When we look back on the 2000s – as we’re inclined to do currently with the decade’s days with us numbered – now and later we’ll reflect on how Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell have hijacked the decade’s music. To what end?  Have we achieved anything other than line the two Simons’ pockets with unbelievable wealth?

The latest product of that production line of course is Susan Boyle whose ‘I Dream A Dream’ album has wiped Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys off the British music history pages as owner of the biggest selling debut album of all time, and in one week of release Boyle’s album has become America’s top selling album of 2009! Throwing a little sour grapes bitterness into the fairytale is music mogul from a bygone era, Peter Waterman, who has suggested that Boyle’s path and others like her may not be completely ridgy-didge, that contests like the ones that have fed the Simons’ fortunes – ‘Pop Idol’, ‘X-Factor’, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’  etc – can be fixed. He has to be listened to. He was a judge on the British Pop Idol series that started all this.

Simon Cowell was the judge who looked on with such ingrualty when Susan Boyle first stepped out of the dark into the spotlights on the stage of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ sparking the YouTube tsunami, etc etc etc. Cowell is now producer of Boyle’s album. Kching!

Let’s briefly get the chronology right. Simon Fuller brought us the Spice Girls. He didn’t put them together. That was someone else’s idea. Once they were put together it was the girls who decided they could do better by dumping their originator and teaming with Fuller’s management. What a con that was! Girl power! What a dysfunctional example to set to a generation of the 2000’s women!  They fell out with Simon Fuller before they fell out with each other. He moved on to devising Pop Idol. Kching!  Early in his music career Fuller had been mentored by Pete Waterman and seen the Stock-Aitken-Waterman juggernaut at work. Product! Product! Product!

‘Pop Idol’ spawned that succession of talent search reality TV shows around the world. Simon Cowell created his own franchises, but was such an audience magnet Fuller couldn’t afford to dump from from Idol. Behind the scenes they compete for influence with the record companies begging for their patronage. No artist grooming necessary. Instant fame. Instant success. Instant sales. The artist? Who cares?  Tomorrow there’ll be someone else. The music?  Who cares? Product! Product! Product! Kching!

The prodigy of these shows, of the Simons, have dominated the 2000’s sales figures – 19 No.1 hits, from ‘Popstars’ to ‘Australian Idol’ – but for every Bardot, Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll and Jessica Mauboy, there’s a Kayne Taylor, Kasey Donovan, Courtney Murphy, people who’ve been told they were wonderful and then deserted.

A lot of energy has gone into all of this worldwide throughout the 2000’s. Are these meaningful memories to take  into the future or have these been the decade’s sacrifices thrown to the lions while we’ve watched from the stands?

Also thrown to the lions to fend  itself in smaller colosseums was the “real” music of the decade we SHOULD be remembering. The Drones. Clare Bowditch. Hilltop Hoods. John Butler.

Increíble, pero cierto. El gobierno británico quiere convencer a las chicas picantes para ser las estrellas principales en la inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres del año 2012.

Simon Fuller, ex manager de las Spice Girls, aseguró al diario que el grupo cantaría en la fiesta de apertura: “Tienen un lugar en la historia de la música británica y no puedo pensar en una mejor oportunidad para ellas de reunirse”.

Nadie lo puede negar. Las chicas picantes fueron todo un fenómeno entre los jóvenes hace ya unos cuantos años. Sin embargo, cuando las chicas del “Wannabe” comenzaban a hacerse notar dentro de su mundo, el príncipe Carlos de Inglaterra pidió a los jóvenes británicos que retardaran su primera relación sexual, ¿alguien le hizo caso?.

No lo sé, pero desde luego el mismo príncipe Carlos se vio anonadado por las cinco chicas. Guapas, simpáticas y extrovertidas llegaron a tomar el té por invitación del propio príncipe de Inglaterra e, incluso, en una ocasión se entrevistaron con el ex presidente de Suráfrica Nelson Mandela.

Así que no es de extrañar que el mundo británico quiera volver a contar con ellas para sus juegos olímpicos. Sin embargo, las Spice Girls todavía tienen un poco de sentido común y aún no están muy convencidas sobre si reunirse en el evento. Es lógico, no quieren verse sobre un escenario cantando canciones de adolescentes cuando todas han entrado ya en una edad madura.

Sin embargo, el ex-manager afirma que verán como se puede lograr actuar en los Juegos Olímpicos de 2012 sin hacer el ridículo para contentar a todos los que piden su vuelta.

Espera, ¿verán como se puede lograr?… ¿y no hay grupos británicos de alta relevancia que hay que intentar convencerlas? ¿dónde está el brit pop? ¿porqué no intentan que Oasis se vuelva a juntar para el evento? ¿qué fue de Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Blur y del largo etcétera de grupos británicos?

Vicky B. as skinny as a model

We have a lot of good ideas for the ‘Digitalistas’ brand extensions and one of those is to have or own modelling agency. A male modelling agency to be honest. We love the idea of sitting behind a desk while half-naked men show us their delicious booty and big arm muscles! Not bad huh!

Someone who also wants to have her own agency is Victoria Beckham. Or at least, that was the rumour in celebworld! They say that Beckham was in talks with her manager – and the man behind her fashion label – 19 Entertainment mogul Simon Fuller about opening a US branch of Storm Models, in which Fuller has a 51 per cent stake. The rumour started in the weekend papers and has spread across the web.

But non of that is true. Victoria Beckham is not about to become a model scout after all, the British Vogue reveals. “There is absolutely no truth in the story regarding Victoria Beckham and Simon Fuller opening a modelling agency in New York,” a spokesperson for Beckham told them this morning. “Victoria is concentrating all her efforts on her fashion line and her family.”

If Vicky don’t want to clear the dirty job, we will do Simon!

Maggie Brown, on the front page of today’s MediaGuardian section of The Guardian, writes at length about The X Factor.

Yes, you wouldn’t have thought the programme needed another article written about it, would you?

Maggie’s hook for the piece is the fact that TV bod Alan Boyd has shown her the original notes he made on the original Pop Idol programme pitch presented to him by Simons Cowell and Fuller in 2001.

The hook then just leads to a history of The X Factor,  and its ilk. But with no mention of Hear’Say, oddly.

But then, Maggie mentions Pop Idol’s legacy:

“it spawned derivatives including The X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent.”

And she adds:

“It would also act as a template for a host of new shows… with a mixture of live judging and public voting…”

But then Alan Boyd passes on his advice to young producers seeking a similar hit:

“His tips include avoiding copycat shows…”

Um, can you see the rather major problem with his advice there? We wish Maggie has asked Alan what his definition of a “copycat show” is, because all these TV producers seem to be doing quite nicely making derivative shows that all sound and look the same as… you’ve guessed it.

It appears that some producers or show creators are not listening to Alan’s tips, judging by the copycat nature of the TV schedules. Did we say copycat? Sorry, we meant derivative. Obviously just using a template.

Wanna big life? A big successful career? Wanna create something that makes a difference in the world? Maybe reinvent news?

The answer, we’re all told, is to think big.

“Your vision of who or where you want to be is your greatest asset” wrote Paul Arden, himself a successful advertising guru. For proof, look no further than two sheets of paper published by the Guardian newspaper today.

Named “the scribbled note that changed TV“, it is the result of a meeting between three people in 2001: TV executive Alan Boyd, and two music producers, Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller. Over an hour they discussed an idea for a new TV show, initially called Your Idol.

