Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Those @$#%* Foreigners:

PRESIDENT OBAMA is apparently a hit on stage --in Germany. AFP reports that a musical version his rise to the White House has opened in Frankfurt to thrilled audiences.
   The show is called, "Hope: The Obama Musical Story." It contains a chorus rendition of a song called "Yes We Can" --the president's 2008 campaign theme-- and a lover's duet between actors playing the president with his wife MICHELLE OBAMA. (Pacelli)

Trash talk and satellite dish:

Some couples see one another from across the room and know that it's true love, but that certainly wasn't the case when KATY PERRY met RUSSELL BRAND. The sassy hitmaker dished to SFGate.com's "Daily Dish" gossip column that they got acquainted backstage at the Video Music Awards last September when she threw an empty water bottle right at his head! The "Hail Mary" pass made history --they've been inseparable ever since and are making plans now to tie the knot. (Lee)

MATT KEMP's people vehemently deny the Dodger's hottie is dating RIHANNA, but they seem to be very much a couple. SFGate.com's "Daily Dish" gossip column spotted the two at the Los Angeles Clippers game last weekend, and nosy sports fans say their romance was on full-tilt when the cameras weren't watching. Although there were no PDA's --public displays of affection-- they seemed extremely affectionate. (Lee)

Reality Round-Up:

Big day for "General" LARRY PLATT yesterday, as he performed his hit, "Pants on the Ground," on ABC's show, "The View."
   Larry --who was disqualified after his "Idol" audition when it was learned that he's 62-years-old --way over the top limit for contestants-- told "View" host SHERRI SHEPHERD he thought up the song when "I was walking one day, and [I saw] a guy with a baby bottle in his mouth, and he had his pants on the ground. And that's what gave me the inspiration."
   SHANIA TWAIN will be the guest judge on tonight's "Idol."
   FYI: You've seen JIMMY FALLON channeling NEIL YOUNG doing "Pants on the Ground," but did you catch BRETT FAVRE doing it? Check YouTube HERE.

Another obvious study:

What is it about blonde hair that makes brunettes wanna tear their hair out or dye it lighter?
   Researchers in California think they've come up with a scientific answer. They say society makes blondes feel more special by giving them more attention.
   All that attention makes blondes feel entitled to the very best. The more special they feel the more confident and aggressive they feel about addressing those goals.
   Editor's note: Two words: Blond jokes. (Maiman)

The President at play:

BARACK OBAMA gave himself a solid B-plus for his first year in office. The latest Gallup Poll? Not so much.
   Obama's approval rating for his first year in office is 57 percent, the second lowest in the history of these rankings (which Gallup has been doing since the Eisenhower administration).
   The only president in modern times who ended his first year in office with a lower approval raiting: BILL CLINTON. 49 percent.
   Obama ties one other president for the second-lowest approval rating of 57 percent after their first year: RONALD REAGAN.
   Both Clinton and Reagan went on to win second terms.