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Saturday, March 3, 2012

American soccer players abroad: Oguchi Onyewu 2 goals, DaMarcus Beasley and Fabian Johnson one apiece

GOALKEEPERS

Tim Howard 90 minutes in Everton’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Fulham

Brad Friedel in 18, didn’t play in Spurs’ 1-0 FA Cup win at Watford

Brad Guzan in 18, didn’t play in Aston Villa’s 3-2 FA Cup loss at Arsenal

Marcus Hahnemann in 18, didn’t play for Everton

David Yelldell in 18, didn’t play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw at Bremen

Quentin Westberg not in 18 for Evian’s 0-0 draw wtih Bordeaux

Dom Cervi not in 18 for Celtic’s 3-1 League Cup win at Falkirk

Luis Robles and Karlsruhe on winter break

Diego Restrepo and Tachira didn’t play

Cody Cropper (injured) and Ipswich Town didn’t play

Josh Wicks and Mariehamn on winter break

Joe Bendik and Sogndal on winter break

Samir Badr signed with Haras El-Hadood (Egypt) last week

For defenders, midfielders and forwards.....

DEFENDERS

Carlos Bocanegra 90 in Rangers’ 4-0 win over Hibernian

Oguchi Onyewu 90 (two goals) in Sporting Lisbon’s 2-0 win over Beira-Mar

Steve Cherundolo 90 in Hanover’s 1-0 win over Nuremberg

Clarence Goodson and Brondby on winter break

Timothy Chandler not in 18 (injured) for Nuremberg

Zak Whitbread 90 in Norwich’s 2-1 FA Cup win at West Brom

Jonathan Spector 90 in Birmingham’s 4-0 FA Cup win at Sheffield United

Michael Parkhurst and Nordsjaelland on winter break

Eric Lichaj in 18, didn’t play for Aston Villa

Michael Orozco Fiscal 90 in San Luis’ 3-1 loss to America

Jonathan Bornstein in 18, didn’t play in Tigres’ 2-1 win over Tecos

Daniel Potts and West Ham didn’t play

George John and West Ham didn’t play

Edgar Castillo 90 in Tijuana’s 3-1 loss to Santos Laguna

Greg Garza not in 18 for Tijuana

Alfredo Morales in 18, didn’t play in Hertha Berlin’s 2-1 loss to Hamburg

Frank Simek 90 in Carlisle’s 4-0 loss at Hartlepool

Alejandro Melean in 18, didn’t play in Oriente Petrolero’s 2-1 loss at Mamore

Brad Rusin and Koge on winter break

Sean Cunningham and Molde on winter break

Ryan Miller and Halmstad on winter break

Mason Trafford and Mariehamn on winter break

Tim Ream transfer completed to Bolton from New York Red Bulls

MIDFIELDERS

Clint Dempsey 90 for Fulham

Landon Donovan 90 (two assists, video) for Everton

Michael Bradley 74 in Chievo’s 3-0 loss to Lazio

Maurice Edu 74 for Rangers

Jermaine Jones not in 18 (suspended) for Schalke’s 4-1 win at Cologne

Stuart Holden not in 18 (injury recovery) for Bolton’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Swansea

Jose Torres 90 in Pachuca’s 1-1 draw with Queretaro

Sacha Kljestan 76 in Anderlecht’s 0-0 draw at Beerschot

DaMarcus Beasley 80 (goal video at 2:05 mark) in Puebla’s 1-0 win at Jaguares

Fabian Johnson 77 (goal video at 3:30 mark) in Hoffenheim’s 3-1 loss at Dortmund

Daniel Williams 90 for Hoffenheim

Robbie Rogers and Leeds didn’t play

Alejandro Bedoya not in 18 for Rangers

Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt on winter break

Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek on winter break

Chris Rolfe and Aalborg on winter break

Anton Peterlin and Walsall didn’t play

Sonny Guadarrama in 18, didn’t play in Atlante’s 2-2 draw with Cruz Azul

Conor O’Brien and Sonderjyske on winter break

Brian Span and Djurgarden on winter break

FORWARDS

Jozy Altidore last 45 in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 loss at Roda

Edson Buddle and Ingolstadt on winter break

Herculez Gomez in 18, didn’t play for Santos Laguna

Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest didn’t play

Charlie Davies not in 18 for Sochaux’s 1-1 draw at Lorient

Joe Corona last 61 for Tijuana

Josh Gatt and Molde on winter break

Matt Taylor and Paderborn on winter break

Conor Doyle in 18, didn’t play in Derby’s 2-0 FA Cup loss to Stoke

Mike Grella not in 16 for Brentford’s 5-2 win over Wycombe

Terrence Boyd not in 18 for Borussia Dortmund

Jeff Cunningham 79 in Comunicaciones’ 2-0 loss to Municipal

Joseph Gyau in 18, didn’t play for Hoffenheim

Bobby Wood and 1860 Munich on winter break

Eugene Starikov and Zenit St. Petersburg on winter break

Samuel Petrone and Mjallby on winter break

View the original article here

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Obama’s State of the Union speech to focus on ‘return to American values’

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Obama’s State of the Union speech to focus on ‘return to American values’

View Photo Gallery — ?Technology and partisanship have transformed the State of the Union over the past century. Here's a look back.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By David Nakamura,

President Obama will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to deliver an election-year message focused on economic fairness for the middle class and what he calls “a return to American values.”