It’s a fascinating document for those of us who’ve followed Your Idol, into what became Pop Idol, American Idol, and now X-Factor. But it’s more interesting because it teaches us something about the power of thinking big.

Look at some of their notes:

“Gone With The Wind…never before have 50,000 people been auditioned”

“Arena, big space…multi camera”

“Nation’s No. 1 show”

These guys could have just pitched another reality show to be made in the style of Come Dine With Me or Celebrity Masterchef; and it would have had all the cultural resonance of those forgettable formats.

But they had an ambitious dream to create a product so big, it rivaled Gone With The Wind.

Their success shows the power of having an almost overwhelming dream to change the world. I once sat in on a talk with Alan Boyd in 2006 at City University: he claimed American Idol had introduced the concept of text messaging to the entire US, who until then just phoned each other.

When you have goals and a positive outlook, you have something to aim for. Having goals which get your heart racing is key to building momentum – because then you can’t imagine not achieving it…and you’ll do whatever it takes to get there. Cowell & Fuller had not met Boyd before this session, but somehow they got themselves in front of him.

So, as much as I’m loathed to hand something to him, take a leaf out of Simon Cowell’s book. Think big.

With the future of news & journalism still uncertain, this attitude is so vital in making sure we create an exciting future for it. I like to think someone reading this blog might have just the idea which will blaze the trail for the next 50-100 years: if that’s you, don’t settle for second best. Aim high!

Because SOMEBODY suggested I watch the new St. Trinian’s film, I, unfortunately got into Girls Aloud.
I finally got over Spice Girls after they got old and their crack cocaine lollipops with those fucking stickers that I, for some reason HAD to collect, gave me so many cavities, but another all girls pop band had to come out of the UK. IS THIS YOUR DOING AGAIN SIMON FULLER, YOU BASTARD?
Okay…fine I admit…I liked the movie…Talulah Riley is hot. I’m waiting for the second one…but first…I’ll have to get Girls Aloud out of my head.

Australian Idol Contestant Sabrina Batshon, 2009

Originally called Pop Idol in the UK and created by Simon Fuller, the Idol phenomenon reached Australian television in 2003. It has since become a reality television show which many countries have embraced. It has launched the singing careers of many and helped them in becoming known and recognised in the music industry.

The concept of Australian Idol is a simple one and whether you love it or hate it, it can be said that it serves as a platform for young talented vocalists. The program consists of a nationwide search aiming to find the next best singer in Australia. Contestants audition in front of judges Marcia Hines, Ian “Dicko” Dickson and the newly appointed judge, Jay Dee Springbett Sony Music, hoping to impress them and the Australian public.

Audiences of the show have seen six singers win the title of the Australian Idol including Guy Sebastian in 2003, Casey Donovan in 2004, Kate DeAraugo in 2005, Damien Leith in 2006, Natalie Gauci in 2007 and Wes Carr in 2008. Although some winners have been more successful than others, the show undoubtedly highlights the tough nature of show business and allows contestants to have a glimpse of what is achievable with hard work and dedication.

 Australian Idol is currently in its seventh season. Evictee, Sabrina Batshon made it to the final 10 contestants in the show, yet she feels it was fake and is becoming boring. In a blog she posted with The Daily Telegraph, Batshon revealed “None of it is real. Most of what the judges tell you is not real or factual, often it is just for show and entertainment.”

“It is not a singing competition, it is a reality TV show,” Batshon said.

Batshon has revealed she has never been a fan of the show.

Hello peeps, I feel I have become a somewhat lazy blogger of late, some might say I’m just a lazy bugger, but that’s another story. Anyway first up for this post is a shout for two bands, one of whom regular readers will already have heard a great deal about.

But I’ll start with the band that up until now hasn’t been mentioned in this blog. Their name is Smash Robots and while I haven’t seen them live yet I have listened to their stuff on MySpace and in my humble opinion they are bloody good. Fantastic English rock and regular readers will know that whilst I am not anti-American in any way I have never been comfortable with British rock bands singing in American accents. What’s that all about? Anyway you really should check Smash Robots out, click here to visit their MySpace page and tell them I sent you. How did I come across this combo you may wonder, well I work with Rich who is a member of the band! I’m loving their brilliant song “When Planets Collide” which I just downloaded, that will be on my iPod very soon!

Second shout out goes to a band you will have heard a great deal about on this blog already if you’re a regular reader. The band in question is another fabulous English band, the mighty Steal The Smile. I saw them live in July for the release of their single “Rome Was Built To Burn” and they were superb. (Click here to see a review of that gig) They have an EP coming out later this year so keep your eyes and ears on them and when the EP is released BUY IT OK! Don’t fanny about JUST BUY IT!!!!! If you don’t then just ask yourself……. Do you feel lucky? Well do ya feel lucky punk?” Click here to visit their MySpace page. I am going to see them play again on 1st November when they are supporting the rather talented US band Zebrahead. The gig is at the FaceBar in Reading (click here or here to buy your ticket at just £7 each they’re a bargain!) They also have a few more gigs lined up so check out their MySpace page for news of those. If you do see them live I would love to know what you think, that’s what the blog comments section is for people, so use it!

Check out Steal the Smile on the Zebrahead poster

I also have some very sad news to impart, the death of Lucy Vodden (nee O’Donnell) aged just 46. She was the inspiration for the classic Beatles song “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” after Julian Lennon Lucy’s school friend brought home a drawing of her. John Lennon asked his son what the picture was and Julian replied “it’s Lucy in the sky, with diamonds” The rest as they say is history. Lucy died after a long battle against the autoimmune disease known as lupus. Julian and his mother Cynthia are said to be shocked and saddened by Lucy’s death. Maybe she really is in the sky with diamonds now, RIP Lucy. To celebrate the life of the inspiration to such a great song click here to see perhaps one of the oddest cover versions ever made of the song, by none other than William Shatner!

For the rest of todays post I thought I would put my iPod on shuffle and see which are the first five songs that come up. My fingers were crossed to ensure that nothing too embarrassing came up (and in my opinion it didn’t, but you can be the judge of that) I was also somewhat surprised that there are no tracks from David Bowie, Kate Bush, KLF or the Clash as I have more songs by these acts than anyone else. So I guess I’ll have to bore you with them another day

So here we go with the first five songs that came up when I put my iPod onto shuffle along with a wee bit of trivia about each. Incidentally I currently have around 8,500 songs loaded just to give you an idea of how many these came from

“C Moon” – Wings. Paul McCartney got the idea from a song by Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs, the classic “Wooly Bully” where part of the lyric says ‘let’s not be L7’ In this context L7 is 60s slang for someone who is a square or very unhip. Apparently the opposite of someone who is L7 is a C Moon or a circle! To think for years I just assumed this was something to do with mooning! The song was actually a double A Side with “Hi Hi Hi” The latter song was banned by the BBC because of it’s ‘obvious’ drug reference as in getting high, how L7 is that Daddy-O? As a result it was “C Moon” that got all the airplay including McCartney’s missed cue which remains in the released version as “was that the intro? I shoulda been in”

Wings may not have been L7 but they did have bloody enormous fingers

“19″- Paul Hardcastle. The song was a massive hit in 1985. Basically it was a classy electronic dance track with cut ups of US journalist Peter Thomas speaking about the post traumatic stress suffered by the majority of US soldiers in Vietnam. Hardcastle also lost a court case against Mike Oldfield who successfully claimed that the tunes melody owed a great deal to his own Tubular Bells. personally I can’t see it, what do you think? Simon Fuller who went on to even greater success with the Spice Girls was Paul’s manager in 1985 and it was that very tune that he named his company after, hence the origin of 19 Entertainment!

