The show that has ruled all television media for the better part of the decade but which may finally be showing signs of age is returning to San Francisco this week to audition hopeful future David Archuletas and Fantasia Barrinos. The auditions start at AT&T Park on Thursday, and wristbands are being handed out today as of 7 a.m. Those who take wristbands aren't allowed to camp in the area, but somehow have to be back in line to audition by 5 p.m. on Thursday. (Wristbands are being given out until 8 a.m. that morning.) more ›

During this morning's Mornings On 2 (do do do do do dooooo), KTVU traffic guru Sal Castaneda tells us who he think might win tonight's American Idol competition, the gay screecher or the straight guy. more ›

We hope none of you missed it. more ›

"'Classical' music does not need gimmicks OR marketers/managers," hrumphs an SFGate commenter. more ›

The Slog, where we came across this jarring piece of performance art, likens the clip above in which six nubile tweens discover that David Archuleta did not win this year's American Idol to what might've have happened if Barack Obama had lost the election. more ›

After their American Idol hour was unforgivably interrupted by the San Francisco Police Department making an announcement last night, a reader writes to SFist asking: more ›

• UndergroundfilmMaker Festival: It goes a little something like this, "In an era where filmmakers are called 'users' who 'generate content,' [Hey now! -- sfist] Undergroundfilm wishes to put the spotlight back where it belongs: behind the camera." So far the festival has had three rounds. The portfolio submission, filmmaker interview, and finally, new projects. Now, the filmmakers have been narrowed down to six and-- sigh. Okay, this is starting to sound a bit convoluted. We'll break it down for you the only way we know how: it's an American Idol-ish movie contest, and its season finale is tonight. Got it? The festival starts tonight at 8 p.m. at the Roxie; $10.
• Bill Haley's Original Comets: One of the first ivory outfits to bring rock to the masses -- with such boomerific covers as "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" -- they still perform today. Come catch these Wonder Bread legends of rock tonight at the Red Devil Lounge at 8 p.m.; $20.
• Season premiere of Lost: Yeah, yeah, we screwed this up yesterday. (One might say we too were a bit...lost. Har.) Anyway, the "two-hour" premiere starts at 8 p.m. on ABC. But! ABC's trying to make it sound like it's gonna be a two-hour show, but they're gigantic liars. You see, the first hour is a recap episode and the second hour is the premiere. So...there you go.

We told you a few weeks ago about Platinum Studios' "American Idol"-style contest for comic creators, through which the winners will get a "multimedia development and publishing deal" based on their concept. At that time, we spoke to local guys Kevin Buckley and Marcus Thiele about their entry. We've just talked to another local writer/artist team with an entry in the Top 50: Navin Prasad and Chris Weiermiller. more ›

Platinum Studios, a comic book publisher (KISS 4k (yes, about the band) and Hero by Night) is hosting a sort of "American Idol" for comic creators. A few of those contestants are from right here in the Bay Area. Kevin Buckley is the writer on this project and an artist in his own right, though Marcus Thiele, his partner, is the artist on their pitch: "The Strange and Many Eyes of Dr. LeFaux." Kevin and Marcus took a few minutes to talk about their art and living in the Bay Area. more ›

No performance in Berkeley would be complete without a political statement. The Tyrant, a 65mn chamber opera west coast premiere which kicked of the Berkeley Edge Fest Thursday night at the Zellerbach playhouse, on the UC campus, does not disappoint. A tyrant, operatic tenor John Duykers, is confined to his throne, afraid of being overthrown if his august tush were to sit somewhere else. The libretto is loosely based on an Italo Calvino short story, so you’ll recognize the absurdist set up. more ›

And by "tonight" we mean this afternoon...and then tonight. more ›

--They reopened the Macarthur Maze! And of course, now the bridge is backed up. more ›

Meet local boy Aaron Drake, who's trying out for the Boston Pops' American Idol-style PopSearch singing contest that we told you about last week, trying out on Edwin McCain's "I'll Be." more ›

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We can't stop laughing about the fight at the Boston Pops concert last week! Classical arrangements of popular music make us crazy too! more ›

Here's today's sports news more ›

Here's todays wrap up of the news more ›

What happens when you give visually impaired children cameras and ask them to capture their everyday life? Come find out at this exhibit for a new book by Tony Deifell, Seeing Beyond Sight: Photography by Blind Teenagers. Accompanying the revelatory photographs is commentary and reflections by the artists. If you can't make it tonight, the show runs until May 12 but stop by around 6 until 8pm to catch a glimpse of the photographs in the book, meet the author and see clips from an upcoming documentary film. SF Camerawork, 657 Mission St. more ›

Our feelings regarding the sneaky scheduling of Gavin Newsom’s Third Fake Question Time this Monday can best be expressed through American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee’s latest single, “Over It.” The purple halter dress she wears in this video is pretty cute, too. more ›

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-Let's get the Barry news (that being Barry B.) out of the way first. Essentially, George Mitchell, the guy supposed to look into the whole steroid thing, told everyone he wants Barry to cooperate. Barry told him to go suck an egg. Well, not really, but he basically said that he can't while he's still under investigation for perjury. You know, we think if there's any good thing to come out of being under investigation, it's that you don't have to answer anything. Did you accidentally delete "Grey's Anatomy" off of TiVo? Can't comment on that because it might interfere with the investigation. Did you steal my turkey on swiss from the office fridge? Can't comment on that due to the pending investigation. See what we mean? more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. more ›

-Warriors get beat down by the Clips, 103-90. Considering the Clippers are one of the teams that the Warriors need to pass in order to make the playoffs, that's a bad loss. more ›

Fog City Journal is reporting that Matt Gonzalez has been in talks with a campaign manager, Nicole Derse, about running. We're all guessing it's for Mayor but who knows with Matt? We've heard speculation that he might be going for Kamala's job. Or maybe he's doing his patented "wait for the right moment" thing to try and snag a spot on "American Idol?" We hear his rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" is pretty amazing.

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--Yahoo's Jerry Yang is donating $75 million to Stanford. Does that mean he'll get fewer calls from the alumni giving committee.... or more? more ›

Reality TV: Will it never end? more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! more ›

Holy fancy baby Jesus on a Kaiser roll, the 49ers beat the Seahawks? In storm conditions in Seattle?! Wow. This was unforeseen. That's a sweep of the division series on the year, keeping the Niners' tiiiny window of playoff chance alive. How could this have happened? Here's how: more ›

If there's anything we love, it's saving the world through song and dance. That's why we're so jazzed about performing; the show bosts a veritable shmear of showbiz who's-whos (and a few who's-thats). more ›

Torontoist visits the site of a new Frank Gehry structure, stalks "the elusive Bahamas streetcar", and watches Tom Green get surgery. more ›