Lil Wayne, Green Day Release Albums; 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Air Thursday!

Welcome to Buzzworthy's "The Week In Pop," where we round up new album releases, talk show musical guests, and TV performances by your favorite pop stars and more (so you don't have to).

You guys, it's VMA week!! We're sure you iCal'd it, set a Siri reminder, and canceled any possible plans for Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. E.T./P.T. Performers include Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, Pink, Alicia Keys, One Direction, and Green Day. Speaking of which, a couple VMA notables are releasing albums this week.VMA veterans and 2012 performers Green Day drop a career-spanning box set, andImagine Dragons, who areVMA-nominated for "Best Rock Video"for "It's Time,"release their debut full-length album. Meanwhile, Best Video With a Message nominee Lil Wayne drops his long-delayed Dedication 4mixtape, and two-time nominee Big! Sean readies his Detroitmixtape in advance of his high-profile guest spot on G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer. Matchbox Twenty return with their fourth full-length studio album,North, while Cat Power, Animal Collectiveand Starsunveil new material as well.

NEW ALBUM RELEASES

+ Lil Wayne,Dedication 4 mixtape: Weezy's given us a few reasons for why he's delayed the release of his Dedication 4mixtape, from not wanting to drop it the week his friend 2 Chainz droppedBased On A T.R.U. Story, to admitting in avideo that it wasn't quite done:"I've been skating and s***, falling and breaking s***... But I give it to you like next week." His mixtape collaborator DJ Dramatweeted, "Sep.3rd. #D4....."And finally, it's here.Nicki Minajguests, along with remixes of2 Chainz"No Lie,"Ca$h Out's "Cashin' Out,"Chief Keef's "I Don't Like," andMeek MillandBig Sean's "Burn."

+ Green Day,The Studio Albums 1990-2009: Green Day have been ridic busy this year. Aside from their epic plan to release three albums -- Uno!, Dos!and Tr! -- in the next five months and producing two documentaries AND an Angry Birds game in conjunction with the trilogy, they've readied a career-spanning release.The box set contains every single full-length CD Green Day has put out to date (that's eight albums), from their 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours1990 debut on through 2009's21st Century Breakdown. The set is available starting Tuesday, exclusively through Best Buy.

+Imagine Dragons,Night Visions: If the Las Vegas band's uplifting hit "It's Time" from their fourth EPContinued Silenceis any indication of things to come, Imagine Dragons are about to have THEIR time in an increasingly growing spotlight. After releasing a series of popular EPs, the VMA nominees and PUSH artists (check out the PUSH Live version of ! "It's Ti me") unveil their debut LP this week. The positive, hopeful vibes of their hit single continue on songs such as "On Top Of The World" with its infectious hand-clapped rhythms; it will be featured in the game FIFA 2013.

Check out more new album releases and upcoming TV appearances and performances after the jump.

+ Big Sean,Detroitmixtape: Named after the city he calls home, Big Sean releases Detroit on Wednesday. The set comes as a precursor to his as-yet untitled sophomore album and his appearance on G.O.O.D. Music'sCruel Summer, which drops Sept. 18. "I wanted to give u guys this mixtape I have on deck, I feel now is the perfect time for it, I wanted to make sure my album was pretty much done before i gave u a mixtape," he tweeted. "Its a completely different set of songs from my album n from the GOOD compilation."He also teased a cool snippet of the '70s soul-buoyed mixtape song, "How It Feel."

+Matchbox Twenty,North: While they did put out greatest hits set,Exile on Mainstream,five years ago, it's really been a decade since the group dropped a studio full-length with all new songs.Northmarks the group's return to new material, and while it's been a while, they sound like not a day has passed between them. Check out the video for their first single, the poppy "She's So Mean," which seems to be about a dysfunctional relationship with a pretty (albeit destructive) woman. On the other side of the spectrum is the ballad "Overjoyed," which heralds being in love.

+ Animal Collective,Centipede Hz: The follow-up to their Top 2! 0-charti ngMerriweather Post Pavilion,Avey Tare and Panda Bear et al. return with the sonically adventurous and schizophrenic stylings ofCentipede Hz. Rhythms percolate and electronic sounds swirl and skitter about on "Today's Supernatural" before giving way to a chorus begging to be shouted along. "Wide Eyed" sounds like what could be a UFO starting its engines before fading into a watery, trippy collage, and "Applesauce" bounces with its polyrhythms.

+Cat Power,Sun: Chan Marshall, the woman behind the Cat Power moniker, drops her first album of new songs in six years. After making her excellent soul-and-blues-inflectedThe Greatest,she apparently went through some financial trauma and was hospitalized reportedly for alcohol abuse, which likely fueled some of her near-legendary erratic behavior at live shows. For her new effort, she's back in control: writing, performing, and producingSun. She emerges for the better, sounding confident and buoyed with the addition of electronic touches and synths, such as on "Real Life" and "3, 6, 9."

+ Stars,The North: Now that the Broken Social Scene collective has disbanded, its various members' bands are a good way to get your fix, such as through Metric and Stars. The Montreal pop band's sixth full-length album features the infectious vocal interplay of Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell. The Millan-led bouncy pop of"Backlines," the lush, dancy "Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It", and the crushing romanticism of "Walls" are among the highlights.

TV APPEARANCES AND PERFORMANCES

Tuesday, Sept. 4"VH1's Big Morning Buzz"-- Good Old War"Jimmy Kimmel Live" -- Imagine Dragons"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" -- Jason Mraz"Live With Kelly" -- Phillip Phillips

Wednesday, Sept. 5"VH1's Big Morning Buzz" -- Melissa Etheridge"Late Show With David Letterman" -- Matchbox Twenty"Tonight Show With Jay Leno" -- Grace Potter"Conan" -- Best Coast"Live With Kelly" -- Demi Lovato

Thursday, Sept. 6 on MTV"2012 MTV Video Music Awards" -- Performers includeRihanna, Frank Ocean, Taylor Swift, Pink, Alicia Keys, One Direction, and Green Day. Presenters include 2 Chainz, Ke$ha, The Wanted, Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller. VMAs air live at 8 pm ET.

Thursday, Sept. 6"VH1's Big Morning Buzz" -- Matchbox Twenty"Craig Ferguson" -- The Heavy"Conan" -- Milo Greene

Friday, Sept. 7"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon -- Divine Fits

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