paul may not have suffered from post traumatic stress disorder but judging from this look he clearly suffered from post traumatic fashion victim syndrome

“I Was Watching You” – Rosanne Cash. This is one of the handful of songs that regularly makes me cry (not much of a tough guy am I?) It is also one of my favourite songs. Rosanne is the eldest daughter of the late, great Johnny Cash. Her mother was his first wife, the rather exotically named Vivian Liberto Cash Distin. The song is from her wonderful album ‘Black Cadillac’ from 2006, if you haven’t heard it I recommend that you check it out. There are religious overtones in the song but there is a line in it which gets to me every time; “I didn’t know it but you were always there, until September when you slipped away” I think this hits me mostly because my Dad died in September 2001 just a couple of weeks after his 70th birthday and I never stop missing him. If you have lost a parent you’ll probably know exactly how I feel. So feel free to open up and tell the other readers if there is “one damned song, that makes you break down and cry” (to slightly  paraphrase Mr Bowie)

Rosanne had an innate ability to control UFOs with just her fingers

“Life’s What You Make It” – Talk Talk. This song was a big hit across the whole of Europe it can be found on the band’s album ‘The Colour Of Spring’. It was released as a single in 1986 and was recently covered by Weezer on their 2008 album the eponymously titled ‘Weezer’ aka the Red Album.

You can also find Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It" on Grand Theft Auto Vice City

“Strawberry Letter 23” – Brothers Johnson. This song is without any shadow of a doubt one of my favourite songs ever. It was written and first recorded for his album ‘Freedom Flight’ by Shuggie Otis. It was inspired by a girlfriend of his who used to write to him using strawberry scented note paper. Click here for Shuggie’s version. It was recorded and released by George and Louis Johnson in 1977 and was quite succesful in the US but did hardly anything in the UK. I was so disappointed that the record buying public in the UK didn’t buy it. So if you are in the UK and you don’t own this, it’s not too late to make up for it, go and download it now! this song also goes out to my good friend Fraser Matthews who has the great taste to include it in among his all time favourites, Fraser for that I’ll forgive you Joe Satriani

The Brothers Johnson were once again shocked to learn that their guitar roadie hadn't earthed their guitars

So come on folks, put your iPod on shuffle and tell me what comes up, be honest now

I am also working hard on producing a list of my 100 favourite songs in readiness for my 100th post, which isn’t too far away, this one is 96!!!!

Images via Freshnews.in

Ellen Degeneres is a brilliant comedian and a good actress, but what experience in music does she have for her to be a judge on American Idol?

Oh, I forgot, she once produced an album for Bruce Springsteen and Lil’ Wayne. Well, I can see her being a judge elsewhere though, may be for the Amazing Race, oops, that doesn’t have judges. 

How about on America Got Talent? That would have been best for her to judge all those wonderful and talented contestants. But, American Idol? Have Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell gone completely insane?

I’m glad that Paula Abdul has left the show; she has become irrelevant, to the point that she was no longer any use to the show, but to replace Paula with Ellen? She’s is a great comedian but this would be the wrong show.

Great, now the American Idol show has three male judges, what a bipartisan panel…! It would be even better if Perez  Hilton joins the cast of Simon, Randy, and now Ellen, I mean, that would have helped equalize the gender issue.

~The Sky is the limit, Carla Bruni Sarkozy for Vanity Fair~

1. SHE CONQUERED WITH ELEGANCE – MISS ELLIETTE: THE STORY OF AMERICA’S FIRST LADY OF FASHION DESIGN

Image of Carla Bruni Sarkozy, the First Lady of France, brought to you by le Clafloutis Restaurant, 8630 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. A restaurant on the Sunset Strip where stars dine.

2. BILLY RAY SPINS TISH CYRUS INTO A HOLLYWOOD FILM PRODUCER 

3. ROBERT PATTINSON – INSPIRING BY TWILIGHT

4. DONATELLA VERSACE TALKS UP GIANNI VERSACE’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE CULT OF CELEBRITY

5. MICHELLE FORBES RESPONDS TO THE EMMYS TRUE BLOOD SNUB

6. THIERRY MUGLER’S SUPER HERO, JAGUAR WOMAN BEYONCE

7. BRITNEY SPEARS IS A MOM-TREPRENEUR: SPEARS PERFUME SALES TOP $1 BILLION

8. CHRISTIAN DIOR BRINGS STOCKINGS BACK AS CITED BY DITA VON TESSE

9. SUPERMODELS AS MUSES – LESLIE M. M. BLUME’S GUEST STYLE COMMENTARY

10. SHIRLEY MCLAIN GETS COCO CHANEL READY FOR THE EMMYS

TEN  BONUS POSTS: 11. POSH FASHION IS SO ELLE-GANT

12. KATE MOSS IS THE NEW FACE OF YVES ST LAURENT’S NEW FRAGRANCE

13. VANITY FAIR WANT A PIECE OF SHAKIRA’S ECLECTIC TASTE & STYLE

14. ART: FASHIONISTA WOLF’S BLOOD OF  THE LAMB  AT NEW MOON RISING

15. KEVIN WILLIAMSON’S VAMPIRE DIARIES SCREAMS #1 TV RATINGS

16. FASHION POP PRINCESS RIHANNA’S BOLD FASHION STATEMENT TO LADY GAGA, FASHION NIGHT OUT, NYC

17. THE BEST HOLLYWOOD COUTURE FASHION LABEL IS MISS ELLIETTE

18. ANGELINA JOLIE REIGNS AS QUEEN OF MAGAZINE COVER GIRLS

19. AMERICA’S FIRST LADY OF FASHION COUTURE, MISS ELLIETTE  HAS THE BEST HEIRLOOM TOMATOES IN THE WORLD

20. FHM’S TOP 50 MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IN THE WORLD

~Gisele Bundchen by Sølve Sundsbø, photographer for Yves Saint Laurent~

#21: imdb: VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR IS A MOVIE YOU MUST SEE!

1. Poor Paula Abdul. 

2. Congratulations Ellen De Geneneres

Ellen becomes the official 4th judge of American Idol’s new season. What a spot!

Simon Cowell + Simon Fuller (entertainment entrepreneurs in music and dance and TV talent shows) + Ellen DeGeneres (America’s funny woman of  TV talk) = they could give Oprah Winfrey’s OWN cable network, a really good run for its money!

Smart partnerships are breaking on through. Ellen’s casting in American Idol is a part of a bigger plan.

Ellen DeGeneres is always in for a good laugh, but the comedian’s most recent announcement is no joke… she is in fact replacing Paula Abdul as the fourth judge on American Idol’s ninth season.

The shocking revelation surfaced unexpectedly when DeGeneres tweeted late Tuesday:

TheEllenShow Guess what? Go ahead… nope… keep guessing… Okay, I’ll just tell you–I’m gonna be the new judge on American Idol!

S-H-O-C-K-I-N-G!

Since Abdul’s abrupt departure from the show in August a slew of celebrity judges — including Victoria Beckham, Katy Perry, Joe Jonas, Avril Lavigne and Shania Twain — have kept her seat occupied during audition rounds.