In a video distributed to campaign supporters Saturday morning, the president said his speech before Congress should be viewed as his “blueprint for an American economy that’s built to last,” a slogan designed to evoke blue-collar imagery and draw contrasts with his Republican rivals.

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Sunday, February 12, 2012

‘American Idol’ 2012: Auditions go down to Texas

Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest in Galveston, Texas. (Michael Becker - Fox)

Tonight, “American Idol’s” in Houston, home of the NASA Houston Space Center so the show opens with a weightless greeting from Cmdr. Dan C. Burbank aboard the International Space Station. Was that Simon Cowell we saw in orbit outside the window?

“We’ve been saying, Season 11, a new beginning,” judge Randy Jackson says, quoting himself from a previous show, as the judges arrive on the waterfront in – wait a minute! They’re in Galveston! They’re carrying on the theme from last night’s Denver-Aspen auditions, in which the judges were separated, by many miles, from the sweating masses of auditioners.

Phong Vu is a bit of a nutcase with grandiose ideas “Today my spirit will come alive”, he exults while posed down on the beach. But not so much of a nutcase he doesn’t correctly get Idol’s theme for the season” “Being American, ‘American Idol’ is just phenomenon, it’s just amazing,” he says, if ungrammatically.

Well, by Season 11 we’ve developed enough of an “American Idol” Sixth Sense to know that Vu is a lamb for the slaughter. His singing style on “Un-break My Heart,” by Toni Braxton, sounds like people you hear singing when they’ve got their iPod earbuds in, and are totally oblivious that anyone can hear them. The judges toy with Vu, then send him away. “Your hands are sweaty,” show host Ryan Seacrest tells him after the audition. Ryan knows a dead lamb when he sees one.

A montage of cowboys riding the range follows, while Ryan reminds us of Texas he-man heritage. Followed by some very very bad guy singers and two cowboys with adenoidal voices.

So we’re getting a Texas-sized hankering to actually be musically entertained already. Next up is Skylar Laine from Brandon, MS, and we get a taped bit about how she likes to kill deer. She even has the head of a deer she killed hanging on her bedroom wall, which “Idol” plays for laughs. She gives an okay country-style audition on Pistol Annies’ “Hell on Heels,” which the judges greet like she’s the next Carrie Underwood.

Baylie Brown from Nashville auditioned for Idol when she was 16 and now she’s back five years later. She got bounced after the group-sing event because of sabotage from her two Jersey partners, she strongly implies, although she forgot the words which might have contributed a bit. She performs Bon Jovi’s “Bed of Roses” and she’s a solid B, though the judges bestow the Golden Ticket like a big gift.

Next up, Ryan promises, an auditioner taking “her one and only shot to change her life.”

As it turns out that’s because Kristine Osorio is already 28 -- the final freshness date for “Idol” auditioners. Roll video: Kristine has three little kids and is in the middle of a divorce but she invested the money she set aside to pay her lawyer to buy a plane ticket to Houston. So she and her lawyer have got a lot riding on this. She has a good strong voice (“Thank you, god,” says judge Jennifer Lopez, as Kristine starts singing) and she’s through to Hollywood.

It’s Jennifer Lopez “versus the Boys Club”, Ryan tells us about the upcoming segment. We see a quick succession of partial auditions in which judge Steven Tyler and Randy reject a series of female singers with voices no better than the successful auditioners we saw earlier in the show, while JLo protests and protests. Then there’s the one chick the guys like and JLo pronounces “awful.” Well, there’s no accounting for taste. Maybe we should mention that ladies the guys rejected were plain and the one they put through to Hollywood was cute. “I was so angry, I almost had an anxiety attack!” Jennifer tells her makeup artist during a break.

Ryan decides they need some levity. He finds Alejandro Cazares. “I am The Revoultion,” Alejandro says. Today is the first day of Alejandro’s revolution. He speechifies to the crowd of Idol auditioners, then leads them in chants of “Revolution! Revolution!” As we know, any of the auditioners would gladly slit the throats of the others if it would get them ahead in the line, so we don’t really believe this group is going to rise up en masse and demand a redistribution of Golden Tickets from the greedy to the needy. But we’re still curious to see where this story line will lead.

It leads to a miserable rendition of Paramore’s “Things Are Looking Up” and Alejandro begging on his knees for mercy from the judges, before finally being shooed away by the “American Idol” bouncer.

