Looking Back at...2010: The Top 10 Winners

For some, 2010 was a year of breakthroughs and successes unlike they've ever seen before. In my last Looking Back... post for the year, I acknowledge those in pop culture that have had the best twelve months ever.


10. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Despite it's massive popularity, a lot of criticism is heaped on the Twilight films for their lackluster cast, absurd plots, and sub-standard CGI effects. With all of that in mind, the latest installment was it's best yet, mostly because it didn't take itself as seriously this time around. The movie borderlined on comedy, in a good way. Yeah, there were the serious moments, but there were genuinely witty one-liners in the film, especially coming from (and directed at) Taylor Lautner's Jacob. The two classics: "Does he ever wear a shirt" Edwards complains when a shirtless Jacob shows up waiting for him and Bella, and the genius "Let's face it, I am hotter than you", Jake's double-entendre while they are all in the tent. If the films were more humorous and satirical, then they wouldn't have to deal with crappy satires like Vampires Suck.

9. Sandra Bullock - Considering her personal drama, some would say she lost a lot. But, Sandra would be the first to tell you she doesn't give up easily. That makes her a winner in my book. Earlier this year, she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side. A few weeks after, her personal life exploded when Jesse James was caught cheating. America rallied around their sweetheart, branding James a complete loser. Not one to be deterred, Sandra divorced her loverat of a husband and went forward with her secret adoption. She made her return to the spotlight at the MTV Movie Awards, where she received the Generation award and made out a bit with Scarlett Johannson. In fact, she did a lot of that. She also smooched Meryl Streep at the Critic's Choice Awards when they both won for Best Actress. So, I think it's been established that Sandra Bullock is indeed awesome.


8. Taylor Swift - Being a musical princess isn't as easy as everyone thinks, unless your name is Taylor Swift. She started off the year pretty well by taking home Album of the Year at the Grammys for her six-times platinum Fearless. The darling of country continued her domination of music with the release of Speak Now in October. It was predicted to be a big seller, but no one could have anticipated the mammoth 1 million opening week sales she amassed. Double platinum before Christmas, Taylor has been credited for saving the flogging music industry. Whether or not that's an overstatement can be argued, but there's no denying that Taylor is swiftly becoming a heavy-hitter in the pop world. While her music sales are incredible, what's more impressive is the continued growth of her musical output. See, for instance, Download of the Day choice "Back to December", where she plays the bigger woman and apologizes for hurting someone who loved her. With her massive buying appeal, and her continued artistic evolution, Taylor Swift is setting a path that will keep her on this list for at least a few more years.


7. Eminem - Slim Shady had to grow up some time. Eminem entered a new phase of his career with Recovery, the biggest selling album of the year. Mature but still brimming with musical brilliance, the Eminem on this record was introspective and fierce in his output. The first two singles from the album, "Not Afraid" and "Love The Way You Lie", hit #1 on the Billboard charts, a first for the rapper. "Love The Way You Lie", a duet with Rihanna, spent seven weeks at the top, becoming the biggest commercial hit of his entire career. He also went back to his Slim Shady roots for an explosive duet with superstar female newcomer (and fellow harborer of an alter-ego) Nicki Minaj on her track "Roman's Revenge". To further solidify his success, he was awarded with 10 Grammy nominations, including the coveted Album of the Year and Record of the Year nods. Eminem's astonishing and remarkable return to the top is a prime example of how anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

6. Bruno Mars - If there was one male voice heard all the time on the radio, it was Bruno Mars. The producer-turned-singer used his golden pipes to churn out hit after hit after hit for people, including himself. His singing on the chorus for B.O.B.'s "Nothin' On You" helped it reach #1, while giving Travie McCoy a top 5 hit with "Billionaire". He also co-wrote the Grammy nominated hit "Fuck You!" by Cee-Lo Green. After building enough profile through his features, he ventured out on his own, releasing his debut single "Just The Way You Are". The single went to #1 in the US and the UK. His second single, "Grenade", is currently #2 in America. The singles' success helped his freshman effort Doo-Wops and Hooligans enter the Billboard charts at #3. At the end of the year, he scored seven Grammy nominations for all of his hard work, an impressive feat for someone virtually unknown in January. Sure, there was a little speed bump involving drug possession, but Bruno Mars is back on cruise control to superstar success.

See the Top 5 after the jump....