DeGeneres is expected to join Randy, Simon and Kara during January but those close to Idol are already gushing about the newest family member.

“I could not be more excited to have Ellen join the American Idol family,” executive producer Simon Fuller said, “Ellen has been a fan of the show for many years, and her love of music and understanding of the American public will bring a unique human touch to our judging panel,”

DeGeneres was equally thrilled about her new gig telling the audience of her talk show, “I love reality TV [and] I’m so excited and it’s going to be so much fun!”

This could either be a fantastic career move or an absolute mess! I personally have faith in Ellen considering she’s had some pre-Idol practice co-hosting their annual Idol Give Backs special.

Do you think Ellen will be a good fit in the judges panel? Vote below!

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I’ve really enjoyed the last three or four seasons of American Idol/X Factor. XF4 was a bit of a disappointment, but it was still fun to watch. However, throughout the process, I never quite felt the buzz one tends to feel whenever a contestant with that real, genuine ‘X Factor’ (pun intended) comes along. Don’t get me wrong, I adored the likes of Brooke White and Diana Vickers, but neither of them had that quality that really makes you go, ‘Wow, this contestant is better than the show itself’. I felt it with Kelly Clarkson (AI S1), and I felt it with Fantasia Barrino (AI S3) . You just got the impression that something magical was taking place (excuse the cheese), and you were witnessing it. Particularly in Fantasia’s case…people can go on and on about how much they hate her voice, but you can’t deny that there was a real buzz about her during her run on Idol, nor can you deny that she’s packed with natural talent and performing ability, OR her charisma. Likewise with Kelly. It’s not down to what a lot of people would consider ‘the full package’, it’s deeper than that. Indefinable yet undeniable. It’s the contestant whose winning seems ’special’, and sends shivers down your spine (for what it’s worth, I’ll post videos of Kelly and Fantasia’s winning moments).

Personally, I doubt that we’ll ever get a star like that on X Factor. Some could argue that Leona Lewis had this quality, but I personally never felt it with her. The problem is that the show focuses way too much on the judges, the glamour, the glitz etc, which distracts from the contestants, and makes it hard for them to stand alone as stars. The show seems to be more about making tabloid headlines and creating a celebrity than it is about finding a super-talented music star. I’m not denying that the Idol doesn’t focus on other, less important things than the contestants, nor am I denying that the show’s main goal is to score big ratings…I just feel that it’s more about the viewer’s perception than anything. Idol – particularly in the earlier seasons – came across as a lot more raw and less manipulated than the X Factor, which in turn made it seem to the viewer as though the contestants were potential world-class vocalists/performers in their own right, rather than just products of Simon Fuller, Simon Cowell, the media etc etc etc. Unfortunately a lot of the early Idol magic seems to have vanished following Carrie Underwood’s win in Season 4, but it’s still there to an extent, particularly when placed to it’s over-the-top British equivalent. So who knows, perhaps Idol still has it in them to find this sort of star, even if TXF doesn’t.

Kelly wins:

Fantasia wins:

Sharp-tounged quips, deluded singers and shattered dreams- It can mean only one thing- The XFactor is back on our screens!

The perennial talent search returned last night for its fifth series. The format of course, is the same as it was when it started- filling the niche first created by “Popstars” way back when. Since then, the global franchise is a multi-million pound business, helping to keep the creators Simons Cowell and Fuller right at the top of the music industry.

Cowell had admitted earlier in the week that he felt that the show had become “fake” and was in need of freshening up and so, following a route clearly taken from one of Cowell’s other shows- “Britain’s Got Talent”, there is now an audience included at the audition stage as well as for the live shows.

As always, some faltered whilst others shone. This week’s show opened with two sisters who had move to the U.K from the Ukraine to take part in the show, convinced they could be the next smash hit, sadly, they were swiftly dispatched and advised to continue with their modelling. Indeed much of the first show saw more bad than good but then again, that’s what the early weeks are all about!

Having said that, there were the odd gem. A young mum, Stacey, from Dagenham, Essex shocked pretty much everyone who, having coupled parenthood with the Essex-factor and immediately fell into the trap of presuming she wouldn’t be up to much, with a great rendition of “What A Wonderful World” Unsurprisingly leaving best till last, Danyl, a school teacher proved to the first to really feed of the new audience with a performance of “Getting By (With A Little Help from My Friends)” that even won an ovation from Simon.

In something a surprise, X-factor’s opening ambit didn’t include the “sob story”. The closest they got to tugging at the heart strings was Simon making an auditionee who also made it to last year’s boot camp, sing a second song because his first wasn’t “current” enough. One thing’s for sure, there will be one, probably next week!

For another, we can also be sure that whoever wins, they won’t prove to be anything out of the mainstream, if we’re lucky, they might fall into the R&B mould like Leona or Alexandra Burke, who’s next single- which was leaked on the net earlier this week, will feature a collaboration with Flo-Rida. Althoug, even that would be a welcome change for the rapidly burning out pop stars who despite winning the show and the guaranteed number 1, have failed to establish themselves in the industry- even runner’s up JLS have enjoyed more success that the likes of Steve Brookstein, Leon Jackon or Michelle McManus (remember her?)

But even though we all know what sort pf outcome to expect, most of us, including myself, will be glued to our TVs each week- sobs stories and all!

Kristen Stewart’s simplicity and beauty dazzles on the cover of Dazed & Confused magazine.  Totally trippy! While Madonna celebrated her 51st birthday,with three of her children. Even trippyer! She’s looking good.

When the city of Los Angeles votes their news topics of interest each day in Hollywood, here’s how it looks:

1. THE HORIWOOD TOP 10 – SUN 8.16.09

2. KARDASHIAN FAMILY FASHION IS THE #1 TRENDING TOPIC ON THE AMERICAN BRAIN

3. ANNA PAQUIN LEADS TRUE BLOOD TO HBO’S RATINGS GOLD

4. KELLAN LUTZ HAS BULKED UP FOR ECLIPSE

5. LIKE MJ, BEYONCE GIVES A HELPING HAND

6. HORIWOOD’S TOP RANKING CELEBRITIES LIST FOR 2009

7. WHAT DOES A NEW YORK TIMES #1 BEST SELLING AUTHOR LOOL LIKE?

8. TOP BOLLYWOOD STARS IN THE WORLD

9. HEIDI MONTAG’S HUSTLE IS “DIRTY RICH” ON PLAYBOY

10. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE PARODIES LADY GAGA’S “MEDIOCRE FACE” SONG

Bonus Post: WHITE PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY 3: “DIFFERENT STROKES” TEA PARTY PROTEST SIGN

horiwood’slatest tweet on twitter is: “it pays to shop around. tonight i went to pavilions, traders joes + gelsens to do grocery shopping. by comparing prices i saved $23. yes!less than 5 seconds ago from web

Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston share an uncanny similarity in the same taste in…. leather dresses. Funny that. Here’s the top 10 posts on Horiwood.Com today here in Hollywood, LA, California.

