Sunday, September 13 at 9PM ET
Hosted by: Russell Brand

Location: New York, NY

After a number of years out wandering around the country, the MTV Video Music Awards are coming home to New York! The retaking of Manhattan will take place on Sunday, September 13, 2009, and mark these words: this city will never be the same again.

Call it a takeover, if you will, because the 2009 VMAs will have performances staged all over Manhattan including in the storied Radio City Music Hall where we popped our Moonman cherry way back in 1984. After that one, we were surprised they'd have us back, but they did. So did New York City. In fact, 2009 will mark the 14th time that Gotham will serve as the backdrop for the VMAs.

Our VMA homecoming also marks the return of Russell Brand, who will host the show for a second year in a row. That's right. The same Russell Brand who pulled an unwitting Britney Spears into a golf cart after her third VMA win and whisked her away to watch Kanye West in the final performance of the night. Brand also managed to freak out Jonas Brothers fans everywhere when he got all sorts of nasty discussing the Jo Bros' purity rings. He's funny.

But no homecoming would be complete, even with great jokes, without reminiscing and celebrating MTV's historic past. So, MTV royalty Janet Jackson will kick off this year's VMAs with a musical tribute to the life and career of her brother Michael Jackson. The man who helped shape MTV from the beginning and provided many memorable VMA moments, of course, deserves to be honored at the top of the show.

It might be hard to follow up a tribute to one of the greatest performers of our generation by his iconic sister, but a couple of New York City's hometown heroes will do their best. Providing the soundtrack for the VMA's triumphant return are acclaimed rapper Jay-Z and international pop phenom Lady Gaga.

And if you think viewers will get hyped for Lady Gaga and Jay, just wait until Sasha Fierce takes the stage. That's right, Beyoncé Knowles will be joining hubby Jay-Z on the performers list.

You already know Green Day, P!nk, Taylor Swift and Muse are lined up to rock the VMA stage. Now, rapper Wale and legendary go-go band UCB have been tapped as the show's official house band. They'll be collaborating throughout the night with artists like The All-American Rejects, Pitbull and 3OH!3 to put his unique spin on the biggest songs of the year. Whew! That's a lot of star power.

But don't let the excitement over the performances eclipse the Moonmen! After all, the awards are the reason for this yearly extravaganza. This year we will be handing out statues for classic categories like Best Female Video and Video of the Year. We also threw some new categories into the nominee mix like Best Breakthrough Video and Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman).

You see, the MTV Video Music Awards is nothing short of the most musically driven, celebrity-packed, insanely thrilling and, ultimately, the most-talked about awards show on television. Hands down. You can't beat this one. People have tried, but they've failed miserably. There's a reason this is the party to attend, no matter where we throw it. It's flat out awesome.

Mark it on your calendars so you don't miss a single memorable moment live on Sunday, September 13 at 9PM ET on MuchMusic.