Britney Spears Is MTV News' #6 Woman Of The Year
Which stars had the biggest year? All this week, we'll be unveiling our top nine men and women of 2009, counting down to the #1 man and woman on Friday.
6. Britney Spears
In 2008, Britney Spears placed second on our [article id="1601348"]Woman of the Year countdown[/article], mostly because she managed to keep her career together in the face of [article id="1579025"]bad press[/article], very [article id="1580689"]public meltdowns[/article] and a pair of [article id="1578975"]court cases[/article]. This year, she made the list for entirely different reasons: Not only did she keep her career on track; she took it to triumphant new heights with a sold-out world tour, record-setting singles and a string of videos that dropped jaws and raised temperatures. Spears did it all in 2009, and she did it her way.
2009 Highlights: After months of hype -- and a [article id="1604060"]legal hurdle[/article] or two -- [article id="1606244"]Britney kicked off her big-budget Circus tour[/article] in March, with a triumphant show in her (sorta) hometown of New Orleans. A two-hour, four-act spectacle, featuring scores of dancers (and even more costume changes), a massive stage, pyrotechnic displays that would've put Metallica to shame, a martial-arts sequence and a cameo by Perez Hilton, Circus was a gleefully over-the-top show, wowing critics worldwide and proving that [article id="1606254"]Spears was back[/article] and better than ever.
9. [article id="1628138"]The Kardashians[/article]
8. [article id="1628150"]Susan Boyle[/article]
7. [article id="1628247"]Kristen Stewart[/article]
6. [article id="1628302"]Britney Spears[/article]
5. [article id="1628311"]Miley Cyrus[/article]
4. [article id="1628384"]Beyoncé[/article]
3. [article id="1628415"]Rihanna[/article]
2. [article id="1628466"]Taylor Swift[/article]
1. [article id="1628490"]Lady Gaga[/article]
The Circus tour was Spears' most triumphant moment of the year (it didn't hurt that [article id="1622432"]it ran for nearly all of '09[/article]), and its success served as the launching pad for the rest of her comeback. Sultry singles like [article id="1603367"]"If U Seek Amy"[/article] (with its censor-tweaking chorus) and [article id="1622530"]"3"[/article] (the lone new track from The Singles Collection) were smashes. The latter made Billboard Hot 100 history when it debuted at #1 on the chart (the first time a non-"American Idol" contestant had accomplished the feat in more than a decade).
Perhaps Britney's biggest accomplishment was that, for the first time in her career, she appeared to be the one calling the shots. She slapped [article id="1610238"]restraining orders[/article] on her former self-proclaimed manager, paparazzo ex-boyfriend and attorney, made peace (and agreed on a joint custody deal) [article id="1622333"]with ex-husband Kevin Federline[/article] and seemed to have found love with boyfriend/manager Jason Trawick. She was also savvy enough to poke fun at both herself and the public's perception of her, with high-profile cameos on [article id="1619012"]"The Late Show With David Letterman"[/article] and [article id="1624375"]Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour[/article].
Among her other newsworthy feats, Britney raged against smokers during her [article id="1608910"]Circus tour stop in Vancouver[/article]. She earned seven nominations at the [article id="1617534"]2009 MTV Video Music Awards[/article], including a Video of the Year nod for "Womanizer," and [article id="1619568"]flirted telepathically with VMA host Russell Brand[/article]. Her music [article id="1619330"]inspired director Quentin Tarantino[/article] during the filming of his "Inglourious Basterds." And she even launched her very own [article id="1626359"]iPhone app[/article], complete with "sparkler feature."
Which stars had the biggest 2009? Over the next week, we'll be unveiling our top nine most newsworthy, controversial and fascinating men and women of the year. We based our list on factors like music sales, box-office performance, MTVNews.com headlines and traffic, overall reach (crossover singles, appearances in movies, licensing of songs for commercials, clothing lines, etc.), plus X-factors like "impact" and "buzz." (And no, President Barack Obama didn't make the list -- we'll leave that to the folks at Time.) This is by no means an exact science, but we think the list we've put together represents the men and women who helped make 2009 the most exciting and memorable 12 months in recent history.
We'll be rolling out our list of the Top 9 Men and Women of 2009 two per day until Friday, when we unveil MTV News' Man and Woman of the year! As always, we also want to know what you think, so weigh in with comments below, or upload them to Your.MTV.com!