1. V MAGAZINE OUT TAKE: LADY GAGA PIC

2. VANESSA HUDGENS GROWS UP IN HER FILM ROLE CHOICES

3. FARRAH FAWCETT COVERS PEOPLE MAGAZINE

4. TWILIGHT’S KELAN LUTZ FLAUNTS HIS SEXY

5. ZOE KRAVITZ- BOHEMIAN ROCK CHIC – NEW YORK FASHIN WEEK

6. THE VAMPIRE LIST: THE 20 TOP VAMPIRES OF ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY

7. BRITNEY SPEARS LOSES 20 POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS

8. ZAC EFRON: WALKS THE LINE IN HOLLYWOOD

9. SMASHPROOF – IT’S FRIDAY IN HOLLYWOOD

10. TOP RANKING CELEBRITIES LIST FOR 2009

horiwood’slatest tweet on twitter is: “dale k has become a redhead in wellington, new zealand. woah! somebody’s gotta bottle that degree of hotness asap. less than 5 seconds ago from web

Blog numbers don’t lie on the internet. Their numbers are 3-4 months ahead of magazines in who the world’s biggest stars are.

These are the top ranking stars and celebrities so far this year, here in Hollywood. For whatever reason, you the global audience on Horiwood.Com voted for them and gave them the attention you feel they deserve as entertainers who amuse you. Enjoy your celebrities for 2009!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be what everyone perceive to be the most searched for celebrities in the world, but it is actually surprise up-and-coming stars, like Nikki Reid of The Twilight Saga, Johnny Markoudakis of West Hollywood and Miss Tessa (a fashion designer, artist and model) of New Zealand who keep the fame game interesting.

Of course Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett’s deaths and Rihanna’s domestic violence issue with Chris Brown have been some of the biggest media moments this year in entertainment. 2009’s popularity this year however, has to belong to author Stephenie Meyer and the bevvy of young Hollywood actors that she created and spun into young Hollywood superstars with her Twilight Saga novels through Summit Entertainment.

Of noteworthy significance is what Stephenie Meyer has done for Native American people in giving young American ‘Indian’ actors a center stage spotlight in mainstream cinemas again in our times. That’s amazing today, as the blog numbers show.

So, it’s with great pleasure that I present to you, your 50 top celebrities on Horiwood.Com. Thanks Team.

1. NIKKI REID :She is the naughty girl of the Twilight Saga film franchise, whose often held under wraps, by Summit Entertainment. When the heat was on Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s chemistry, it was Nikki’s scene stealing appearance with Native American Indian youngster, Taylor Lautner, that garnered Nikki Reid the top spot all year on Horiwood.Com. This one pic is the most searched for on this entertainment and news website in Hollywood. Reid is a big ’sleeping’ star in the making.

2. DAVID CARRADINE: the veteran, Hollywood actor’s kinky & mysterious death, was a fascinating look  into the darker side of human nature. People all over the world are still interested in David Carradine’s tragic passing.

3. KATHERINE HEIGL: She’s one of the most underpaid TV actresses in prime time. Blake Lively of Gossip Girl earns thousands more than Heigl does on hit medic show, Grey’s Anatomy. Heigl’s costar, Ellen Pompeio does too. Despite, being under appreciated in the TV pay stakes and being gracious about it, Katherine Heigl is often framed as a b*tch by LA media. However, my friends who work on the set of Grey’s each day, say that you will never find a sweeter star whose more of a team player in Hollywood than “Ms Heigl.”

Her divaness to turn on a show Hollywood style becomes apparent on the red carpet,  or in the quirky romantic comedy films she appears in (Knocked Up and The Ugly Truth). Heigl channels old Hollywood glamour. She is the real deal, and comes in at #3 on Horiwoood.Com’s most searched for celebrities.

4. HAYDEN PANETTIERE: The stories that the film crew of Heroes TV series, tell in Hollywood of Hayden Panettiere are hysterical. This girl is not a child in any way, but she has a cult teen following here in America. Hayden Panettiere is a young actress who fascinates American girls. They all want to be like her. This image of Hayden in a country straw hat, and cut off shorts, clocks in at number 4 for the year to date, on Horiwood.Com. America loves a country girl gone bad. Add Heroes’ action, super-powers to her and Hayden Panettiere has it made.

5. LADY GAGA: When it comes to the world of pop, there is no other debut artist who has made the impressions with music, attitude and show-personship than Stefani Germanotta’s Lady Gaga creation. She always brings the fierce, is a great songwriter and lyricist; and Lady Gaga will wear anything outrageous to capture a headline every week. She’s a relentless marketing machine. However, it is her claim that Lady Gaga is bisexual, that ensured her rise to  fame this year, as this post proves on Horiwood.Com. 

6. AMBER ROSE: She is not a singer, she is not an actress. Her claim to fame is that she is an African American model, who happened to date hip hop artist, Kanye West. But Amber Rose totally fascinates people daily on Horiwood.Com. She is the most underrated person on the celebrity set in America. But her fame online supersedes many stars who still say that they are stars. The internet never lies. That’s Amber Rose’s proof in today’s celebrity rankings. This girl is huge!

Her sultry beauty and no nonsense diva attitude, combine the best of fashion, urban chic groove and hip hop music. She just is who she is, a true star as her ratings position and popularity reveals on Horiwood.Com. Amber Rose is the new Nicole Richie, basically.

 7. KRISTEN STEWART: The Twilight Saga’s, Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse films show how one author’s vision can create a superstar if they have the beauty, smarts and chops to fill the role. Stephenie Meyer gave actress Kristin Stewart, the chance to show the world who she really is. She’s a stunner and a big star on Horiwood.Com. LA raised, Stewart’s family all work in film, on the crew side of the production line. When Kristen stepped over the gaffer tape line, she has never looked back and a superstar, playing Twilight’s Bella was born.

I love her singing voice too. Like her face, her voice is so pretty and soulful. A girl who can make both Robert Pattinson hot and also Taylor Lautner so  hot, has got to have enough sensuality to do this. Stewart proves she has. She is often a hate target of bloggers like PerezHilton.Com and female fans in love with her costar, Robert Pattinson, but Stewart keeps going from strength to strength here in her native LA. We love her!

8. MILEY CYRUS: She is because she is. She stepped into the ready made American shoes, of Britney Spears, teen pop star sensationalism. Having met Miley Cyrus in person, there is nothing to explain why America’s reigning teen superstar has the ranking that she does on Horiwood.Com with our global audience. I swear, Miley is so much prettier in person. She’s also incredibly smart. In person, Cyrus is so humble. That’s the shocking part. She’s a bundle of sweetness that fears God and who is naughty a lot too like any kid her own age, adjusting, growing and living life.

In spite of being a global megastar, Miley Cyrus is just such an American teenager! Love her!!!

9. MICHAEL JACKSON: He was the King of Pop and the third most famous person on the planet, after the Queen of England and The Pope. The world stopped to honor a person who was rich in complexity and talent. He paved the way for all African Americans to be loved in high profile positions in America and worldwide. This cannot be diminished or forgotton as your votes this year show today.

There will never be a performer quite like Michael Jackson. Barry Gordy described Michael Jackson as “the greatest entertainer on the planet” at his memorial service. Too true!

10. FARRAH FAWCETT: Charlie’s Angels hottest star ever. The beauty of Farrah Fawcett was always her strength of spirit. This became apparent as the lovely Farrah left this world, losing her battle to anal cancer. She ranks by all audience viewers worldwide at #10 on Horiwood.Com so far in 2009. What a gem of a human being!

11. LIL KIM: She is the world’s most famous hip hop widow. The rapper known as Lil Kim’s fame soared this year with her celebrity turn on Dancing With The Stars.

12. ROBERT PATTINSON: He took the box office magic of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter film franchise, and gave the Twilight Saga the much needed celebrity spark that Stephenie Meyer needed to kick start the Twilight film franchise, perfectly. Robert Pattinson is Hollywood’s young reigning King of the tween celebrity set as a result of a Meyer-Pattinson-Rowling connection.

