The Ultimate Top 10

Top 10 Entertainers of the Year

by Jenny Aluning on December 7th, 2010 · posted in The Ultimate Top 10 list · 1 Comment

Every year, Entertainment Weekly, arguably one of the most popular entertainment magazines on the market, releases its Top Entertainers of the Year (this year there are 15 but for the sake of this list, it’s down to the Top 10). These are the entertainers that have left such a huge mark on 2010 that the year would not be the same without them, whether it’s due to their antics or their artistic brilliance (for some of them, it’s both). Agree with them or not, but here are EW’s Top 10 Entertainers of the Year.

10. Stieg Larsson

Image source: All Star Pics

This was the year that Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy evolved from a publishing phenomenon into a cultural one, when you couldn’t go 20 feet without seeing one of those brightly colored covers at a coffee shop or tucked into a friend’s bag. Stieg Larsson sadly didn’t get to see how his books would take the world by storm – he died from a heart attack in 2004, just after finishing the trilogy. The first book, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, was turned into a hit movie (its leading lady, Noomi Rapace will soon star opposite Robert Downey, Jr in the Sherlock Holmes sequel) by his native Sweden and now Hollywood wants a go (Egads!). Due in November 2011, the Tinseltown version, directed by David Fincher, will star Daniel Craig as reporter Mikael Blomkvist and newcomer, Rooney Mara as enigmatic hacker, Lisbeth Salander.

9. Katy Perry

Image source: All Star Pics

The 26-year-old singer was often at the center of the pop culture universe this year with a blockbuster album (fueled by the success of her summer anthem ”California Gurls”), a romance, then a lavish wedding in India to Russell Brand, and a scandalous run-in with Elmo. You also saw her as the unsympathetic guest judge on American Idol and as the new face of acne treatment, Proactiv.

8. James Franco

Image source: All Star Pics

This actor, artist, student, soap star, and writer is so hot he’s not only getting Oscar buzz for his performance in 127 Hours, he’s been picked to co-host the awards show with Anne Hathaway. The 32-year-old says his transformation into a Renaissance man began around five years ago. ”I was 27, 28, and that’s a time in a lot of people’s lives when they start assessing themselves,” he says. Talk about assessing himself, Franco is juggling his acting career with a classes at Yale University, a multimedia solo art show, signing for his new book, Palo Alto, and directing short films for the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. Whew! And all that talent in such a yummy package!

7. Lady Gaga

Image source: All Star Pics

The hits just keep coming for Lady Gaga off of The Fame Monster, which just got an Album of the Year Grammy nomination. She’s currently making headlines on her Monster Ball tour but everything Lady Gaga does is news. The 24-year-old can’t reach one billion YouTube views, take in an afternoon Mets game, or even step out in a nice dress made of raw slabs of bovine flesh without the media and her fans (call them Little Monsters, won’t you?) rushing to the blogosphere to dissect her every move. She’s no longer just a music superstar – she’s an icon, a living piece of performance art.

6. The cast of The Social Network

including Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, and Jesse Eisenberg

Image source: Entertainment Weekly

The Social Network’s young cast all seem poised to storm Hollywood. Twenty-seven-year-old Jesse Eisenberg’s take on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has positioned him for a shot at an Oscar. British actor Andrew Garfield, 27, surprised audiences with his compelling turn as Zuckerberg’s best friend, Eduardo Saverin. Though his TV prowess is already legendary (SNL), Justin Timberlake’s, 29, seductively slick Sean Parker proves the singer-actor is ready for the big screen. Armie Hammer, 24, turned out a nuanced performance as both Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. And Rooney Mara’s few short but memorable scenes landed her the lead in David Fincher’s upcoming The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which she’s filming in Stockholm.

5. The kids of Modern Family

Rico Rodriguez, Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, Ella/Jaden Hiller, and Nolan Gould

Image source: Entertainment Weekly

Every once in a while, TV gives us youngsters who deftly avoid cliché and deliver something really funny. ABC’s Modern Family has managed the rare feat of finding an entire cast of them. With an incredibly talented adult cast, the show’s producers are continuously being surprised at how well the kids can stand on their own. “…The audience really liked seeing them…”, “We’re just scratching the surface with what these kids can do.”

4. Christopher Nolan

Image source: All Star Pics

People can’t stop talking about his mind-bending thriller Inception — or asking him if that top ever stopped spinning. ”I’ve been asked that more than any other question about any other film I’ve made,” says Nolan, 40. ”What’s funny is that people actually expect me to answer it.” Inception was a risky proposition for the summer movie season but it succeeded to the tune of $293 million, critical praise and the all-important Oscar buzz. It cemented Christopher Nolan as the best filmmaker of his generation. Now deep in production for the third Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan finds himself relieved to be back in the Batman world, “…It would have been daunting to write an original script after Inception…”

3. Kanye West

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We love to love him — and to laugh at him. This year the 33-year-old Grammy winner gave us plenty of reasons to do both with his singular mix of artistic brilliance (we can’t get enough of his fifth and possibly best album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), and outlandish antics (brand-new diamond teeth, anyone?). Really one starts to wonder if he has split personalities!

2. Jon Hamm

Image source: All Star Pics

”2010: What a mathematically round, accessible number,” says Hamm, 39, whose Don Draper has transcended Mad Men and led him to host SNL (twice), reprise a role on 30 Rock, dance at the Emmys, and play an FBI agent in The Town. ”2010 was supposed to be ‘the year we make contact’ (wrong again, Arthur C. Clarke), but for me 2010 was just a tremendously exciting, rewarding year.”

1. Taylor Swift

Image source: All Star Pics

From a No. 2 single debut (”Today Was a Fairytale”) to a hit movie (Valentine’s Day) to four Grammy wins to jaw-dropping first-week sales of her third record (Speak Now – she impressively single-handedly wrote all 14 songs), there’s no question that 2010 was a great year for Taylor Swift. That last record-setting stat (1,047,000 units in one week) may have some saying she’s saved the music business but Swift’s not paying attention to that. ”I write music about my life and love and relationships, and I hope that people like it enough to bring it into their world and make it about their life and their love and their relationships. That’s where I have to draw the line as far as what I am and what I am not,” says Swift, 20, our youngest-ever Entertainer of the Year.

List source: Entertainment Weekly with additional commnetary by Jenny Aluning