We are now three quarters of the way through the show and “Idol” hasn’t shown us a memorable talent, or even a memorable auditioner’s back-story, and if ever there was a time for a Revolution, this is it! We’re refusing to drink a Coke or make a Verizon call till the entertainment value of this show gets redistributed from the greedy to the needy! Well, they send in Cortez Shaw, an amiable guy whose family was homeless when he was a kid. He affirms that “‘American Idol’ is opportunity at its greatest.” Enough empty promises. Entertainment now! Well, he’s gutsy enough to tackle an Adele song, “Someone Like You” and he’s pretty talented but at this point It’s Just Not Enough! “Good looking, sweet, great voice,” says JLo, hopefully.

Oh, the arrogance. “Idol” producers now are flaunting their power by throwing some more bad acts at us. Some limber chick shouts Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” prompting Tyler to snark, “I’ll bet you’re great (beat) on the dance floor.” And here’s some earnest guy with a high voice, who Randy finds hysterically funny. Sure, you can laugh, rich guy -- your mortgage is paid.

It’s down to the last contestant to redeem this episode.

Last auditioner of the day. This is it, last chance for entertainment -- the equivalent of turning 28 for tonight’s show as far as we’re concerned. Only thing that would satisfy us at this point is somebody coming out and performing a Rage Against the Machine medley about five inches from Randy’s face. Of course, after 11 years, we’ve developed an “Idol” Sixth Sense that the last auditioner of the day is always the most uplifting among the thousands. But Ramiro Garcia better be about the Second Coming, is all we got to say. What you got, Ramiro? “I wasn’t born normal. I came out with no ears,” he says. Oh, well, alright then. Seems a series of heroic feats by surgeons gave Ramiro ears and the ability to speak. “Through time and faith I have a voice to speak with, even a voice to sing,” he says. And he gives a very heartfelt rendition of “Amazing Grace,” including a rarely heard verse. It’s touching. This guy has a future on the gospel circuit no matter what. “You’re a powerful example to say the least,” says Tyler, and Ramiro is on his way to Hollywood, as his father wipes away tears.

“54 got the Golden Ticket!” Ryan exults in voiceover and we see the judges congratulating themselves on how great things went in Houston, apparently for their private entertainment and not for the 99% of us viewers.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

American soccer players abroad: Clint Dempsey hat trick, Maurice Edu goal

GOALKEEPERS

Tim Howard 90 minutes in Everton’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn

Brad Friedel 90 in Spurs’ 3-2 loss at Manchester City

Brad Guzan in 18, didn’t play in Aston Villa’s 3-2 win at Wolves

Marcus Hahnemann not in 18 for Everton

David Yelldell in 18, didn’t play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-2 win over Mainz

Quentin Westberg in 18, didn’t play in Evian’s 2-0 French Cup win at Valence

Dom Cervi not in 18 for Celtic’s 2-0 win at St. Mirren

Luis Robles and Karlsruhe on winter break

Diego Restrepo in 18, didn’t play in Tachira’s 3-3 draw with Petare

Cody Cropper not in 16 for Ipswich Town’s 3-1 loss at Leeds

Josh Wicks and Mariehamn on winter break

Joe Bendik and Sogndal on winter break

For defenders, midfielders and forwards.....

DEFENDERS

Carlos Bocanegra 90 in Rangers’ 1-1 win over Aberdeen

Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting Lisbon at Olhanense on Monday

Steve Cherundolo 90 in Hanover’s 0-0 draw at Hoffenheim

Clarence Goodson and Brondby on winter break

Timothy Chandler not in 18 (suspended) for Nuremberg’s 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin

Zak Whitbread 90 in Norwich’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea

Jonathan Spector 90 in Birmingham’s 3-0 win over Watford

Michael Parkhurst and Nordsjaelland on winter break (played 90 for USA vs. Venezuela)

Eric Lichaj not in 18 for Aston Villa

Michael Orozco Fiscal 90 in San Luis’ 2-0 loss at Morelia

Jonathan Bornstein in 18, didn’t play in Tigres’ 2-1 loss at Toluca

Daniel Potts not in 16 for West Ham’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest

George John not in 16 for West Ham (fitness issues after long layoff)

Edgar Castillo 90 in Tijuana’s 2-0 win at Chivas

Greg Garza not in 18 for Tijuana

Alfredo Morales in 18, didn’t play for Hertha Berlin

Frank Simek 90 in Carlisle’s 1-1 draw with Walsall

Alejandro Melean and Oriente Petrolero on winter break

Brad Rusin and Koge on winter break

Sean Cunningham and Molde on winter break

Ryan Miller and Halmstad on winter break

Mason Trafford and Mariehamn on winter break

MIDFIELDERS

Clint Dempsey 89 (hat trick) in Fulham’s 5-2 win over Newcastle

Landon Donovan 90 for Everton

Michael Bradley 90 in Chievo’s 2-2 draw at Lecce

Maurice Edu 90 (goal) for Rangers

Jermaine Jones not in 18 (suspended) for Schalke’s 3-1 win over Stuttgart (played 90 and assisted on goal for USA vs. Venezuela)