He hails from the UK and it is his onscreen relationship with Kristen Sewart who has made the Brit (who does not really work out at the gym like his costar, Kellan Lutz does) so appealing in the eyes of girls and cougars the world over. You get the feeling with Robbo that he doesn’t give a toss about his fame. This doesn’t stop girls from throwing themselves at the star though all year round. He needs security wherever he goes.

13. RIHANNA: Rihanna’s unfortunate altercation, with then boyfriend, Chris Brown on February 8th, sparked off a ‘domestic violence’ discussion right across America.

The pre-grammy night moment was very disturbia inducing. Horiwood.Com started the next day in response to this moment in shhow biz. Rihanna rates on blogs and websites right across America. She is Barbados’ exotic pop princess, doing it better, than many Americans. She’s a honey. As tough as she is talented and pretty within the fame game. The girl just lives her life, here in LA.

14. JOHNNY MARKOUDAKIS: He’s a barman that works at the local in my hood of West Hollywood, but it was when Johnny Markoudakis appeared in Lady Gaga’s Nothing Else I Can Say video, that made him a cult Hollywood heartthrob here on Horiwood.Com. Like Nikki Reid (who beat out all celebrities this year), Johnny is one of the shock surprises of the year on who really is a star in Hollywood. The people decide. Nikki and Johnny are both proof of that principle in a democratic, consumer based society.

15. CARRIE PREJEAN: America’s fascination with Carrie Prejean and all things plastic surgery, led the de-crowned Californian beauty Queen to superstardom this year on Horiwood.Com. Hate her or love her, this girl rates. The numbers don’t lie.

16. MEGAN FOX: She transformed from a cutie into a global Hollywood superstar, with Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen. Borrowing a lot initially from the style and PR moves that Angelina Jolie once made as a youngster on the Hollywood chess board, Fox has now stopped mimicking Angie, to step into her own spotlight and find her own voice.

Her video on peer pressure for kids is kinda amazing. It’s what she’s been experiencing lately having being bullied by her Transformers director, Michael Bay in the press. Fox’s statement is, that she may be his actress for a film franchise, but she’s not his girl toy. Love this girl. She’s annoying and church raised, but we’ve got to forgive her for in your face obnoxiousness. Balancing fame is always hard, when it comes to you in a rush, like it has for Fox. She’s alright with me.

17. BEYONCE KNOWLES: No one can out peform Beyonce Knowles. She’s America’s greatest triple threat entertainer and the living female version of a Michael Jackson superstar that America has produced (alongwith Janet Jackson, of course).

Beyonce can open a movie at #1 at the box office and she added executive film producer title to her impressive resume in entertainment this year with her film Obsessed. She is the American King and Queen’s first choice of officiating entertainer. The Obama’s love her. So do I. Beyonce Knowles is such a hard worker. I loved her live in concert. She rocks!

18. OCTO-MOM: Having octuplets when you can’t afford them tapped into America’s obsession with anything that’s medically enhanced. Nadya Suleman’s Octo-Mom creation and manic lifestyle, clocks in at #17 this year.

19. JON & KATE GOSSELIN: A family struggling to raise 8 kids, while divorcing propelled Jon & Kate Gosselin to fame this year. They rate on magazine covers as highly as Brad Patt and Angelina Jolie. They are the poor man’s Brad & Angie of reality television suburban life and they are single-handedly responsible for giving the tabloid magazine industry a huge growth boost this year.

The fact that the Jon & Kate Gosselin could do this in a recession, shows that middle America fears losing their family, putting food on the table and knowing the difference between stress and love in these times of recession. That’s why the Gosselin’s strike a cultural resonance across America. In other countries, not so much.

20. MICHAEL JACKSON’S CHILDREN: PARIS JACKSON, PRINCE MICHAEL JACKSON I & BLANKET: A new Paris  rose on the celebrity set this year and it was not Paris Hilton. The world reached out to the predicament that Michael Jackson’s children were found in, when their famous dad, left them early in this world. Paris Katherine Jackson tore hearts open with her few words about her father at MJ’s memorial. Even the most hardbitten, cynical journalists burst into tears.

21. ANGELINA JOLIE: She has set the benchmark of all celebrities to emulate both now and forever. Beauty, riches and fame must be used to benefit humanity. That’s the purpose of possessing or pursuing any of these three things. To do for others lesser fortunate than one’s self or one’s own.

Her star template she has created, makes Angelina Jolie the author of all modern thinking stars who say they love others. She’s Forbe Magazine’s #1 celebrity in the world. Love this woman!

If I had my way, Angelina Jolie would be #1 on this list of top celebrities, but ya’ll didn’t vote that way and that would be cheating, so she sits at #21 today.

22. BRAD PITT: He is half of the reigning king and queen of Hollywood equation. Brad Pitt has long been loved in America and in Asian cultures too. Brad has recently announced his intentions to run for the Mayor of New Orleans. Of course he is joking, but what better way to promote his charity that is rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation than this. Brad Pitt is one smart marketer of his image and humanitarian-focused brand.

When your Mrs is Angelina Jolie, you better rock it like a humanitarian if you want to be considered sexy. Brad Pitt does not disappoint in this regard. He’s globally and humanitarian conscious, which makes him sexy when he gets home from work. Too funny!

23.BRAD COOPER: It was the exceptional timing of a well written comedic script for The Hang Over that catapulted Brad Cooper into fame’s super celebrity spotlight. He ranks at number twenty on this website this year for celebrity rankings put to the vote by a global audience.

24. STEPHENIE MEYER: As an author, Stephenie Meyer is this year’s J.K Rowling. Creating the Twilight Saga into a film franchise and super brand of entertainment, merchandising and now fashion and cosmetics, shows that authors can potentially be the architects of Hollywood industry.

We love her most, not for just making vampires hot again, but for giving Native American Indians a center-stage spotlight, honoring what these tribes of people have given early America’s founding fathers largely without just recognition. The humanitarian in Meyer addressed this wrong. Stephenie Meyer is amazing! Smart and with a conscience that’s alive to history. She sees history like it just happened yesterday. Wow!

25. TAYLOR LAUTNER: He’s 17, First Native American and Stephenie Meyer is showcasing him to the world. He is America’s leading Injun superstar of the moment and we dig Taylor Lautner’s wolf pack lad shizzle. Hot!

26. SUSAN BOYLE: Susan Boyle was the ugly duckling from Scotland, who revelaed the inner swan in us all, proving that we often judge books by their cover wrongly and that beauty is more than skin deep. What an amazing feat by the break out YouTube star and debut singing artist of this century. Age is nothing but a number. Let your dream always live! I am surprised that Boyle is not higher up on this list.

27. MISS TESSA: She’s an artist, a photographer, a fashion desinger and a fashionista. Fashion and art are in her soul and she’s our silent star of Horiwood.Com. We all love Miss Tessa. So effortlessly talented and beautiful too.

28. ALEX MERAZ: He’s the native American actor whose consistently rated on this celebrity driven website since he first appeared on the scene when the dancer/ actor was cast in New Moon. Alex is also the first Twilight Saga parent of the young tween set being the father of Somack Meraz and husband of Vietnamese dancer, Kim Meraz. He is Kellan Lutz’s pick of being the next big Twilight Saga star. Being a working dad makes Meraz a hardworking man in Hollywood. Meraz hails from Phoenix Arizona.

