‘Glee,’ ‘V,’ ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ ‘Dexter’: Find out what’s next in the Spoiler Room

Image Credit: Jeff Petry/ABC; Michael Yarish/Fox; Randy Holmes/ABCThis week: reasons you’ll be happy to not be spending the holidays at the Walker household, intel on the return of V, and a Glee tease that will get your track suit bottoms in a bunch.

Remember to keep sending in scoop requests through Twitter replies/direct messages (@EW or @EWSandraG) or email (SpoilerRoom@ew.com).

‘V’: A TRAITOR AMONG THEM?
Fun fact: When a season ends with the sky turning red, there’s cause for concern — and we learn all sorts of reasons why in the Jan. 4 season opener. For one, it can cause your face to melt off — kidding. Sort of. Gruesomeness aside, the premiere gives reason to believe this season could be faster-paced than the freshman run. Here’s what goes down: We learn a bit about the meaning of the red sky (clue: an environmental scientist has a piece of the puzzle); we learn the consequences of accusing Anna of becoming more human (clue: don’t mess with a woman who has a tail with a pointy end); we see Decker make a bold move to support the V (clue: goodbye, journalistic integrity); and we learn of a possible traitor in the Fifth Column. No clue for that one, but prepare to be devastated by the answer.

‘BROTHERS AND SISTERS’: THE WALKER WHO STOLE CHRISTMAS
Moms are the greatest, aren’t they? Especially around the hectic holidays when they, you know, do everything. So, when Karl sees Nora fraying at the edges during her own quest for the perfect Christmas, he offers to take her to Santa Fe to escape the madness (because nothing says holiday cheer like paper bag lanterns) — and she takes him up on it! Meanwhile, the Walker children are left Christmas orphans. What results is plenty of campy Walker-ness, mostly between Kitty and Kevin as they battle for the right to host Christmas — and ownership of the village and train that come along with the honor. (Admit it; you do like the camp as long as it’s in small doses.) At the heart of the episode: some very surprising scenarios, like lucid Holly, Justin drunk off his a**, and Kevin with a rather disturbing mustache that falls somewhere between Clark Gable and Billy Dee Williams on the facial hair scale. Oh, I’ve said too much…

‘LEVERAGE’: MOREAU WHERE THAT CAME FROM
The final two episodes of Leverage‘s third season (airing Dec. 19) will easily be fan favorites. There’s plenty of what you love about the show: Parker wit, scheme-offs with international crime man Damien Moreau (Goran Visnjic), and Alec showing us how big his brain is. But there are also touches of things we don’t see as much on the show. For one, there’s a tender moment between the team and tough guy Eliot, following a huge revelation. Other highlights: Alec’s brush with death after he takes a swim…while wearing handcuffs; guest star Visnjic in a robe (yum!); Sophie acting as first lady to a country in peril; and the season’s huge cliffhanger.

SIDE DISHES

Rebecca L. asks: Is there any hope for Finn and Rachel to get back together on Glee or are they over for good?
Are you sitting down? Because you should be sitting down. According to a Glee source, the pair is done…for now. But you know a popular hunk like Finn doesn’t stay on the market for long. My source tells me: “Rachel will [be] spending much of her time trying to get him back…just like in The Way We Were. The big question is: Now that he’s free, will Quinn dump Sam for Finn?”

Image Credit: D Dipasupil/WireImage.com@dBoyfromOz asks: Any scoop on the Dexter finale?
Sgt. Batista’s on-the-rocks marriage with LaGuerta won’t get any better before the end of the season — but that doesn’t mean the marriage is hopeless, either. David Zayas told me this week at a LAByrinth Theater Company’s annual celebrity charades fundraiser in New York that the couple’s season-long troubles aren’t necessarily a sign of a breakup. “It never gets resolved. Marriages don’t get resolved. It’s a journey,” he said. “There probably won’t be a definite answer to that question in the season finale, but we’ll be back.” Yes. they will!

Lisa B. asks: You were such a tease on the Dexter spoilers last week! I want to know if Julia Stiles’ character is going to return next season, and if Deb is going to find out about Dexter’s “dark passenger” this season.
Everyone has been tight-lipped regarding the Dexter finale — but luckily, the same can’t be said for star Michael C. Hall. While presenting a “Dexter-esque” playlist on New York’s 101.0 RXP, the actor seemingly spilled a huge spoiler by saying fans should pay “special attention” to one of his picks, Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” before watching the finale. Among the lyrics to this song that so-perfectly describes Dexter and Lumen: “The train leaves at half past 10/ But it’ll be back tomorrow same time again./ The conductor, he’s weary, still stuck on the line./ But if I can save you any time/ Come on, give it to me. I’ll keep it with mine.” Train = literal? Train = escape? Train = metaphor for killing? Okay, clearly I’m not a lyric-interpreting genius by any means, so I’m taking your guesses in comments!

