.

Meanwhile, downtown, Pete Wentz hosted friends of Fall Out Boy at his own East Village bar, Angels & Kings. Members of Cobra Starship were in attendance, with singer Gabe Saporta dancing away, clearly pleased with his own VMA appearance. Earlier on the VMA red carpet, Saporta told RS he wanted Taylor Swift to be his good girl goes bad for the night. As of 3 a.m., it didn't look like that fantasy had materialized. Then again, Swift had other things on her mind.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

More Song Stories entries »

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