29. KIOWA GORDON, CHASKE SPENCER, BRONSON PELLETIER: These three lads casting in Twilight’s New Moon gave Hollywood film three new rising stars that caused a furore in Tinsel Town and the world.

30. JUSTIN GATSON: He was a wannabe country singer, supporting his singing dream as an underwear model. He was then plucked out from the pack by Billy Ray Cyrus, to date his daughter, Miley Cyrus. When the relationship had run its course, Justin found himself famous in the fame game and bereft of all promises. He is remembered though on Horiwood.Com and in time, his solo star will rise again. Courage To Love brother! Congrats for making #30 on the top celebrity list. That’s a fine effort for an underpaid guy to still achieve on his own merits. Props!

31. SALVADOR DALI: Because Hollywood is more surreal than real, a surrealist artist whose either dead or alive is going to rate well on a Hollywood news, celebrity website. Spanish artist Salvador Dali has a cult following in Hollywood on Horiwood.Com. Though deceased he lives on in his art. Dali was so talented!

32. VANESSA HUDGENS: Her knack of surviving naked pic scandals has garnered ex-Disney trained star, Vanessa Hudgens her place in Hollywood. Tinsel Town is not all Disney Snow White-ish you know, that’s why Hudgens has earned her place as a celebrity news staple. She rates and pulls her weight in Hollywood!

33. ANNE HATHAWAY: She became a symbol of America surviving George W.Bush’s creepy economy-destroying policies and bad governance, when Anne Hathaway survived a boyfriend who was jailed for fraud. Her beauty and her acting talents being revived, garnered Anne Hathaway a worlwide following this year.

34. CHACE CRAWFORD: It was the Gossip Girl star’s casting in Footloose this year, that blew Chace Crawford up into film star status. He still has to deliver a good film, but we are rooting for him on Horiwood.Com.

35. SIR RICHARD BRANSON: With the help of naked supermodel, Denni Parkinson, Richard Branson, our favorite billionaire guy who flies the skies, captured his own share of the limelight this year. Innovative and Clever!

36. BROOKE SHIELDS: Her sincerity at her friend Michael Jackson’s passing won America’s heart as Brooke Shields snatched the America’s Sweetheart title this year. What an amazing person Brooke Shields is. Sincerity is something you cannot buy or fake in the fame game and this sweet souled actress, still has it. Props!

37. SELENA GOMEZ: Her flirtation with Twilight New Moon actor Taylor Lautner, got Disney’s Latina hottie, Selena Gomez her share of fame this year. An animal rights activist, Selena Gomez is such a cutie. She’s a young lady who knows how to work the star system.

38. EMMA WATSON: She saw her fellow Brit, Robert Pattinson, up his game in America and take over the leading Brit tween male role from Daniel Radcliffe, but that did not stop Harry Potter’s Emma Watson from ramping her star game and getting noticed this year. We love her because she is both pretty and smart. Oh and the rich single title doesn’t go against this young British girl either. Nice work Emma Watson, this year. She’s got her game on!

39. ALISON IRAHETA: She’s the closest music artist to Kelly Clarkson, that American Idol has ever seen. This girl has pipes. Her talent alone put her in the top 50 on Horiwood.Com. If this hadn’t of been a ‘boy’s’ year, Alison would be the reigning American Idol of the USA. Your vote let’s me know that. Congrats Alison Iraheta. The talented person does shine through in the end.

40. MICHELLE OBAMA: She’s the First Lady of America. What Michelle Obama brings to peoples consciousness is a strength in being both American and African American. Her fashion choices and her toned arms, gave Michelle Obama the #40 celebrity spot this year, along with her amazing ability to dream an American dream and live it with courage every day. Wow!

41. JENNIFER ANISTON: She’s made a career  out of being a spinster everyone still loves. Aniston still makes lists in her 40s as a romantic comedy actress. Love it that she does.

42. MAXWELL: His soulful return to r n b music, ensured that Maxwell is #42 on the hottest celebrity list this year. This man can sing! That’s what he’s about.

43. ADAM LAMBERT: His battle to be afforded the right, just to be himself, has made American Idol contestant Adam Lambert a popular figure of the people. He has the talent to go with his fame. American Idol Tour tickets have been selling out, with Lambert as the big draw. Congrats Mr Lambert on getting through your trial by fire into celebrity land this year. This kid is rocker tough.

44. JERMAINE JACKSON: Being the spokesperson for brother Michael Jackson’s death, catapulted Jermaine Jackson back into the public spotlight this year.

45. ZAC EFRON: Disney trained star, Zac Efron is a triple threat who proved he can open a movie at #1 without all the Disney Hoopla attached to him. He does shimmy with Vanessa Hudgens in real life, which helps him a lot! Lopping off his famous boy bangs was a recession friendly move. Blokes don’t have the time, energy or money to waste on fluffing with their hair these days. Congrats Zac for making the top 50 on Horiwood.Com

46. CHASTITY BONO: Cher’s daughter, Chastity Bono caused headlines and prime time news coverage to freak out this year (just a little!), when the daughter of Sonny & Cher announced she was undergoing gender reassignment treatment and was on her way to switching genders and becoming a bloke. Radical! Chastity Bono and Jennifer Aniston both were best mates in high school. It’s amazing how many different routes stars can go in the fame game. This town is different.

47. LISA MARIE PRESLEY: The King of Rock’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley showed what being Elvis kin is all about, when she stepped up to the plate to shed some light on what being Michael Jackson’s wife was all about in show biz, after MJ died. It shot the spotlight shunning Presley back into headlines again. She was quite insightful, refreshing her Graceland merchandising and brand like that.

48. FRAN DRESCHER & BILL CLINTON: A naughty and friendly pat on the rump, by President Bill Clinton on Fran Drescher’s behind, shot the Nanny star and the ex-President to celebrity status fame again this year. These two are just two playful kids trying to do good in the world. Age is nothing but a number, as they both playfully showed, for a charitable cause.

49. CHELSEA HANDLER: She’s the Jewish waitress from New Jersey, now doing well in Hollywood. The humor of Chelsea Handler from the Chelsea Lately show, makes her one of the hottest celebrities on Horiwood.Com. She has “the sharpest tongue in late night” and she also dates her boss. Tricky! Does this girl ever stop working? No! And we love her for it. She makes the city of LA laugh, laugh, laugh!

50. JAMES FRANCO: Going back to school and also being invited to The White House for dinner, got actor James Franco into the top 50. He values education. What a message to send young people. Nice one Mr Franco for completing our most popular celebrities list so far, for 2009.

RISING STAR PICK: Q’ORIANKER KILCHER (Click on her name to read why).

Horiwood.Com’s top 50 celebrities for 2009 was brought to you by the young romance novel, Courage To Love, a love story by Californian author, Robert Ellis.

Posh Spice put down her amazing desert of lettuce leaves, to pick up the phone and book three babysitters for her three sons, to go and be a guest judge in Boston for American Idol.

The undernourished but yet always fashionable Brit of the Spice Girls, is currently standing in as the 4th guest judge on American Idol as greedy Ryan Seacrest, Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller get fatter as the show continues, when Paul Abdul is out.

It’s amazing that Victoria Beckham would even agree to be a filler Paula, but I guess the starving environment, that Cowell and Fuller set, for women (like denying Paula Abdul her payrise) is an evironment that Vicky B is used, having starved herself for so many years.

