Beyonce And Janet? Gaga And Diddy? A Sneak Peek At VMA Seating

The seat cards at Radio City Music Hall in NYC
Photo: John Shearer

Onstage at New York's Radio City Music Hall, a swarm of headset-wearing technicians lift lights, hammer away at scaffolding, run reams of cable and try very hard not to collide into one another.

It's a performance in its own right, one that's been going on for nearly two weeks now, as the massive Video Music Awards stage has slowly been assembled inside the vaunted venue. Usually, no one but a few tired-eyed directors and producers are watching this all unfold, but today is different: Today, the seats are filled with the biggest stars in the business — Beyoncé, Eminem, 50 Cent, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, to name just a few — watching the VMA set spring to life.

Or, at least their cardboard clones are.

Welcome to seating day at the VMAs, the time when poster boards bearing the names (and photos) of superstar attendees are carefully arranged in Radio City's center aisle to ensure maximum wattage. It's a carefully plotted, downright political exercise — Who gets the front row? Who's next to whom? — and, as always, it leads to some rather amazing things.

Take the cluster of stars seated in row one: Placards bearing the likenesses of Beyoncé and Janet Jackson hold down one end, while "Jennifer's Body" co-stars Adam Brody and Megan Fox anchor the other. Behind them in row two? Oh, just Lady Gaga, Diddy and the members of Green Day.

Old buddies Eminem and 50 Cent are seated next to each other in row three, sharing space with the Kings of Leon. Taylor Swift, Chace Crawford and Kanye West are behind them, and in row five, why, it's "New Moon" stars Lautner and Stewart, sitting next to one another.

A quick look around reveals Pink and Jennifer Lopez squeezed in together, Katy Perry and Gerard Butler rubbing elbows, and — in perhaps the night's most WTF grouping — Shakira, Tracy Morgan and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin sharing armrests (cue the "Astronaut Jones" theme).

Leighton Meester, Jack Black, Paramore and Cobra Starship — they're all accounted for too. Oh, and about 15 rows back? Director Hype Williams, seated next to actress Faye Dunaway.

Like we said, amazing things happen on seating day.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards air live this Sunday, September 13, at 9 p.m. ET, but New York is celebrating the VMAs all week long! Stay tuned for party coverage, concert reports, behind-the-scenes updates and more.