Written by John Mark Adkison
Every year, Barbara Walters reveals her list of 10 celebrities who have “fascinated” America during the year, whether they be in thepolitical arena, on the silver screen or simply inthe news. The list has included olympic athletes, popular televangelists,latin dictatorsand evena pregnant man. The10 people are not ranked in any specific order, butthere isone person who is awarded themost fascinating person of the year. However, while all of the other nine are announced before the televised program airs, the most fascinating person is kept secret. The show airedon Wendesday night at 10.Check out who was the most fascinating person of 2008.
And here is the list:
10. Lady Gaga:To call this singer “quirky” would be the understatement of the year.Everything from her outrageoussense of style to her trippy music videos has marked this performer out from the rest of the “cookie-cutter” pop artists. Lady Gagais the first artist to ever have fourNo. 1 hits of a debut album andwon an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. This past year, Lady Gaga has claimed her own spot among pop culture icons.9. Jenny Sanford:You might not recognize her name, but you might recognize her husband’s, or ex-husband’s. Jenny Sanfordis wife toMark Sanford, thegovernor of South Carolina who mysteriously disappeared a few months ago, only to turn up in Argentina with his mistress. While the story of the two-timing politician is a tale asold as time, Jenny Sanford broke the mold of the “good wife” and did not stand by herhusband after the scandal broke. Instead, she packed her things, moved out of the governor’s house with their four children and began writing a memoir.8.Tyler Perry: A “rags to riches” poster-boy, Tyler Perry has taken the entertainment industry by storm as a director, producer, writer, actor and creator of the Madea films that have turned Perry into a multi-million dollar entertainment mogul. When asked about his inspiration forhis Madeacharacter, he said, “When my mother was trying to protect me from my father, she started taking me everywhere with her. If I made one more trip to Lane Bryant I would have just died! She took me to the hair salon, all these women would get together and have their card games … it gave me a sense of, a different sensibility toward women.”7.Kate Gosselin:This past year has not been an easy one of the reality star mom with eight kids (a set of twins and a set of sextuplets). After being in the spotlight for the last few years, allegations of adultery within the Gosselin householdbegan to surface and”John and Kate Plus Eight” began to deteriorate.The divorcewas not only messy, it wasplastered across every gossip magazine for months, full of “he said”, “she said”. Now that the show is over, perhaps the drama will finally come to an end.6.Glenn Beck:The conservativepolitical commentator turned “shock jock” with radical things to say has been making plenty of waves this past year withcallingthe Obamaadministration “fascist”and writing himself down on the Left’s hit-list. On the program, he discussed everything from his mother’s suicide to his own struggle with drugs and alcohol to his libertarian views. When Walters asked him about thePresident, Beck replied, “I don’t believe he’s a man who says what he means and means what he says.”5. Brett Favre: The only player to winthe MVP award three consecutive times,Brett Favre is something of oddityin the rough world of football.He is undoubtedly the only player to retire, then come back. And at age 40, he is still at the top of his game. Once the hero for the Green Bay Packers since 1992, Favrenow plays for their rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. Playing atage most professional athletes would never dream of, Favrecontinues to give the NFL one wild ride after the other.4. Adam Lambert:No he did not win American Idol, and that fact only madehim all the more interesting. Adam Lambert was the runner-up winner of the American Idol’seighth season, but he did not let that stop him from breaking onto thepop culture scene asthe exotic pop singer whoopened up about being gay inRolling Stone magazine.Criticized for his extremely risque performanceat the AmericanMusic Awards in November, Lambertis not letting anything hold him back. In theinterview, he boldly claimed,”You know, I am who I am, and I think that freedom of expression should be alive and well, and unfortunately it’s not.”3.Sarah Palin: The former GOP vice-presidential candidate and former governer of Alaska, Sarah Palin reprises her spot onthe list after beingon the 2008 list.The 2008 elections defeat did notkeepher from remaining as one of America’s great political icon. After her resignation from governership inJuly,it is suspected that Palin might try for the presidential candidacy herself. For now,she has a best-selling memoir out,”Going Rogue: An AmericanLife”, and is still trying to juggleall of the responsibilities of family life.2. The Jackson Children: Barbara Waltershas a strict policyof not having the deceased as apart of her list, so Michael Jackson was not a candidate for this year. However, his death not onlyaffected the entertainment history, it shook the entire world; an event thatmost definitleywould be defined as “fascinating”. So, Waltersdecided toaddthe threeJackson children to the list: Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket). Kept out of the public spotlight for most of their lives, these three children have hadto mourn the loss of their father amid turbulent media attention andthe unending reminders that continually flashed on every news station for weeks.1. Michelle Obama:Naturally, the First Lady of the United States of America could not settle for second or third.Italso makes it all the more obvious since her husband won the “Most Fascinating” award last year. Duringher interview,Mrs. Obama reflected on her first year in the White House, and what it meanttocall 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue “home”. She discussed everything America wanted to hear, fromwhat she planned to accomplish as First Lady tohow she felt about her husband’selection towhat the secrets were to her great arms.And with that, we can only wait to see who will “fascinate” us next year.See morehere on ABC News.
