So 2009 is near its end, and it wasn't until recently I realised how much has happened this year. When it came to the celebrities that were about this year, it became hard to put them into any specific order or to cut down to just this list.
Michael JacksonDespite there being no particular order, I believe that the late King of Pop should have the first mention. In March of this year, Jacko came to London's O2 Arena and announced that he'd be performing a string of concerts there on his very last tour This Is It before retiring from show business for good. After the first 10 dates were sold out in record-breaking times, another 40 dates were added. Jacko's health became questionable when he looked a little worse for wear and rumours circulated Britain as to whether he'd be able to manage all 50 concerts. On June 25th, the whole world was left shocked when he died in his LA home after suffering from cardiac arrest.
The LA coroner finalised his death as homocide after being prescribed a concoction of drugs during the lead-up to his London tour. His personal physician Conrad Murray is currently on trial for manslaughter. Jackson's televised tribute was watched by over a billion viewers worldwide with eulogies from family, close friends and various performances at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Since then, a film documentary of Jacko's rehearsals, This Is It, has been released in cinemas around the world, which when released was subject to criticism as a poor reflection of the star's declining health. Michael Jackson's legacy will live on for years to come and it's a guarantee that those gigs would've been breathtaking.
Jade Goody
I don't know if Jade Goody was a topic of discussion in the States, but she definitely was in the UK. We met Jade in the third series of reality show Big Brother in 2002, and she didn't leave the limelight after that. Whilst trying to make amends with Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty after being accused of racist bullying, Jade featured on the Indian equivalent of the show in August 2008. She was ordered home after, whilst on air, the news was broken to her that she had cervical cancer. In February of this year, she was told that the cancer was terminal. Desperate to have the 'Fairytale' wedding that she had dreamt of her whole life, Goody underwent treatment and married her boyfriend, Jack Tweed on February 22. On Mothers' Day, just one month later, Jade died in the early hours of the morning leaving behind husband Jack and her two sons Bobbie, 6 and Freddie, 5. Jade had her journey through the chemo televised in order to raise awareness of the disease and the importance of smear tests. Since then, people have been fighting for Jade's law in order to lower the age limit for women to have smear tests from 25. (Jade was only 27 when she died.)
Britney SpearsWell well well, we've seen BritBrit shave her head, attack a pap's car with an umbrella, get sectioned and mime on the X Factor in London. So when her comeback tour, Circus, came to London, I was determined to go to see if the Princess of Pop had really come back. Whether she sang or not, she still looked amazing and the rest of the show made up for what was missing. (i.e. live vocals).
Patrick Swayze
The man that once told us that "Nobody puts baby in the corner" lost his battle to pancreatic cancer in September of this year. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one that died a little inside. Nor do I think I'm the only one who got home from college and watched Dirty Dancing. That's what I thought.
Lady GagaThe wacky leotard-wearing diva's demo of debut single, "Just Dance", did the rounds in the UK earlier this year, and since then, she hasn't left our sight. From her outrageous dress sense to her inspirational confidence, Gaga has been unavoidable with the papz. I mean, she even sang a song about them. Keep it coming, Gaga.
Other people in 2009
Robert Pattinson is the vampire we all wouldn't mind biting us. Also voted Sexiest Man of 2009 by Glamour Magazine.
Taylor Lautner - 17? With a body like that? Enough said.
Beyoncé graced the world once again with yet another blinding tour, I Am.. Sasha Fierce, and the bootylicious Queen of RnB is literally unstoppable.
Jay-Z - as well as being the luckiest man alive for being married to Beyoncé, he's also released yet ANOTHER album, The Blueprint 3, making it his 11th #1 album, beating the record that was previously held by Elvis Presley.
Katy Perry has been another style icon, the envy of women worldwide, and a role model. 2009 has seen her relationship with Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes end and her latest with UK bad boy Russell Brand begin.
Jedward had to be mentioned. The Grime Twins from Ireland caused all sorts of drama in the tabloids and over YouTube when they managed to get themselves to the 7th week of X Factor's live shows before being eliminated.
Daniel Radcliffe, otherwise known as Harry Potter caused a stir after turning to the theatre and playing a role in which he walked around stark naked. Once the press had calmed down over that, Radcliffe had a clean slate again. His clean slate however got nicely dirtied up when a photo taken from a mobile phone was sent to British newspapers of the star supposedly smoking a spliff at a house party (this was quickly dismissed as a false allegation by his reps.) I'm against drugs, but I took my hat off to him for it, metaphorically of course. After all, he's 20 years old and deserves to catch up on the life he missed out on because of his career.
Miley Cyrus also seemed to make a nice impact on the tween scene this year, with more leaked photos that would make Mickey Mouse cover his eyes, just like her Disney co-star Vanessa Hudgens. Cyrus also managed to release an autobiography (at the ripe old age of 16), and second album complete with a lot of bumping and grinding. She deleted her Twitter, which in consequence caused some obsessive fan to eat her cat, Fluffy. Wowzers, what achievements. 
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