Mercedes G. asks: When will Dallas Roberts return to The Good Wife?
After melting into a puddle at the sight of Josh Charles at the aforementioned celeb event this week, I was able to compose myself enough to ask the actor about his quote in our Entertainers of the Year issue (which featured the men of The Good Wife!): “I’m not interested in playing a character and having him being called ‘likable.’” The statement made Josh’s BFF Mandi Bierly and me wonder if he was hinting that Will would do something in the second half of the season that would cause him to be particularly unlikable. Charles clarified: “I don’t mean that there’s any deep, dark thing coming that’s going to make people hate the character. I just mean that I don’t think the writers are really interested in writing characters that are just likeable…. I think there will — as we see more of Will’s backstory — be some things that you realize throughout the season, but it’s not going to be a complete 180. And I’ll leave the surprise until people see it.” Then he smiled — and I might have blacked out after that. As for Roberts, he’ll be back in the Dec. 14 episode.

Image Credit: Jack Rowand/The CWLaura P. asks: Is Crowley REALLY dead on Supernatural?
The sight of Crowley’s burning bones last week sent chills through me, too. And while my Supernatural sources can’t say for certain if Mark Sheppard will return to the show this season, I am told that fans should “never say never to seeing him again in the world of Supernatural.” I think we can all agree that bringing a character back from the (presumed) dead is just another day at the office for the show, no?

Erin G.: Parenthood never gets any love, which is a shame. Anything on the second half of the season?
You know that second baby that Julia and Joel are trying to have? Well, if star Erika Christensen has her way, that plan will see many delays in the coming episodes. “I want them to push it off for a couple of years so Erika can get pregnant,” she laughed. “What happens if we do the baby bump and then I get pregnant later? What, they have three kids? I don’t know.”

Marcus F.: Any idea when Treme comes back?
EW ran into Melissa Leo (Toni) at the premiere of The Fighter earlier this week, and she was happy to report that the cast and crew is back at work and tells us that her character is “still fighting the good fight in a very unforgivable situation.” As far as when you’ll see the fruits of their labors, a source said the network is looking at a return in spring 2011.

(Additional reporting by Tim Stack and Carrie Bell)

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‘Dexter’ producer teases Sunday’s finale ‘The Big One,’ plus an exclusive clip from the episode!

One episode. That’s all that stands between you and The End…. of Dexter‘s fifth season, that is. Questions loom over Showtime’s serial killer drama: [Spoiler Alert: Stop reading if you haven't seen episode 11] Will the discovery of Liddy’s body prove more dangerous for Dexter (Michael C. Hall) or Quinn (Desmond Harrington)–or both? Will Dexter track down Lumen (Julia Stiles) before it’s too late? What does Jordan (Jonny Lee Miller) have in store for Dexter? Is this the episode that Harrison’s nanny (Maria Doyle Kennedy) is finally revealed to be plotting something sinister? On Sunday night, answers will flow. Right now, though, you can play the guessing game with the aid of some teasers. Dexter executive producer Sara Colleton gives you, EW.com reader, four clues to fire the imagination about the finale, titled “The Big One.” Craving a sneak peak in video form? Check out an exclusive clip from the finale after the jump.

No. 1: “Has Dexter found true love? Is this his soulmate? Our fans know these decisions are tied to the yearlong theme, and it’s Dexter atoning for his part in Rita’s death. Has he atoned enough in helping this woman and coming to terms with his responsibility? Will that satisfy the gods? Lumen is the key element in bringing around Dexter’s atonement, but the big question is: Is there something left he’s going to have to sacrifice to achieve atonement?”

No. 2: “Remember in episode 11 when Liddy’s blood dripped on Quinn’s shoes? Well, who is the Miami Metro blood expert who’s going to be called upon to see whose blood that is? That’s going to be a very interesting conundrum for Dexter. Part of why Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) understands what these women went through is that she went through this in season 1, when Rudy captured her and was going to kill her, and Dexter had to kill Rudy to protect Deb. So Dexter’s like, ‘Do I want my sister involved with another bad guy?’  To Dexter, Quinn is a bad guy. But we’ve evolved Quinn, and I think to a lot of our audience Quinn has stepped up and become someone worthy of Deb. So Dexter is trying to weigh, ‘Is this good for Deb?’ and the no. 1 rule of the Code: ‘Do not get caught.’”

No. 3 “Deb has become this dogged detective. Like a dog with a bone in her mouth, she’s not going to let go–she’s going to follow this vigilante killer theory right to the end. So as the loose pieces of this game start fitting together, how close is Deb going to get to finding out who is ’13'? And who is this man helping her?”

No. 4: “Jordan’s a complete control freak and he has been pushed to the point of losing his control by Dexter and Lumen. So it comes down to: Is Lumen going to be able not to succumb to being a victim again? When we first met her, she was a victim and slowly she became an avenging angel as Dexter gave her strength. But she’s alone with Jordan, who’s going to bring her back to the site of the horror. So how mentally strong can a victim of that kind of abuse be? Is she going to survive long enough for Dexter to find her?”

Okay, Dexperts, it’s time to lock in those finale predictions. Start spilling.