Stuart Holden not in 18 (injury recovery) for Bolton’s 3-1 win over Liverpool

Jose Torres 90 in Pachuca’s 1-1 draw at Cruz Azul

Sacha Kljestan 90 in Anderlecht’s 1-0 win at Kortrijk

DaMarcus Beasley 90 in Puebla’s 2-1 loss to Atlante

Fabian Johnson 24 for Hoffenheim

Daniel Williams 90 for Hoffenheim

Robbie Rogers not in 16 for Leeds

Alejandro Bedoya in 18, didn’t play for Rangers

Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt on winter break (played 28 and scored for USA)

Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek on winter break

Chris Rolfe and Aalborg on winter break

Anton Peterlin 71 for Walsall

Sonny Guadarrama not in 18 for Atlante

Conor O’Brien and Sonderjyske on winter break

Brian Span and Djurgarden on winter break

FORWARDS

Jozy Altidore 17 in AZ Alkmaar’s 1-1 draw with Ajax

Edson Buddle and Ingolstadt on winter break

Herculez Gomez 15 in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 win over Jaguares

Robbie Findley not in 16 for Nottingham Forest

Charlie Davies and Sochaux didn’t play

Joe Corona not in 18 for Tijuana

Josh Gatt and Molde on winter break

Matt Taylor and Paderborn on winter break

Conor Doyle not in 16 for Derby’s 0-0 draw at Burnley

Mike Grella not in 16 for Brentford’s 3-2 loss at Huddersfield

Terrence Boyd not in 18 for Borussia Dortmund’s 5-1 win at Hamburg

Bobby Wood and 1860 Munich on winter break

Eugene Starikov and Zenit St. Petersburg on winter break

Samuel Petrone and Mjallby on winter break

View the original article here

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Clint Dempsey’s hat trick for Fulham is first in history by an American in Premier League match

For the second time this month, Clint Dempsey has recorded a hat trick for Fulham. And this time, during a 5-2 victory over Newcastle on Saturday, he became the first American ever to post a three-goal performance in an English Premier League match.

Two weeks ago, he accomplished the feat in an FA Cup game against third-tier Charlton.

Dempsey’s goals against Newcastle came in the 59th, 65th and 89th minutes, increasing his haul to nine in league play and 15 in all competitions. He is among the top 10 scoring leaders in the EPL this season. In his five-year career at Fulham, he has scored 52 goals overall.

Meantime in Scotland, American Maurice Edu scored in the second half of Glasgow Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Aberdeen.

View the original article here

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

‘American Idol’ 2012: Auditions continue in Pittsburgh

Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest on the set of “Idol” in Pittsburgh. (Michael Becker - Fox)

First time in Pittsburgh for “American Idol.” We kick off the show with a Speed Tour of Pittsburgh Cliches: black and yellow, the Terrible Towel, girls who say “yinze guys,” a bridge.

First auditioner is Heejun Han, born in Korea, from Flushing, NY. Speaking of clichés, Heejun Han is a model of Asian impassiveness with an odd twist. He tells the camera he thinks he is a “little good” as a singer, but some of the others who are auditioning are “just crazy good, and now I’m thinking I’m not that good at all.”

Heejun also worries about the size of his head, which is “really big” compared to Ryan Seacrest’s which, Heejun notes, is really small. We’re getting major cues that this Heejun is a geek show. But no, his audition of Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” is good, and we begin to question the whole impassive act. Randy: “I’m really impressed -- and shocked.” After getting his ticket to Hollywood, Heejun gives a performance for the camera: “Hollywooooooooooood. I’m coming.” His comic timing is too good. We think the judges just got punked on their own racial stereotypes.

Reed Grim, 26, from Wisconsin has been on stage, in the family band, since age 2. He sings a jazzy version of the “Family Matters” theme song and it’s obvious this guy is a musician. The judges love him (“genius” says Tyler) and he’s through to Hollywood -- but we know that the “Idol” gods have put the big ol’ Scat Curse on jazzy singers so he’ll never survive.

A mélange of good singers later, we meet Samantha Novacek. Samantha is a nice, straight-head country singer who performs Faith Hill’s “Like We Never Loved”. She ignores her sister, Patricia Bell, lying on the floor in a catatonic pose. Patricia, you see, does planking, the silly public display of a yoga position that we thought was something done in good fun. But Patricia is dead serious about it and claims she’s there because it makes Samantha sing better. “I’m not a singer. I’m a planker. I’m planking her to Hollywood,” Patricia says. Right. Samantha doesn’t even acknowledge Patricia during her audition, and we suspect that she’s a victim of planking abuse. The judges ignore Patricia, too. It’s all uncomfortable-making, but anyway Samantha sails through to Hollywood, though we suspect Patricia is going to ride her coattails to Hollywood, in “support”.

Creighton Fraker will audition with a tune he just wrote on the way to Pittsburgh, he tells the judges. They swallow it. The tune is about them. The judges simper and coo. “Like Jamiroquai and Justin Timberlake had a baby,” marvels JLo, who is only comfortable when she’s figured out who an Idolette is exactly like. Tyler asks him to sing a song with an actual beginning, middle, and end. While Creighton sings, JLo begins to obsess again: “Who does he remind me of?” she asks Randy. “Who is he right now?” Tyler gushes: “Most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, you are sweetly insane.” See you in Hollywood, Creighton!

