A Jihad for Love, an award-winning film about the lives of gay Muslims, opens in NYC this week

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• American Idol roundup: Here's out pop star George Michael's performance of "Praying for Time". Defamer asks what exactly it was that Robert Downey, Jr. did to Jack Black aboard that Midnight Train to Georgia ...

• And this video of Freak Show author James St. James riling up the fans waiting outside last night's American Idol finale is the last thing we'll say about the show today. Because really, someone telling a teenaged girl that she's a "child molester" for having a crush on David Archuleta is pretty much the last word on the matter.

• The UK Fire Minister is launching a program to recruit more gays and lesbians for the fire bridage. One, this is fabulous and not anything I can even imagine happening here in the States. And two, I have your solution: hire Michael Biserta.

• "I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday ..." (Morrissey turns 49 today)

• The NewNowNext boys sat down with Jason Preston (Marc Jacobs's on-again, off-again boyfriend) to set the record straight. (They're off-again.)

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

We don't talk much about American Idol because ... well, because there's really not much to say, when it comes to gay visibility. But we'd be remiss to not acknowledge that last night the Planet-Eating Karaoke Voltron crowned a new winner, who won by a landslide.

To find out which David won and see more pics of the stars that attended the event, click on through ...

Alright, this is one of those times when I'm regretting having taken German in high school.

It seems that the Spanish singing competition Operacion Triunfo (the equivalent to our American Idol) has several out gay contestants this season, and that one of those contestant's romance with his husband has become the highlight of the season.

We can't understand a word of the show and all of the fansites that we've found are impenetrable even by Babelfish and Google Translator, but this is what seems to be going on: A 34-year-old American contestant named Chipper Cooke has been doing exceedingly well in the competition, and his relationship with his husband has been put squarely in the spotlight.

Starting right from the beginning with the auditions, the relationship of Chipper (who barely speaks Spanish but is learning as he goes) and his fella have been a part of his story, as we see him picking up Chipper from his successful audition and walking away with his arm around him after giving him a quick kiss.

In the first episode, prior to Chipper's singing "My Girl", the host found Chipper's adorable hubby in the audience, who said "I love you!" (in English) to his fella in encouragement.

But the most stunning display of support was when, on Saint Jordi day, Chipper's man (and he is referred to on screen as his "marido", or husband) was invited on stage to present Chipper with flowers. The two men embraced and kissed and Chipper cried, all to the deafening cheers of the crowd:

I dare you to watch the above clip and not get a little weepy. I mean, this guy sure did:

Not for nothin', but that shot kind of reminds me of the moment during Kevin and Scotty's wedding when we see the look on Saul's face.

Apparently, Chipper's family Stateside was not aware that he is married to a man (we haven't been able to confirm this), so this love story may be as big of a surprise to them as it is to us. (The only mentions of Cooke on English-language sites suggest that he was married to a woman when living here in the States.) I guess that's one way to come out!

If anyone fluent in Spanish learns anything more about this story, please feel free to share in the comments. We'll be following Chipper's progress (and the other gay contestant, once we can figure out who he is) and will update. Go get 'em, Chipper! (Huge thanks to Aurélie for the tip!)

You know, when American Idol finally decides to grow a pair and celebrate the diverse sexualities of its contestants, maybe I'll tune in. Can you wonder why Chipper might have headed to Spain to break out? For shame, Simon...

After a week's absence, Jim & Penny return to talk about the most recent performances on American Idol ("Neil Diamond week" and "Classic Rock week").

They open up the reader mailbag and name their picks for most talented, most improved and most personable contestants from this season. Also, Penny asks Jim about recent comments made by Season One co-host Brian Dunkleman that the show's producers and certain judges were "mean-spirited and targeted specific contestants in an effort to break them."

Co-hosts Ryan Seacrest (left) & Brian Dunkleman
from American Idol Season One

Check out their video blog after the break!