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When we (rhetorically) asked that very same question last year, we couldn't really come up with any solid reasons why anyone should bother watching a show that was seemingly broadcast direct from some ratty old high-school auditorium. This year, however, there are certainly a few reasons for you to postpone your normal Sunday-night activity of watching True Blood (at least temporarily). For starters, Janet Jackson is set to kick off the night with her highly-anticipated, yet shrouded in secrecy, tribute to her late brother Michael. No one, not even the all-seeing, all-knowing gossipmongers over at TMZ, seems to have any idea exactly what her routine is going to look like, but judging from Janet's past performances on live TV, obviously anything can happen.

While we wish we could say we were fired up to see some of the evening's musical performances (which range from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga to Jay-Z), the other thing that we're most excited to see on Sunday night is the world premiere of the trailer for the exceedingly ghoulish Michael Jackson documentary This Is It. We've heard nothing but glowing reviews thus far of the material that Sony paid $60 million to acquire, but that said, the only people who have seen the footage to date are people who have a fiscal stake in raising the public's interest level in the project. This trailer could go a long way to either heightening the already staggering expectations for the film or knocking them down: We'll have to wait and see which way things go!

And oh, yes, there's the small matter of the host, one Russell Brand. We're well aware that not everyone feels themselves drawn to his particular brand of comedy, but we thought that he did a bang-up job at last year's festivities. Plus, we're kind of excited to see whether he keeps his promise to impregnate Lady Gaga while onstage. Or, if Gaga isn't game, perhaps Sherri Shepherd would do the trick? After all, the two got along famously during Brand's appearance on The View the other day.

2009 MTV VMAs: Burning questions [Envelope/LAT]