Eben Frankowitz is a very cute 15-year-old with Justin Bieber teeth and a Justin Bieber haircut. He gets the full treatment, including a show of his home video as he travels to Pittsburgh and his Mom advises him, “Let everybody else do their thing – you do Eben’s thing.” We guess the producers spotted his photo and thought he’d be a draw for Generation Bieber. “Who do people say you look like?” Randy says, on cue. “People say Justin Bieber,” Eben blushes. Eben performs a lovely choir-boy take on “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the judges love him. “Some people are just born to do it. I think you’re just one of those people,” says JLo.

We remember Travis Orlando, the formerly homeless teen from the Bronx who auditioned last year and was visited by a full crew from the American Idol Documentary Unit (Our Motto: “Create Your Own Reality”). Now he’s back at 17, with an even sadder story: mom split, dad in dialysis, eviction from an apartment, family back in a shelter. Travis sings “Isn’t She Lovely” and he’s just competent. Travis doesn’t seem to grasp that if you’ve got a painful back story the rule is you’re supposed to sing like you’re in pain. The judges are clearly disappointed. “Your voice has gotten stronger but there’s still a part of it that, you’re not coming all the way out with it,” JLo says. Travis starts pleading that he’s doing this to show his mom that he’s worth something, and that he’s scared but determined to go on singing and well, what are they going to say: come back when you’ve suffered even more? He’s through to Hollywood.

Erika Van Pelt from Rhode Island gets a lot of back-story screen time but we’re not sure why, since she’s got to be representative of thousands of auditioners – a DJ cum wedding singer. That time chewed up, we finally see her audition with Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and she’s moderately entertaining with a smoky low voice. “Very sexy -- very sure of yourself,” says Tyler

Next up, a genuine coal miner from West Virginia. We have a soft spot in our heart for these kinds of stories -- people who haven’t been in a family band since they were two, and haven’t auditioned in their living rooms for “Idol” since they were six. You know – actual real people. We see Shane Bruce, 19, singing for his fellow miners, underground. “How’s that guys?” he asks. “Great, now get back to work,” somebody says. “I’m proud to be a coal miner, definitely,” Shane tells the Underground Idol Cam. “ If I had to choose something to be for the rest of my life, I’d have to be a singer.” He auditions with “Hallelujah” but he’s too nervous and the judges faces tell us it isn’t going well. Tyler waxes philosophical about the virtues of a steady job, telling Shane “sometime routine is the key to life,” and adds, “you singing to them down there, maybe that’s your forte.” We think rock star multi-millionaires probably should not lecture coal miners about the meaning of life. If Occupy Wall Street could make that clip into a commercial they’d raise millions.

Hallie Day, the last audition of the show, is a 24-year-old waitress from Baltimore. Hallie’s got it all: Deborah Harry-esque blonde hair and cheekbones, some singing chops, and a trump-that story. At 15, she went to New York to be a singer in a girl group, became an addict, went home to Baltimore but “I didn’t want to sing or perform I just wanted to kill the pain.” So she “drank a bottle of pills” and ended up in the emergency room. Then “music and my husband saved my life.” We aren’t told exactly how, but we’re sure details will be forthcoming if she survives Hollywood Week. Because Hallie gets the back-story/song-choice connection, she chooses “I Will Survive,” the Gloria Gaynor anthem and really sells the song. The judges adore her. And JLo, who, like we said, is only comfortable when she’s figured out who an Idolette reminds her of, finishes the auditions with, “I know this is obvious but – Blondie!”

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

‘American Idol’: Season 11 kicks off with auditions in Savannah, Ga.

Look who’s back! (Warwick Saint - Fox)

It’s year 11, the start of the second decade for “American Idol.” And, a few seconds into the show, we get how they’re going position themselves for these troubled times, what with “The Voice” and “X Factor” nipping at the franchise. We see a parade of “Idol” hopefuls performing on home videos back when they were kids, with audio quotes like, “this is what I’ve been waiting to do my whole life.” Another kids says “It’s like an icon of American society.” “American Idol”: steady, reliable, always there -- an institution, not like that pack of new guys. “American Idol”: The Mitt Romney of Singing Competitions!

This decade’s first chosen Audition City is Savannah, GA, and we see the judges arriving and show prepping with candid quotes like JLo saying, “I’m so happy to be back with Randy and Steven. They’re like my family now.”

Could she have known last summer during the auditions that she was fated to file for divorce from her husband, Mark Anthony? It’s eerie!

Steven Tyler’s arrival features a fun put-down of a local TV reporter who asks him how Savannah is treating him. “Great, but I didn’t know you knew her,” he responds. And Ryan brings it back on message, letting us know that “we’ll never stop believing in you.” “A new beginning, Season One-One, a new beginning!” Randy enthuses.

Everything seems pretty much like the old beginnings so far, though Ryan promises something new this year: contestants will be documenting their own journeys with the cameras in their phones which, if tradition holds true, will turn out to be some kind of phone company sponsorship thing.

