Battle of the Season

It's no secret that American Idol is an extremely popular reality singing show. So when The Voice and X Factor decided to air, many were surprised that they were going to threaten the Idol fanbase. But now with the second season starting for both the X Factor and The Voice both airing back-to-back, the battle is no longer with American Idol, it's with the other show.

THE X FACTOR

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Just the judges alone are a reason that ratings will spark this year. After Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones were fired, there was a lot of speculation on who the new judges would be. The host spot was filled by not one, but two people. Seasoned host Mario Lopez brings familiarity and experience to the table, while reality TV star Khloe Kardashian has a point to prove-she's not just a reality TV star. So far, with two episodes of live TV in, the judges seem to be doing alright. Aside from Khloe's wardrobe malfunction on the first day, she seems to be doing fine. Lopez, the more seasoned host looks comfortable and at home.

New judges Brittney Spears and Demi Lovato have settled in fairly well. Demi has friendly banter with creator Simon, and tries to be the "nice judge" of the show, taking over Paula's job. Brittney was tough at first, but revealed that she couldn't deal with people booing her. Eventually, Simon had to step in and help her thorugh it. She seems stronger now, although doesn't take her criticism as far.

--> THE VOICE

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Ratings were very good last season, for a show that was in its first season. Besides the star-filled cast, and drama with other shows, The Voice hasn't generated much buzz. Until the show started.

Within a few weeks of the show airing, judge Christina Aguilera announced that she would be leaving the show. Popstar Usher was set to take her place. CeeLo Green was also reported to express desires to leave the show, but no official statement had been issued.

One of the biggest changes that occured on the show was the format change. The steal and save were no longer permitted. Earlier, if a judge did not want to mentor a particular contestant, another judge had the oppurtunity to "steal" them from the other to mentor as their own.

So who comes out on top? With all of these new shows coming up, it's hard to tell. But one thing's for sure, no one, so far, has been able to threaten American Idol's popularity.

Taylor Swift Announces New Album

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On Tuesday, August 13th, Taylor Swift fans had a reason to celebrate. After two long years, the star has finally released new music. But was it worth the wait? On a live web chat, she premiered her new single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which will be on her upcoming album, titled Red.

On the web cast, Swift spoke more about her new project. "I wrote a song called ‘Red,’thinking about what that means to me, and all the different emotions that are written about on this album, they’re all about crazy...semi-toxic relationships I’ve experience in the last two years. In my mind, all those emotions are ‘red.’ There’s nothing beige about any of those feelings. So I called the record Red.” She tells the audience.

Over the last two years, Swift has had few relationships. She was dating movie star Jake Gyllenhaal, and just recently has been dating Robert Kennedy's son, Connor. Joe Jonas (another ex to add to the list), says that Swift's latest single is not about him. The song is about her and a mystery man, and the rumors that swirled around their reconciliation. Jonas says that's not the case for them, as they never tried to get back together.

There is no confirmed date for the release of Red, but Swift has already revealed that there will be sixteen tracks on it. Fans eagerly await her announcement to drop more hits into her growing list.

Michael Phelps: An Era Examined

Credit to nbcolympics.com

 Four different Olympics. Eighteen gold medals, twenty-two overall. All before he turned thirty. Michael Phelps is the most decorated swimmer of all time, breaking the record previously held by gymnast Laris Latynina. She had eighteen total medals, equivalent to Phelps' gold.

In 2000, Phelps was the little kid with big dreams. He didn't win a single medal that Olympics. But in the next Olympics in 2004, Phelps' era truly began. He earned six gold and two bronze, setting three Olympics records and two world records, later only to be beaten by himself. People have often said that Michael Phelps' only competitor is himself. He proved that to be true in 2008. Phelps entered eight events, and ended up winning eight straight golds, setting seven new world records and an Olympic record. One hundredth of a second behind was Milorad Cavic, who was his closest competitor. Cavic earned silver in the 100-m butterfly, Phelps' signature event. Phelps beat Mark Spitz's record of most gold in one Olympic Game. Spitz had seven, Phelps had eight. By the end of the Beijing Olympics, Phelps' medal tally read: sixteen medals total (fourteen gold, two bronze). Going into the London 2012 Olympic Games, there were some critics wondering what on earth Phelps could do to outdo his last Olympics. Would he even medal? He was already twenty-seven, which for a swimmer, is a pretty old age.

