We pretty much wrapped up the summer with one of the biggest parties of the year – the 2019 VMAs! This was the 35th anniversary of the MTV Video Music Awards, and with the history of partial nudity, artist beefs being aired during the show, and iconic artist performances – not to mention hosts completely blowing it – there was a lot on the line.

This year’s awards came to us live from New Jersey, with host comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande were tied for the most nominations with 10 each, but Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish weren’t far behind with 9 and 8 nods, respectively.  Taylor took home the big prize for video of the year but, really, everyone went home happy, as the "big four" all snagged multiple moon men.

The performer line up was HUGE this year - Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello showed off their chemistry onstage with a performance of “Señorita”, The Jonas Brothers returned to the VMAs stage after 11 years, and Taylor celebrated her new album Lover with her first performance since 2015. 

The most exciting part of Monday night’s show was arguable Missy Elliott’s performance. She also accepted the Video Vanguard award and showed off some new music from her surprise album Iconography!

You probably remember that we first met Lauren Alaina when she was a 16-year-old contestant on American Idol, coming in runner up to Scotty McCreery at the end of season 10. 

Well, it’s just been announced she’s coming back to reality TV with the new season of Dancing With The Stars when it launches September 16^th. We don’t know who she’s being paired with yet – we won’t find that out until the first show. What we do know is that, among all the actors, former pro athletes, models, other musicians, and former Press Secretary Sean Spice, who will be the other competitors, Lauren is the most starstruck by Kate Flannery, of The Office, American Housewife, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine fame. She said, "I wanted to win until [Kate Flannery] walked in and then I was like, 'Oh, no, I'm going to vote for her. I literally freaked out. The only other person I remember doing that for was Dolly Parton." 

Um. That’s cool, but around here, we’ll be voting for Lauren. (Ok, and also Ally Brooke, formerly of Fifth Harmony, and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.)

Meet the whole cast here

Hey guys! In honor of #NationalDogDay, so we celebrated with a station full of dog songs – The Twenty: Dog Days – and with a blog post full of some of our favorite viral dog moments!

This has got to be one of my favorite dog videos of all time.

On our Dog Days station, I talk about the dog whose owner teases him about getting a cat. If you haven’t watched, it’s a must see.

There’s also one where a dog gets teased about bacon.

This poor baby.

How about something that jerks on your heartstrings a bit?

I can really relate to this kid.

And to this dog.

This one makes me laugh every time.

We hope you had a Happy National Dog Day! Who are your favorite online dogs? (I mean, besides the dogs of LXL, which you can see in this other dog-themed blog post.) Share in the comments below, and don’t forget to listen to The Twenty: Dog Days on Slacker!

Oh, and give your dog a hug for me.