First wannabe Idolette: 17-but-looks-12 David Leathers, Jr. who says that a couple year ago he beat “Idol” winner Scotty McCreery in some competition or another, and also assures us he’s known at school as Mr. Steal Your Girl. We see him sidling up to an older chick in the audition waiting room and extracting her phone number from her. He’s going to audition with 21st Century’s “Remember the Rain,” performed in the voice of a young Michael Jackson, prompting the judges to ask him to do some Michael Jackson -- and he’s through, though heaven help him if his voice changes.

Next up: 16-year-old Gabi Carrubba, who’s dreamed of auditioning for “Idol” her entire life. She enters the audition room and asks to hug – exec producer Nigel Lythgoe! Smart girl! Though she’s a championship tap dancer, her dream is to make Steven Tyler do his “happy face. She sings “Sunday morning” and he does, indeed, put on his happy face. JLo thinks Gabi sounds like Luther Vandross.

Lots of talent in Savannah – one of the best starts to the show ever, Ryan and Randy tell us. And if there’s ever a warning sign there’s Bad Singing Ahead, a statement like that on “Idol” is that sign. So after a medley of good-ish singers, next up is 19-year-old Jessica Whitely who sings “In This Song” by Charice, very loud, from the back of her throat, with all the conviction of someone who’s performed in pageants.

“Awful. I don’t even know if I’d call that singing,” says Randy, who is also signaling that Mr. Nice Randy from seasons past is dead and buried. Jessica vows to audition again in Texas. JLo wonders if someone can advise her not to make the drive.

Seacrest currently is in negotiations to determine whether he stays with “Idol” beyond this season. Not to worry – loads of people would like his gig, including Shaun Kraisman. Kraisman looks like Ryan Seacrest a lot and even sounds like Ryan Seacrest. “This…Is American Idol!” he gets to say repeatedly. We can imagine the offers pouring in after tonight from celebrity look alike services.

“Will you work for half of Ryan’s pay?” Randy Jackson asks. It would have been really entertaining if Shaun had opened his mouth to sing and looked like Ryan Seacrest but sounded like Luther Vandross. But no, his singing is probably like Ryan Seacrest’s, and he’s out.

Shannon Magrane, a big strapping 6-footer at only 15 years old, and pretty, too, turns out to be the daughter of former Cardinals pitcher Joe Magrane, so the judges invite the whole, large family to stand around her while she sings and – they are so white, and yet Shannon is so soulful singing Christina Aguilera’s “Something’s Got A Hold On Me,” it just shows how quirky a thing musical talent is. Lucky, Shannon can’t see her mother trying to upstage her by lip-synching behind her back. Shannon gets her ticket to Hollywood.

A parade of horrible audition, seen in brief clips, follows. “AI” used to really dwell on freaks, but not so much in this season -- or maybe they’ve just raised the bar on freak appeal.

We’ve seen homeless-shelter contestants on “AI” before but this is hitting a new low for pitiable: Amy Brumfield lives in a tent in the woods near Gatlinburg, TN, with her boyfriend. We get a video tour of her tent, boyfriend, and dog; it’s pretty primitive but the “American Idol” Documentary Unit is known for its unflinching investigative pieces and they’re not going to pretty up this one. Amy is perky and upbeat about her situation and by now we’re all praying that she can sing at least a little so she can check into a hotel in Hollywood on “AI”’s dime and take a nice hot shower. She can! She has an interesting, bluesy, raspy style, performing “Superwoman” by Alicia Keys. “The sprits of the children of the woods snuck into you,” says Tyler. “You’re a hipsy!” chimes in JLo. Anyway, Amy will get her shower.

Joshua Chavis, a young man from Camden, SC who dreams of singing the national anthem at a NASCAR race, is very tightly wound and looks like a promising candidate for – maybe the first contestant to have to be escorted out by security, is that too much to hope for? To let off tension he let’s out a scream before going to the audition room, then crashes into some scaffolding from the set. His voice is party-entertainment level and the advice he should really get is to channel his inner rage into his singing, but in rejecting him the judges aren’t specific. JLo just says he’s “not up to par,” but Randy, who’s really trying out for the role of The Punisher for Season One-One says “I’m going to help you out: Terrible.” Disappointedly Joshua leaves without a security escort but does shout at the camera crew to stop following him out into the parking lot and quite rightly, too, we think.

Nerves are getting the best of 15-year-old Stephanie Rene, who was a kid the year Carrie Underwood won “Idol.” But she pulls herself together and sings a song through her nose for the judges. And yet, they appear to like it, though they did notice the nasal bits. Randy’s the only judge with the sense to say “no,” which means Stephanie goes to Hollywood.

Schyler Dixon auditioned with her brother last year but is auditioning alone this time around. The judges tell her to bring brother Colton into the room and then proceed to fawn all over him. Each sibling sings, after which Schyler is dismissed with a curt “you’ve come up a couple notches,” while Colton is told “You’re amazing!” This will be good training for Schyler as she enters the workplace in the entertainment industry. They’re both given tickets to Hollywood. “Well, that was unexpected,” Schyler says, understandably irked.