At the start of the 2012 Games, his fans' worst thoughts seemed to be coming true. Phelps was off to a slow start. He didn't even make it past the preliminaries for the 400-m IM. In the 200 Butterfly, his finish was weak. Normally, Phelps was on the winning side of an extremely close race, but that time, he ended up winning silver. But despite his less than fantastic start, Phelps proved that the only thing that matters is how you finish. He went on to win four gold medals and another silver before his last time swimming in the Olympics. In his very last race before retirement, Phelps helped his 4x100-m team win gold.

Image credit to london2012.com

Everyone agrees that Michael Phelps is probably the best swimmer. He's the most decorated and by far the most exciting to watch. But now, after the Phelps era has ended, what's next for the swimming world? For the next few years, anyone who doesn't do what Phelps did will be seen as average, even if they manage to beat his times. Phelps didn't become what we call the best Olympian by luck. He earned it with hard work and a lot of determination. Fans are blindsided by amazing swimming and records that they don't realize what he truly had to sacrifice to reach the podium.

Michael Phelps will go down as the best swimmer of all time, until the next Michael Phelps comes along. Those alive during his career know what a true sporting event is, and how precious time really is.

Let the Games Begin

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The Olympics are where the best athletes in the world compete to be viewed as the best in the world. So it's only natural that Opening Ceremony to such a prestigious event should be spectacular. An estimated five billion people watch the summer Olympics (hosted by London this year).

Directed by American filmmaker Danny Boyle, everyone watching expected an amazing performance. But could Boyle deliver under this kind of pressure?

The grand ceremony started with a video of James Bond (Daniel Craig) entering Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen. To get to the games in East London, Bonds takes the Queen in a helicopter, right as one hovers above the dome. The screen shows them both jumping out of the helicopter, and on cue, two stunt doubles jump out of the real one. All cameras are on Her Majesty the Queen as she walks into the stadium.

Slowly, the dome starts to light up. The stage tells a story about London life in the 1800s, a time where farming and agriculture was the main economy. Slowly, the grassy hills rolled back and manufacturing towers started to rise, signaling the beginning of the industrial era. As the scene shifts again, viewers finally realize that Boyle is showing the history of London and the UK. Some may remember the Beijing opening ceremony in 2008 as being a more culturally directed ceremony. 2012's is more history, with a little bit of culture at the end. The music changes, and now spectators see the change in music and technology over the years. There was a tribute to Queen and the Beatles, among others. 

Image credit to nbcolympics.com

The screen now plays a live video of David Beckham and Jade Baile (Arsenal, soccer) on a speedboat, cruising the River Thames to get to the stadium. Clever camera work has the audience believing that Beckham is controlling his speedboat, James Bond style, but there are crewmen there, behind Beckham at an angle the camera can't see. Jade Baille hands off the torch to five time Olympic champion Steve Redgave (England, rowing) to light the cauldron.

When he enters the stadium, there are "metal petals", which is what he will light the flame too, so people thought. But instead, he passed the flame to eight kids, meant to represent Britain's future athletes. They lit the petals, which slowly rose into a cauldron, where the flame will remain burning for the seventeen days of the Olympic Games.

Let the Games begin!

Best of the Best

The MLB All Star game is where the best players from all thirty teams compete in a battle for supremacy between the National League and the American League. The winner of the game gets the first home-field advantage at the World Series. For the past two ASGs (All Star Game), the NL has won and therefore been given home-field advantage.

This year proved to be no different. The NL dominated the game early on. Justin Verlander of the Detriot Tigers was the starting pitcher for the NL. He has been called the pitcher in baseball this season, but he didn't pitch as well as he usually does. In the first inning, he gave up five runs on just four hits. Verlander looked shaky, even after striking out his first batter on three pitches. After that, it all went downhill for the AL.

The San Francisco Giants were the heroes for their team. Matt Cain proved to be a stellar pitcher, as he continues his hot streak. Sluggers Melky Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval had big hits that helped the NL win it all. Sandoval fired his first triple with the bases loaded. Cabrera doubled, homered and won the MVP award in the stadium where he played last season.

This year's ASG was the most lopsided win for the NL ever, as they crushed the AL eight to zero. It was a dissapointing loss for the AL, who were trying to finally prove themselves to be the better league. The NL certainly deserved their win, they outhit the AL ten hits to six.   Perhaps next year, the AL can break their unluckly losing streak.