Tonight's the night! Here's why you NEED to see the VMAs.

The 2013 Video Music Awards FINALLY arrive tonight at 9 p.m. ET at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, and we are so excited that we seriously don't even know what to do with ourselves. Like, there are just SEW many #feelings coursing through us about what we may or may not see tonight that we're not too sure that we're even processing them all. For instance, about two hours ago, I tried to give my dog bangs while lightly singing "What About Love" in the minor key. That's normal, right?

Britney: "Hush. Just stop."

OK, you're right, Britney Spears in the "Stronger" music video, that is terrifying. #SorryNotSorry for sharing with the group. Instead of projecting my VMAnxiety and anticipation onto my unwilling little puppy (whose bangs look great, thank you very much), I'm gonna confront my emotions head-on, listing out each and every one of the reasons why I am so excited about tonight's VMAs in one fell swoop. So here goes! Here are 13 Crucial Reasons To Watch The VMAs Tonight. Aaaaaaaaaaand breathe.

1.) THE VMA PRE-SHOW: Two of our absolute fave new faces from the past year, Austin Mahone and Ariana Grande, are set to make their VMA debut during the ceremony's pre-show (starting tonight at 8 p.m. ET!). We are, like, so excited! Like, Jessie Spano-having-a-very-special-caffeine-pill-moment-on-"Saved By The Bell" levels of excitement. Ariana's "The Way" has been a serious summer jam of ours, and as much as we like watching Austin get butt shots and say "muffin," there's nothing we love more than to see him perform live.

2.) THE RED CARPET: With Aussie duo NERVO setting the mood as the VMAs' official red carpet DJs, we can't wait to see the stars arrive in (varying degrees of tasteful) style. Think anyone will pull any crazy VMA red carpet moments, ya know like touching down in a jet-pack, arriving in a Lil' Kim cutout pastie outfit, or even both simultaneously? Plz plz plz plz plz.

3.) LADY GAGA'S "APPLAUSE" OPENER: In the past, Gaga has not only bled for her VMA performances -- she's butched for 'em. Our head is not just swimming, but literally drowning in the possibilities for how Mother Monster will open the show. Drag queens? Fire-breathing swan Gagas? Will she put on a Britney Spears sock puppet, start making out with it, and yell "ME TOO! ME TOO! YOU CAN'T SAY I DIDN'T!" while all the while ignoring a Christina Aguilera sock puppet on the other hand? (It is the 10th anniversary of the Madonna/Britney kiss after all.) Only time will tell...

Read the rest of our 13 Crucial Reasons To Watch The VMAs Tonight after the jump.

4.) KATY PERRY'S PERFORMANCE: We are equally excited to see what Katy Perry will pull out of her decidedly not candy-coated hat tonight. It's been five years since the "Roar" singer has dominated the VMA stage, and even then it was merely a side stage where she performed an "I Kissed A Girl"/"Like A Virgin" medley. Well, whatever it is Katy throws at us, we're pretty sure we're gonna need all the emojis from her "Roar" lyric video (and then some!) to properly react to it.

5.) DIVA MOMENTS IN GENERAL: Ya know what? We just can't wait for all of the impending VMA diva moments PERIOD -- of which, Katy and Gaga's performances will most certainly be a part. Will Demi Lovato take home the Kaws Moonman for Best Female Video? Will Legendtina ride again in the Best Collaboration category? WE SHALL SEE!

6.) MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS' PERFORMANCE: We are, like, already bawling just thinking about the Seattle-based musical duo performing "Same Love" live at the VMAs tonight. Seriously, if only you could see our stock pile of tissues. Hey, HEY! Hands off, those are our tissues. Maybe you should've started hoarding tissues after first hearing the performance announcement. #SorryBoutIt

7.) CELEBS IN THE AUDIENCE: But we're not just excited about the onstage happenings! Every year, some of our favorite, blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments happen in the star-studded audience. From Justin Timberlake's reaction to the Madonna/Britney kiss to Rihanna and Katy Perry's BFFAE thigh-slapping action last year, there's always SO much worth seeing. Oh, BTW, based on this seating chart, we're predicting that Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez will be the audience BFFAEs this year. Calling it! Paging Cutest VMA Couples!

8.) KANYE WEST'S PERFORMANCE: Back to the main stage, we can't not call out Kanye's sure-to-be-stellar performance of "Black Skinhead." Remember his past VMA sets like "Love Lockdown" and "Runaway"? The Yeezus rapper always pulls out all the stops to give us a multi-sensory experience, and we're sure that this year will be no different. Also, maybe we'll see baby North? IDK, probs not, but Kanye (if you're reading this?) maybe turning the VMAs into your bb girl's official coming-out party might not be the worst idea? Just a thought.

9.) MILEY CYRUS' BROOKLYN BLOWOUT: Miley, Miley, Miley, Miley, MILEY. That's all we can think about lately! Girlfriend has been going to town on Brooklyn ever since touching down a few days ago, and we seriously cannot wait to see the BK house party she throws onstage tonight. We'll be twerking with our tongues out in anticipation. (And a 5-6-7-8...)

10.) THE PRESENTERS: Even if Taylor Swift, One Direction, and Slay-ena won't be performing this go-around, we'll at least get to stare at their flawless faces when they present various Moonmen! One odd VMA pair in particular that we can't wait to see will be TayTay and her former flame Harry Styles. While it might be awkward, we're pretty sure that they're both grown-up enough to handle it.

11.) BRUNO MARS + DRAKE'S PERFORMANCES: As much as we loved Bruno's ah-mazing 2011 VMA rendition of "Valerie" in honor of the late Amy Winehouse, the circumstances kinda put a damper on things. Not so this year! We'll be able to enjoy BB's high-energy set for the positive, life-affirming, vaguely religious awakening-esque experience that it is! And Drake's literally been one of our favorite performers since we first (vicariously) strolled through the halls of Degrassi Community School, and he's never disappointed us once in all that time. (Though TBH, we think it's a little unfair of him to refer to DCS as "the bottom," but whatevs.)

12.) THE BEST SONG OF THE SUMMER WINNER: OMFG, THIS. We cannot WAIT to see who will take home the Best Song Of The Summer Moonman. While 1D is leading the pack by literally millions of votes, Miley may just have a shot at the title if she can galvanize her Smilers to #votemiley enough. Who knows, we might just see somebody win by a twerk when the category's announced!

13.) JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S EVERYTHING: C'mon, you didn't think we'd list our crucial reasons to watch the 2013 Video Music Awards and not mention JT-no-extra-T, did you? (If you did, GET OUT.) The man's up for six Moonman (including Video Of The Year), will perform onstage, and will even be honored with the VMAs' super prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, presented by his pal Jimmy Fall0n. "Take Back The Night"? Well, he just might.

+ Watch the VMA ALL ACCESS LIVESTREAM now, and don't forget to tune in to the 2013 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

Cast your vote NOW for this year’s Video Music Award winners from the 2013 VMA Nominees. The 2013 Video Music Awards air Aug. 25 on MTV and VMA.MTV.com, live from Brooklyn's Barclays Center. No sleep till Brooklyn!

Photo credit: MTV / GIFs: britneyspearsgifs.tumblr.com, MTV, kinder09.tumblr.com