Seriously though, when a girl wins American Idol every two years (yes it that’s predictable), why can’t women (like Abdul) get equal pay rises like the guys. 

We have a black president in America and also the first Hispanic Chief Justice. Isn’t it time for American Idol to pay women what they are worth and due?

Yes, I think it is! We are not in the medieval ages here! But looking at American Idols payrise hikes and denials, it appears we still are on this show. Shocking! Splash

Us Magazine

It’s official: Kara DioGuardi is returning to American Idol.

“We are so happy to welcome back Kara for her second season with Idol,” the show’s creator and executive producer, Simon Fuller, said in a statement Monday. “She is a breath of fresh air, and her passion for music and her understanding of talent is invaluable. …more via It’s Official: Kara DioGuardi Returning to Idol – omg! news on Yahoo!.

So You Think You Can Dance is a reality show that airs on the FOX Network. It’s a lot like American Idol but instead of finding the next vapid, fame-obsessed singer the show finds the next vapid, fame-obsessed dancer.

Of course you’d expect this show to be similar to American Idol they were both created by Simon Fuller.

The show garners high ratings and is generally one of the summer’s most watched programs. So You Think You Can Dance is in its fifth season with a sixth scheduled to begin this fall.

The final 20 for the fifth season of So You Think You Can Dance.

British beauty Cat Deely is the show’s presenter and the dancers are judged by Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy (perhaps the three most British sounding names of all time). Lythgoe, along with Fuller, created the show and serves as one of the program’s executive producers.

The show holds American Idol-like auditions all across the country and encourages dancers of all styles (as long as they aren’t ugly) to try out. Ballroom, hip hop, jazz, street, contemporary, tap, ballet, the producers don’t care as long as you “can bring it” and have no shame.

You’ve seen the show, you’ve been to the website, you’ve read countless magazines articles about the contestants and you’ve sifted through Lythgoe’s garbage, but how much do you really known about So You Think You Can Dance?

Below are some facts about America’s favorite summertime interactive reality game show-dance off.

So You Think You Can Dance is often abbreviated as SYTYCD. It would have saved Land of Punt a lot of time had we known that going in. We thought it was some hip word all the cool kids used nowadays.

Starting September 20th in Manchester, New Hampshire, the SYTYCD finalists will embark on a tour of North America. You’ll be able to see Ade, Kayla, Janette, Brandon and all your other favorite dancers in cities like Boston, Toronto, Houston, and Los Angeles. The tour is scheduled to conclude on November 11th in Everett, Washington. So You Think You Can Dance tickets go on sale July 25th.

SYTYCD has been nominated for five 2009 Emmy Awards. In its history the show has be honored with 11 nominations and 3 awards. The noms are mainly for choreography (what else) which begs the question who won this award ten years ago when there wasn’t any dancing on television?

For the last two years SYTYCD has captured the Emmy Award for choreography beating out both ABC’s Dancing With the Stars and CBS’ Criminal Minds.

Cat Deeley hosts So You Think You Can Dance. Prior to coming to America, Cat hosted a very popular children's programme in the U.K.

The 100th episode of SYTYCD airs tonight.

“Who would’ve thought?” said Lythgoe in an extensive and thorough interview earlier this week.

The century mark in episodes is quite a feat for a summer replacement show.

The special 100th episode will feature the best routines from all the previous seasons and then 59 minutes of filler. The extravaganza will also feature a pre-recorded performance by Katie Holmes. Mrs. Cruise will be doing an “homage” to Judy Garland by re-enacting her performance of “Get Happy.”

LOP smells a train wreck—a beautiful, uncomfortable, awful train wreck.

By the way, our favorite SYTYCD moment of all time was when the dancers were working at the chocolate factory and the conveyor belt carrying the candy kept increasing in speed. This forced all the dancers to furiously shove chocolates into their mouths. That was hilarious.

Speaking of lesbians, Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the show recently as a celebrity judge. Her contribution can be summed up by one of her tweets: “I’m the guest judge on “So You Think You Can Dance” this Wednesday night on Fox. Someone’s gotta show ‘em how its done on the streets!”

Don’t quit the day job Ellen.

Paula Abdul is currently in contract negotiations with FOX to renew her role as an American Idol judge. However, if FOX and Abdul can’t come to terms, Lythgoe would be more than happy to welcome Paula and her dealer to SYTYCD.

“We would certainly consider [Abdul as] a guest judge. Without question,” Lythgoe told the Daily News.

Abdul would be a perfect fit for SYTYCD. After all Abdul can actually dance.

A must have for any exercise enthusiast, the So You Think You Can Dance fitness DVD's.

Do you have problems getting motivated to exercise? Do you sit around and think, “I could work out if only there was a SYTYCD DVD.”

Put on your leotard and fill up your water bottle because now you can work out to either So You Think You Can Dance: Get Fit: Tone and Groove or So You Think You Can Dance: Get Fit: Cardio and Funk.

When there are two colons in a product’s title you know it has to be good. These videos feature former contestants like Twitch, Katee Sheean, Travis Wall, and Courtney Galliano.

Last Wednesday, FOX decided to air So You Think You Can Dance instead of President Obama’s news conference. While the network was derided for their decision, the White House had already moved the news conference forward an hour so NBC could air America’s Got Talent featuring Meredith Vieira’s interview with Susan Boyle.

Besides there’s not much difference between President Obama and the contestants on SYTYCD, they both care more about being famous than anything else.

So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesday and Thursday nights on FOX.

This guys achievement and involvement in media is truly amazing..

Enjoy, the 5 things you should know about him.

1). Simon is an artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise,Pop Idol in the UK and over 100 other versions including American Idol, Australian Idol, Canadian Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar, Indian Idol, Nouvelle Star, New Zealand Idol and World Idol.

2). Simon Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other US and European TV shows. He is an executive producer of Little Britain USA, a TV show signed to HBO and BBC TV in 2008. He is the manager of performers and entertainers including David and Victoria Beckham, Claudia Schiffer, Annie Lennox, Andy Murray, Spice Girls, Cathy Dennis, Carrie Underwood, Will Young, David Cook and others. His brother is comedy writer and director Kim Fuller.

3). Simon Fuller sold 19 Entertainment to CKX, Inc. in a cash and stock deal worth over $200 million in March 2005.
Simon Fuller has managed the career of Annie Lennox since the release of her multi platinum, award winning album Diva in 1991. Lennox has sold 80 million records and has been called ‘the greatest white soul singer alive’ by VH1.

4). He has these different awards
* 2008 Humanitarian Honour, Black Ball
* 2008 Peter Grant Award, Music Managers Forum
* 2008 Visionary Award, Producers Guild of America
* 2007 Top Trend Setter, Forbes Magazine
* 2007 Green Award
* 2007 Emmy: Governor’s Award: Idol Gives Back
* 2007 100 Most Influential People In The World, Time Magazine
* 2006 Entrepreneur Of The Year, GQ Magazine
* 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program – Nominee
* 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program – Nominee
* 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Reality/Competition Program – Nominee
* 2003 Grammy: Album of the Year – Nominee

5). He has launched the Beckhams’ fashion label DVB brand which includes perfume and denim ranges. The Beckham’s fashion range has become one of the most successful celebrity lines in the world with a retail value in excess of $200 million.
Fuller later formed a joint venture partnership with David Beckham, and masterminded Beckham’s million dollar move to LA Galaxy in 2007.