Lauren Mink seems very nice, is cute and blonde, a little old by “Idol” standards, but works with people with disabilities, and is a talented country singer. The total package, as they like to say on this show. “Goosies!” JLo yips when Lauren’s performance of “Country Strong” is over. She’s Hollywood bound.

Mawuena Kodjo has traveled all the way from West Africa. “Well, that’s inconvenient,” Ryan snarks – our first clue that Mawuena is not about to get the loving, back-in-the-village-documentary treatment from “AI.” Plus, of course, the producers have subtitled him. And, Ryan does a double take when Mawuena says he’s going to sing a Rascal Flatts song, which is apparently impossible because – well, he’s from Africa. Not too xenophobic or anything.

Mawuena hits the audition room and he’s not a good singer. “Dude, it was really terrible,” says Randy, and when Mawuena protests mildly Mawuena wants to prove them wrong. Randy laughs at him and tells him to “come back with some people. Prove me wrong, dawg.”

So “AI” is gonna treat us to one of its traditional Torture the Clueless bits, sending Mawuena out in the streets of Savannah to audition for random people, until he finds three polite little girls who nod their pretty blonde heads that, yes, Mawuena sings okay. Back to the audition room with his witnesses only to have Randy quickly dismiss him again, and rewards the kids’ politeness by telling them to “work on your ears a little bit.”

Ashlee Altise does a kid of funky bunny hop.” I invented the joy hop just for being joyous and happy,” she says. She sings “Come Together” passably but makes up a lot of points on energy and she’s through.

We meet W. T. Thompson at home in the fields of Appomattox, VA, walking with his wife, who’s six months pregnant and – how about we lay out the whole back story here for your scrutiny: Wife six months pregnant, W. T. quits a steady job as a prison guard to audition for “AI” even though employers initially offered to give him time off. Wife still six months pregnant, W.T. he’s doing it to chase his dream now because after they have the kid (in six months), he couldn’t leave a steady job. He sings Little Big Town’s “Boondocks.” He’s a B-minus. Split decision from the judges, Steven Tyler says ‘yes,’ Jennifer Lopez is a “no,” and Randy Jackson tells him he’s going to get “eaten alive,” but we don’t learn till he hits the hallway that he’s through to Hollywood. And yet, we all know it’s a Go To Jail card for W. T., sooner or later.

Next up: A sequence about how young girls find Steven Tyler hot -- an “AI” tradition that gets harder each year as Steven’s face crashes more and more, but hey, it’s a creepy-fun part of the show so we’re rolling with it. Some serial kissing of Steven by various and sundry (even a grandma), culminating in an audition from Erica Nowak from Buffalo, NY who, in pre-audition, says Tyler is her “future ex-husband” and “it will be hard to control myself” in a room with Tyler. “I think you guys should have a hug,” Randy says in the auditio room. It’s a chaste one, until Erica grabs Tyler’s heinie. “You better sing good,” Tyler jokes. She doesn’t, but she does get to give Randy a hug and heinie squeeze on the way out, and declares herself a winner for having two celebrity cheeks.

Riding this surging wave of hormones, the producers next bring out Brittany Kerr, an NBA Dancer in Charlotte, NC, so we’re primed for another hottie, though she seems kinda demure in person in the audition room. “Yes!” says Tyler in a strained voice, before she even sings. She performs Joss Stone’s “Spoiled” and it is kind of smoky, though more Liquid Smoke. But we already know Brittany is going to coast on the “Blonde Cheerleader Can Sing!” amazement factor. JLo turns Brittany down but Randy and Steven put her through. Steven advises her to “listen to some old blues” to amp up her intensity, while legions of men in the audience are thrown into a reverie of “Blonde Cheerleader Listening to Old Blues!”

Last audition of Savanna has got “Idol” written all over him:

*Scruffy white guy with guitar? Check!

*Memorable name? Phillip Phillips, Jr., 20. Check!

*Hard-working, humble background? He helps his dad in a pawn shop in Leesburg, GA. Check!

*Cute, supportive family? Dad says he’s “so proud…it just makes you bust!” and mom flirts with Ryan in not a desperate stage-mom kind of way. Check!

And he’s a good looking, kid too!

Phillip sings Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” with the all-in intensity and gruff voice that signals the real “Idol” deal. And he plays guitar well, on an encore of “Thriller”. “It’s like you have electricity going through your body,” JLo enthuses.

Singing show fatigue? ‘American Idol’ premiere ratings decline from last season

Colton Dixon and Schyler Dixon on the “Idol” premiere. (Michael Becker - Fox)

Has singing-show fatigue clipped the wings of Fox’s golden goose?

About 22?million people watched the Season One-One (as Randy Jackson kept calling it) debut of “American Idol” on Wednesday night — about 17?percent, or about 5?million viewers, shy of last January’s season kickoff.

