Number 10
Taylor Swift
I don't know why am I posting her name here but she is one of the first few names that came to my mind when writing this post. My cousin who will be a secondary one student next year is mad about her. Taylor Swift pictures flooded her room when I last went to her house. Local teenage girls, mostly the ang moh kind, worship her after throwing away Pink and Avril Lavinge
Like her album's name, this country pop singer is fearless, clinching numerous awards this year. Even the legendary Michael Jackson was not her match in the 2009 American Music Awards's Artist of the Year category. She also won other awards which include Favourite Female Artist and Favourite Country Album during the show
On September 13, singer Kayne West went up stage and snatched the microphone from Swift during her acceptance speech for Best Female Video and claimed that Beyoncé "had one of the best videos of all time". The audience jeered at him and fellow singers like Kelly Clarkson and West's rival 50 Cent condemned him for the incident. Even former US President Jimmy Carter was in the list
It was from this incident or rather accident that I started to notice Swift for the first time. Previously, I had never heard about this singer before, let alone her songs. The only Taylor singer that I know was the grey-haired Taylor Hicks. Speaking about which, I only know one of Swift's songs-You Belong to Me
When I hum the rhythm or casually belt out a few sentences of the song, people will always ask me where did I heard it. My standard reply to them would be "I heard it while I was in a Guardian pharmacy and I think it's nice". I especially like the phrase "a typical Tuesday night". It's a combination of country style plus city buzz
There you go, Taylor Swift for number ten. A promising young girl who has a bright future ahead of her. From my perspective, I think that she was the one who brought country pop back into the music scene after years of hip-hop domination and 2009 was the year when she did it
Number 9
Magicians
Magic has become popular once again. Thanks to the Taiwanese variety show, Big Brother Variety, which has a magic competition. It attracted aspiring magicians from all over Taiwan and wowed viewers from all over Asia
Professional magicians like Liu Qian, who is one of the judges in the show, also shot to fame. More and more people started to learn magic. TV programmes about magic also started to appear on by one
If 2009 was a year where magic was popular, then 2010 would surely not be an illusion because this trend will continue
Number 8
Aunty Lucy
So embarrassing!
Although she (or he) is a fictional character, I still consider her (or him) as a real person. It is because she (ok we'll stick with female) shot to fame in less than two months since the variety show Paris and Milan started airing
So who is she? She is just a commoner like your mum, aunt, neighbour etc. She symbolizes the ordinary Singaporean aunty who goes to the market, spots a permed hairstyle, wears very "aunty" clothes and loves gossiping
The fact that this character seems so real and natural makes thousands of people especially students become overnight fans of her. It has been a very long time since Mediacorp last produced such a classic character since Ah Bee, Bobo, and Ai Yo Yo
Even a movie was created using her as the main character this year. Now how many people can shoot to fame, become a household name and star in a movie as the lead all in less than one year?
Number 7
iPhone users
Without them and their support, the iPhone would just be an ordinary smartphone. Fortunately, that is not the case. The overwhelming global interest in this Apple product has made the it the king of smartphones
When you think of a smartphone, you would think of an Apple iPhone first, followed by HTC Hero, BlackBerry Storm and other brands and models. If Apple's launch of the iPhone was a milestone for the company, then the users' enthusiasm would be a breakthrough for the presence of smartphones in the market
We see long queues of kiasu people when a telco company launches the iPhone, we see people discussing with each other the different apps they had downloaded. We hardly see or hear anyone talking about any other smartphones. Even non-iPhone users like myself are able to talk about this gadget with their Apple fanatic friends
In a nutshell, iPhone users created a world phenomenon with their support of this smartphone. Without their presence, iPhones or rather smartphones would not have been such a hit this year
Number 6
Yukio Hatoyama
He followed the footsteps of Barack Obama to bring change to his country. In September, Hatoyama who is also the President of the Democratic Party of Japan was elected as the Prime Minister of his country after decades of Liberal Democratic Party domination
The 62 year old politician represents a new hope for Japan and its people. He has been seen as the person who will bring a revolution to the land of the rising sun. Like his unusual hairstyle and big eyes, he is quite different from the ordinary world leader
The Japanese were courageous enough for once to vote for the opposition (as in majority of them). They wanted a change in their country, maybe because of Obama's influence during his election campaigns last year. They voted for a new guy to lead them as they believed that a change was necessary
If only Singaporeans were as brave as them
Number 5
Roger Federer
From a dismal 2008 that saw him winning only one Grand Slam title-US Open and losing his world no. 1 ranking, Federer has since bounced back this year to live up to his reputation as the best tennis player ever in history
He finally won his first Roland Garros title this year to become the sixth man in history to complete a career Grand Slam. He also defeated long time rival Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final to set a world record for number of Grand Slam men's singles titles
Most importantly, after his win in Wimbledon, Federer was back at the top as the world no.1 pushing Rafael Nadal back into second spot. He also secured the year-end number one ranking for the fifth year at the ATP World Tour Finals. Although he finished this season with a loss to Juan del Porto in the semi-final, it was still a great year for Federer to celebrate
On 22 December, Federer was named as the 2009 world champion by the International Tennis Federation for the fifth time in his career
It was a year where he won his first French Open title, set a new record for Grand Slam wins and was ranked the world no. 1 tennis player again. Being able to make one of the greatest comebacks after just one year is no easy feat. It all boils down to perseverance and determination
That is what I call a real athlete with sportsmanship
Number 4
Barack Obama
From my perspective, he has performed as expected in his first year as America's president
At the start of a new journey in his political career in January, he ordered the US military to plan for withdrawal of troops from Iraq and requested the closing of the Guantanamo Bay camp. Although a military judge rejected the request on January 29, a Presidential Memorandum was issued on December 15 to formally close the detention center
In the economic area, he managed the financial crisis with a stimulus package that helped create economic growth which was praised by economists. He took a hand in the automotive industry crisis with renewed loans for GM and Chrysler to continue operations while reorganizing
He tried making a change to foreign relations with European nations including Russia. On June 4, he made a speech in Egypt calling for a new beginning in relations between the Islamic world and America. Only one word can be used to describe his foreign policy. Change
Never mind that his health care reform proposal was met with a considerable number of criticism, he won the Nobel Peace Prize award in October which more than made up for it. He is the first US president in his first year in office to receive the award. Obama was also rated as the most popular world leader from a poll in May
He hasn't changed the world but he changed year 2009
Number 3
Nancy Pelosi
Holding the highest post that no other woman has ever got in US history, the speaker of the US House of Representatives has more power than any of her precedors
She utilized that power to pass every single thing on President Barack Obama's agenda. They ranged from the No Child Left Behind Act to conservation programs and development of new technologies to Medicare and Medicaid benefits
Her unquestionable leadership gives people the impression of her as a stern woman with unconventional strictness. People whom she fought with over the years have mostly been banished
Her disciplined image may make her look firm but she still projects a calm and approachable appearance. It is her style and 2009 is her year
Number 2
H1N1 medical staff
I salute you people. Without you guys, what would the world be like? A big thank you to all of you for your courage, care and determination
and the number 1 is
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You
Nobody decides your fate, only you have control over your own destiny. Give yourself a pat on the back, without yourself, how would you be able to survive yet another year?
Sorry, no pictures for number one because everyone look differently
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