Montreal pop-rock band Simple Plan in Toronto Wednesday June 15, 2011. (CRAIG ROBERTSON/QMI Agency)

When it comes to the MuchMusic Video Awards, it's kind of like going home for Simple Plan.

"This is our fourth time playing (the MMVAs)," said guitarist Sebastien Lefebvre next to drummer Chuck Comeau this week in a Toronto bar across the street from Much headquarters.

"We've been lucky enough to win people's choice awards six times. I mean our fans are awesome so we always have a good time when we're there."

The Montreal pop-punk band are not only vying for best rock video of the year for Can't Keep My Hands Off You, featuring Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, at Sunday night's live televised event, but they will perform their latest single, Jet Lag, off their fourth studio album, Get Your Heart On! in stores Tuesday.

And they'll be bringing a special guest with them to perform Jet Lag, which features British singer Natasha Bedingfield on the album version -- but they can't yet say just who.

As for how they plan to arrive on Sunday night's MMVA red carpet, which is almost as important as anything else about the event (last year performer Katy Perry arrived in an ice cream truck) -- they're not saying either.

"It's very Simple Plan, it's great, you will think it's funny," teased Lefebvre.

In the meantime, they're excited about being among such high profile MMVA performers as Lady Gaga this year, not that they expect her to acknowledge them.

"I doubt she's going to talk to us, she is going to be in her egg," said Comeau, referring to Gaga's Grammy Awards entrance in a womb-like contraption. "We do have plans to try and sneak in the egg, see what's in there."

As for another notorious 2011 MMVA performer, rapper Snoop Dogg, Simple Plan already know him from playing a spring break concert and appearing alongside him in the 2003 reality-movie The Real Cancun.

"It was supposed to the first reality movie and it was the only reality movie," joked Comeau.

Added Lefebvre: "He's kind of nuts 'cause he's the only person in the world that can be gangsta and talk about killing police officers and then, at the same time get slimed at the Teen Choice Awards and go there with his kids and hang out with us. It's like, 'How does that work?' He's above everything."

Otherwise, aside from Cuomo and Bedingfield, Get Your Heart On! also features a collaboration with Canadian hip-hop star K'Naan on Summer Paradise.

The quintet -- rounded out by lead singer Pierre Bouvier, lead guitarist Jeff Stinco and bassist David Desrosiers -- have sold a respectable if not overly impressive seven million copies of their albums, but clearly want to shake things up a bit.

"It's exciting for us because we've been playing together for 11 years with always the same five guys so to bring a little bit of fresh blood or a different element from the outside it gives a different spin," said Comeau.

"We felt like make maybe it was time. Like we had done it on the first album (2002's No Pads, No Helmets ... Just Balls), with Mark Hoppus from Blink 182 and Joel (Madden) from Good Charlotte so it just felt like it was time to try it again. I think the whole vibe, the whole approach was to have a festive kind of album, to have like a big celebration. I think after four records and the kind of success that we had, we don't need to be scared of having guests overshadowing you, whatever. We felt like we had nothing to prove so why not? And get a buzz. Get people excited."

To that end Simple Plan spoof such iconic bands as Wham! The Beach Boys, The Ramones, New Kids on the Block and Run DMC in the liner notes for Get Your Heart On!

"We got dressed up and wore costumes of different bands, kind of like the most iconic band shots of music history," said Lefebvre. "We decided, 'Hey, this is a fun record, let's have fun with it.' "

TWITTER HELPS SIMPLE PLAN WITH NEW SONG

Twitter sure can come in handy.

Especially when Montreal pop-punk band Simple Plan decided to involve their fans in the writing and recording of the song, This Song Saved My Life, from their new album Get Your Heart On!

"We wanted to write a song about that connection with our fans, the way that they share our music is that important," said drummer Chuck Comeau. "So we felt the most honest way to do it would be by asking them how our music has made them feel throughout the years. We were in the studio. We were writing it. We came up with the title. We're like, 'We want to write a song about that.' And then we just tweeted it and literally thousands of tweets came in and we're struggling to keep up. And the idea is that every word in the song comes from those tweets from kids telling us how our music has made them feel."

To top it all off, they invited 25 contest winners from around the world to sing on the end of the track together like a choir while recording the song in Vancouver.

jane.stevenson@sunmedia.ca