(It’s also about 7?million fewer people than tuned in to see Charlie Sheen killed off and Ashton Kutcher introduced on this season’s debut of the rebooted “Two and a Half Men.”)

Among the 18- to 49-year-old viewers the broadcast networks target, “Idol’s” 11th-season debut was down 24?percent year to year. But it still managed to out-rate all of the other major broadcast networks combined by 6?percent from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday.

What other TV show can get the stuffing kicked out of it and still beat the combined competition?

And let’s not forget all those “Idol” Is So Over reports that were being readied last January when the show’s Season 10 debut — featuring the unveiling of judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez — attracted 4?million fewer people than had the debut of the show’s ninth, and Simon Cowell’s last, season.

But, after that opening stumble, “Idol’s” 10th season averaged 4?percent more viewers than Season 9. And, among viewers 18 to 49, the Holy Grail of Madison Avenue, that 10th season overall dipped a mere 3?percent compared with the ninth season. That was a better year-to-year showing than “Idol” had enjoyed for several seasons.

Still, there’s no denying that Fox suits will be watching closely to see how America’s most popular TV series does this edition. It’s the first season in which the network has just finished airing a similar singing competition, Cowell’s “The X Factor,” which wrapped up its first season about a month ago.

Fox execs had deliberately resisted the urge to run a second round of “Idol” in the fall — as, for instance, ABC does with “Dancing With the Stars” — for fear that viewers would suffer singing-show overload.

But when Cowell started shopping “The X Factor” around in the United States, Fox decided it would be better to keep him in their bed than to let him hop into a competitor’s crib.

NBC, in turn, went out and grabbed yet another international singing-competition franchise, “The Voice,” and slapped it on the air last spring. For comparison’s sake, the first season of “The Voice” premiered in April to an audience of just under 12?million. And when “The X Factor” opened in September, 12.5?million people tuned in.

Wednesday night marked the start of the second decade for “American Idol.” And, a few seconds into the show, we figured out how it’s going position itself for these troubled times, what with “The X Factor” and “The Voice” nipping at the franchise. We saw a parade of “Idol” hopefuls performing on home videos back when they were tiny tots, with quotes such as “This is what I’ve been waiting to do my whole life!” Another kid said, “It’s like an icon of American society.”

“American Idol”: steady, reliable, always there — an institution, not like that pack of new guys. “American Idol”: the Mitt Romney of Singing Competitions!

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New work by Annie Leibovitz at American Art Museum

Imagine some of the entertainment world’s most memorable photographs, and chances are Annie Leibovitz was behind them: a naked John Lennon intertwined with Yoko on the cover of Rolling Stone, Demi Moore, pregnant and nude, on an issue of Vanity Fair, Bruce Springsteen’s denim-clad backside set against an American flag on his “Born in the U.S.A.” album cover. Leibovitz has all but cornered the market on capturing famous personalities (often in varying states of undress).

A shot of Niagara Falls graces the “Pilgrimage” book cover. (Photo by Annie Leibovitz courtesy of Random House)But “Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage,” which opens Friday at the American Art Museum, purports to show a different side of the prolific artist. There are more than 60 photos on display but not one human face. This is what it looks like when Leibovitz shoots off the clock and without a commission; she captured the images while traveling (mainly) across the United States from 2009 to 2011. While ads for the show, and the cover of the companion book, display the photographer’s large-scale landscape shots, there’s still an undeniable sense that this is a show about portraits. The difference is that the big names in this show are no longer alive and their personalities are pieced together by what they left behind. The result is a cabinet of curiosities — a pigeon skeleton once belonging to Charles Darwin, Louisa May Alcott’s dolls and a leafy botanical specimen from John Muir’s collection — that sheds light on history’s memorable characters.

Annie Leibovitz captured a close-up of a playing card that displays the proficiency of a sharpshooter in "Annie Oakley's Heart Target." (Annie Leibovitz courtesy of Random House)Leibovitz’s curated list of luminaries happens to be heavy on talented women and transcendentalists. In the former category, visitors can expect to find a photographic display of Annie Oakley’s shooting skills, a close-up of the eyelet on Emily Dickinson’s only surviving dress and a look at Georgia O’Keeffe’s homemade pastels. One affecting display offers side-by-side images of Virginia Woolf’s ink-stained desk as well as the dark blue wake of River Ouse, where the author drowned herself in 1941.

Elvis Presley shot his television in the 1970s. Leibovitz photographed the perforated set in a storage room at Graceland in 2011. (Annie Leibovitz courtesy of Random House)The show mainly steers clear of pop culture icons, although Elvis Presley gets his due. When Leibovitz visited Graceland, she captured one of the musician’s motorcycles, a television that Presley shot and the King’s final, ostentatious resting place. There is no evidence of Elvis’s music career, yet the photos offer insight into his personality.

At a news conference this morning, guest curator Andy Grundberg called the show “in a sense, a history project.” And that’s true, but instead of getting a sweeping view of events or chronology, museum-goers get something unexpected — a look at some of memory lane’s quirkier diversions.

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