5. Katy Perry - Katy Perry has had a pretty awesome year. She married British comedian Russell Brand in India this past fall. She proved to be an awesome guest judge on American Idol, foiling Kara on many an occasion. Oh, and then there's Teenage Dream. Her sophomore album surpassed her debut in every which way possible. Her first single, "California Gurls" was a #1 smash, her second single "Teenage Dream" was a #1 smash, and her latest single "Firework" is, guess what, a #1 smash! The last artist to have three consecutive #1 singles was Monica back in 1998. To top of a banner year, Katy stunned the industry when the album was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys, among three others. Congratulations to Katy on all of her success, professional and personal.

4. Lady Gaga - Last year, I chose her as Artist of the Year, saying that she would continue to dominate well in 2010. Of course I was right. Gaga didn't just dominate, she elevated herself into near-iconic status with her smash hits, outrageous costumes, and social activism. Gaga revived the music video event with the release of "Telephone", a 10-minute epic co-starring Beyonce. Then there was the dark German-styled video for "Alejandro", which divided critics and fans alike. The videos helped elevate both singles into the top 10 of music charts worldwide. Gaga became the most nominated artist in a single year at the VMAs, scooping 11 nods for "Bad Romance" and "Telephone". She won eight of them, including Video of the Year. She accepted that award in a dress made of raw meat, launching a firestorm of admiration and revulsion. While she was ruling music, she was owning the social networking world by becoming the most popular living person on Facebook (only MJ has more) and gaining more than 7 million Twitter followers. She used her social weight to improve equality for all, especially for the gay community. She became the most vocal supporter for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a law that prevented LGBT military from serving openly. All of this took place while Gaga was on her 200 plus-date, $116 million grossing world tour, The Monster Ball. Next year, Gaga releases her third album Born This Way and competes for Album of the Year again at the Grammys. Do I even need to predict for next year?


3. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - This year, social networking website Facebook officially became the biggest thing ever, crossing 500 million users and becoming the reference tool to measure social media success. All of that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the brilliant mind of Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg. With an estimated net worth of $6.9 billion at the age of 26, he is the youngest ever billionaire, self-made at that. The success of Facebook also sparked an interest in its CEO. His life story was turned into a movie, The Social Network. The movie, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake, became a critical and commercial smash. It has grossed $180 million worldwide and is garnering heaps of Oscar buzz for everyone involved. The film's biggest role was elevating Zuckerberg to a level of notoriety that he might not have wanted, but only benefited him. Oprah had him on her show, and Time labeled as Person of the Year. Whether the film was wholly accurate is besides the point, Mark is now the most well-known person in the tech field.

2. Apple - One word: iPad. Apple redefined technology again in January when they announced the release of the iPad, a tablet computer running the iPhone software. The rush to fill the floundering tablet market with new products followed immediately after, and the netbook was officially declared irrelevant. If that wasn't enough, Apple launched the iPhone 4, which included a ridiculously crisp display and a front-facing camera to facilitate FaceTime, Apple's video calling service. The iPhone 4 sold like hotcakes, further increasing it's hold on the mobile phone department. Once again, Apple proved that they could move product and define computing like no company since Microsoft in the 90's. With the second version of the iPad and the fifth of the iPhone undoubtedly on their way, 2011 is looking to be another year of Apple domination.

Kanye West is 2010's biggest winner

1. Kanye West - Like a phoenix from the ashes, Kanye West survived the biggest controversy of his career (so far) to deliver an epic album and shape pop culture. After the T-Swift incident two Septembers ago, Kanye said he was going on sabbatical to re-examine his career. What that meant was he was going away for a bit to write material for My Beautifully Dark Twisted Fantasy. In the summer, Kanye released the first single, "Power". With it's beautifully ego-centric music video, it was clear that Kanye was ready to push some buttons and boundaries. His next music video, the 35-minute opus "Runaway", blended hip-hop and arthouse cinema into a magnificent display that highlighted his upcoming album. That album would be the most critically acclaimed of the year, with praise going to his efforts to expand the genre with greater lyrical expression and instrumentation. Of course, it wouldn't be the Year of Kanye without some of his crazy antics, like replacing his bottom row of teeth with diamonds, or the painfully awkward Today Show interview with Matt Lauer. All in all, Kanye West is the complete package that a superstar should be. Even at his most absurd, he is without question the most compelling artist we have seen since the megastar days of Michael Jackson. Earlier this year, I pondered whether Kanye could possibly step into the King of Pop's shoes one day. With this year under his belt, it's looking more and more like a possibility.

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