Lady Gaga has topped herself once again!

The singer took the stage dressed as her male alter ego, "Joe Calderone", and performed her new hit You and I in full-on drag as she opened for MTV's VMAs tonight. Think she's better looking as a dude?

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MTV

Britney Spears looked totally ravishing in a shiny black Moschino playsuit as she collected her award for Best Pop Video for 'Till the World Ends, and the singer made sure not to forget BF Jason Trawick in her acceptance speech confessing, "Jason, I love you!".

Justin Bieber didn't mention his ladylove Selena Gomez when he nabbed the Moonman for Best Male Video for U Smile, but he thanked "not just God, but Jesus," during his brief speech. "The Biebes" showed up to the awards show with a rather strange date -- a small snake. The jokester told Gomez, who hosted the red carpet pre-show, his pet's name was "Johnson".

The teen power couple sat together throughout the show, with Gomez looking sleek and sexy in a tight low-cut black Julien Macdonald number. No wonder Bieber couldn't keep his hands off her!

Chris Brown was probably the highest celeb at the show -- he performed a cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, while soaring over the crowd connected to cables.

And who got THE best seat in the house tonight? Lucky 17-year-old Patrick Schwarzenegger snagged the choice spot directly behind Lady Gaga and Jay-Z! The budding model wasn't nominated for anything of course, but why not take advantage of the connections?

Get a peek at some exciting pics from tonight's show, after the jump ...