The Video Music Awards are a celebration of the best music video work that musicians and technical personnel have to offer. They’re also a live event attended by more than a few outsized personalities, all interacting with each other in close proximity. Part of what makes the event so exciting to us is the tension that proximity creates. Sometimes, though, it boils over past professional rivalry into personal beef.

With that in mind, here is a look back at the ten most memorable VMA fights. Will anyone get into it this year? (Pitbull and Lindsay Lohan?) We’ll be tuning in to MTV on Sunday at 9 p.m. to find out.

[Images: Getty Images]

Miley Cyrus has been catching some flak for her cover of Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Friday night in Ecuador. But the criticisms aren’t really about her rendition—which was not great, but not terrible, and let’s remember that the audio quality is pretty low—but about the difference between what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” means to Miley Cyrus and what it means to those who were alive when the song was recorded. Miley has said that Kurt Cobain is her “dream boyfriend” but there’s no indication that she sees much of a difference between him and, say, Bret Michaels, with whom she recorded an unreleased rendition of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.”

And so what? News flash, Generation X: Kurt Cobain isn’t ours anymore. He entered the pop imagination almost twenty years ago. Learn to share. (At the same time, that doesn’t mean you have to like the covers.)

In that spirit, here are the ten most notable reimaginings of the classic Nirvana single, in chronological order. Classic? Misguided? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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Are children ages 5-12 desperate to be introduced to hair-metal ballads that are decades older than they are? Kidz Bop, the now-venerable series of age-appropriate kid-chorus cover compilations, hopes so: May 17 will see the release of Kidz Bop Sings Monster Ballads. Life As I Know It‘s own Bret Michaels and his daughters Raine and Jorja have recorded what will likely be the jewel of this volume: a re-recording of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” which Michaels originally sang with Poison in 1988, and which was previously anthologized on Monster Ballads: Platinum Edition. This time around, his daughters take the lead, with Bret on guitar. [click to continue…]

In what is surely the greatest combination of flavors since you got YOUR chocolate in MY peanut butter, two of your favorite Celebreality superstars just made some sweet music together. Literally.

TMZ reports that Flavor of Love star Flavor Flav joined Rock of Love star Bret Michaels on-stage in Dubuque, Iowa (of all the places!), for a killer version of Public Enemy’s 1990 Top 40 smash, “911 Is A Joke.” As you’ll see from the (admittedly crappy*) video above, Flav started the jawn off a capella style, but then Bret and his band joined in with some ferocious instrumental backing, at which point everyone in the audience got up and then got, got down.

What do you guys think? Should Flav and Bret go out on tour together? Or should they stick to romancin’ the ladies?

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Hit our chat via your social network of choice and discuss this week’s episode with other fans.

Hit our chat via your social network of choice and discuss this week’s episode with other fans.

Have you ever wondered what happens to groupies when they get to be too old to stay on the road? Well, as you might expect, the transition from backstage to old age is not always a pleasant one. However, thanks to Bret Michaels and his new charity effort, Groupie Love, all of the Backstage Bettys out there now have a supportive, nurturing environment to settle down in. Can you find it in your heart of hearts to help the cause?

Only kidding, of course! The clip you just watched is an EXCLUSIVE sneak preview of some of the fun that’s to come at tonight’s 2010 Do Something Awards. Don’t forget to tune in tonight at 9/8c! Oh yeah, one last thing. If you decide to tweet about the show tonight, remember to use the hashtag #DSAwards. Enjoy the show tonight!

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As previously announced, Bret Michaels will star in his own candid reality series, Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It starting in the fall (a special sneak-peek premiere will hit the air Monday, May 31 at 10/9c). Pictured above is Bret with the family that the show will examine (his daughters Raine Michaels and Jorja Michaels, as well as their mother, Kristi Gibson). Bret will talk about the series (as well as his brain hemorrhage) on The Oprah Winfrey Show today, and we’ll be posting clips from Life As I Know It tomorrow.

No wonder Donald Trump was so vocal in the hours and days following Bret Michaels‘s brain hemorrhage last month. On last night’s penultimate episode of their Celebrity Apprentice franchise, it was revealed that Bret Michaels will square off against former 21 Jump Street star Holly Robinson-Peete in the show’s finale (which airs this Sunday, May 23). And now, People magazine is reporting that Michaels is “hoping to attend” the live taping of the program this weekend. Based on some of the early reactions to the special blend of Trop-A-Rocka Snapple that he concocted during last night’s episode (see above), it might be a tough road for Michaels to take home the title. But after witnessing the tremendous fight that Bret has exhibited over the last few weeks, one thing is for certain: Don’t bet against him.

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Bret Michaels is set to headline his fourth VH1 reality series with Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It. Instead of a competition show chronicling his search for love, Life As I Know It will share Bret’s life. A special preview will air Monday, May 31 at 10/9c, and the full series is set to follow in the fall. Details are in the press release below!

VH1, 51 Minds and Bret Michaels are teaming up again for the new docu- series Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It, giving viewers an insider’s look at Bret’s home life when he isn’t touring, shooting, partying and rocking out. After the lights have dimmed on stage and the music stops for the night, Bret rolls off the tour bus right into the loving arms of his daughters Raine and Jorja, who affectionately refer to him as “Poppa Rocka.” The half-hour special will premiere Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st at 10PM ET/PT followed by the series premiere of Dad Camp at 10:30PM ET/PT. The series Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It is tentatively scheduled to premiere in Fall 2010.

“After Bret’s recent appendectomy and life-threatening brain hemorrhage, we’re so happy that he is on the road to recovery and coming back to VH1 in Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Production. “Bret is family to us and has always been a huge hit on the network, headlining several series and specials that have garnered record-breaking ratings and made a strong connection with our audience. We have temporarily halted production on the series with Bret’s health as our primary concern. Production will resume when it is cleared by his doctors. If anyone can fight off illness and get back on his feet, it’s Bret. But in the meantime, in response to the flood of well wishes the network has received from Bret’s fans, we’d like to celebrate Bret’s recovery with this sneak peek special featuring the next chapter in Bret’s story on VH1. It’s a never-before-seen look into Bret’s family life — the real center of his world from which he draws his unsinkable strength.”

In this first-look special and the forthcoming series, viewers will not only get a taste of Bret’s life on the road, but for the first time ever, a look at his home life, a sprawling compound where his daughters and their mother, Kristi Gibson, reside. But raising two little girls and being a rock icon don’t always go hand-in-hand. Now fans get to take a peek at what keeps Bret going. Is it the hoards of wild fans, the glory of super stardom, or is it the unconditional love from his family? Watch as Bret juggles life on the road, his career, raising two kids and managing his on again off again relationship with their beautiful mom, Kristi. Tune in Memorial Day night for a first-look sneak peek into the next chapter of Bret’s life.

Bret also has a new album Custom Built coming out June 8 featuring the hit single “Nothing to Lose” with Miley Cyrus and a remake of Sublime’s “What I Got.”

[Image via Getty]