(Follow: @dansnierson)

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‘The Closer’ calls it quits

Image Credit: Karen NealThe Closer is closing. TNT has decided that season 7 of the popular police drama will be its last. Kyra Sedgwick, who won an Emmy playing the determined L.A. cop, Brenda Leigh Johnson, made the decision, according to a statement from the network. “I cannot fathom how difficult it will be to say goodbye to the incredible family we’ve created on The Closer,” Sedgwick said in a statement.  “I will always be grateful to James Duff for his love and friendship, as well as for creating such a rich and complex character who I have loved living with year after year…. I want to thank … the incredible fans … for all of their unwavering support over the last seven years.”

Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, added, “The series has literally changed the face and course of both TNT and Warner Bros. Television, and we will always be grateful for all that [Kyra] has contributed toward that success.” Production of the 15-episode final season will begin next spring.

Read more:
Kyra Sedgwick joins ‘Man on a Ledge’
Since when were female law enforcement officials the hottest commodity on TV?

View the original article here

Miley Cyrus -- Not Dazed by Bong Controversy - TMZ.com

12/12/2010 1:00 AM PST by TMZ Staff   Miley Cyrus isn't letting the uproar over her bong use knock her off her game -- in fact sources say since the video of Miley experimenting with drugs came out ... the 18-year old's been a total pro on the set of a movie.

Miley arrived in New Orleans last week to shoot "So Undercover" -- and sources close to the production say hours after TMZ published the video of Miley taking bong hits ... she showed up for rehearsals.

We're told Miley and her co-star -- Kelly Osbourne -- ran through script lines, as scheduled, on Friday. According to our sources ... Miley knew the bong video was out, but "she kept her focus on the movie."

Miley's mom, Tish, is a producer on "So Undercover." It's unknown if she is on set yet ... filming isn't scheduled to begin until later this week.

Tags: Miley Cyrus, Tish Cyrus

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Exclusive: ‘Hawaii Five-0′ books a brother for Danno

Image Credit: Neil Jacobs/CBS; Inset: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images A comedian is about to hang ten with the cast of Hawaii Five-0. EW has learned exclusively that Dane Cook has been cast to play the brother of Danny “Danno” Williams (Scott Caan). For now, he’s set to appear in one episode that’ll air in February.

Cook was last seen in the flicks My Best Friend’s Girl and Dan in Real Life. His TV appearances has been mostly devoted to his comedy act; he’s done a bunch of specials for HBO and Comedy Central. His early scripted TV work included Good Girls Don’t and Suddenly Susan.

Read more:
Scott Caan: Fall TV’s new action star
Dane Cook Shapes Up

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Video Game Awards: A mixed bag

Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty ImagesRed Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2 and God of War 3 were big winners at Saturday’s Spike Video Game Awards. Neil Patrick Harris, who hosted the ceremony, won Best Human Performance (Male) for his vocal work as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Red Dead Redemption–an open world Western from Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto) prickly with provocative themes that evoke Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven–won Game of the Year and three other awards. Mass Effect 2–a role playing game with a deep, rich sci-fi world–bagged three awards including Studio of the Year for BioWare. God of War 3–the latest chapter in Kratos’ war of vengeance against the Greek gods–won in the Best PlayStation 3 Game and Best Graphics categories.

Other notable winners included actress Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), who won Best Human Performance (Female) for her vocal work in Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty, which also won for Best PC Game. Super Mario Galaxy 2 won for Best Wii Game; Call of Duty: Black Ops won two awards including Best Character (Sgt. Frank Woods); and Halo: Reach won for Best Multi-Player Game. [Full disclosure: I served as a judge for this year's Spike Video Game Awards. My responsibilities included voting for candidates and then casting a vote in each category once the finalists were determined. A full list of winners--which I did not know in advance--can be found at Spike's site.]

The show itself reminded me of some videogames I’ve played: visually spectacular (thanks to a Tron-meets-Soul Train production design, enhanced by 3-D virtual set extensions that only TV viewers could see), emotionally empty, and occasionally marked by bad taste, most of which Neil Patrick Harris was forced to facilitate. The opener was a fake-out that played to Harris’ awards show-hosting rep. You expected him to come out and sing a kudosfest-spoofing tune. Instead, he took the stage looking Barry Stinson debonaire and radiating macho cool… and packing heat, which he used to fake-slaughter a troupe of dancers, their white tuxes blooming with fake red blood. It was an obvious joke that fell totally flat, and worse, it played to another image–a cultural view of videogames as a genre of entertainment largely defined by those games that are gratuitously violent. I’m surprised that something designed to celebrate the “art” of the medium would promote that cliche.

I would have killed to have been a fly on the wall of Harris’ brain as he gamely (and regretfully?) soldiered through the show. One of the ceremony’s edgier moments came when the host accepted his award with mock-surprise and bantered with a giant Spider-Man head projected on a screen. In the span of a minute, the bit went from really amusing to wrong by making its wall-crawler work lewd, crude and blue. (Although the moment where Spidey blasted Julie Taymor’s troubled Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical as “sh—y” took some admirable chutzpah.) Harris ended the bit, as designed, by asking the producers to “cut the feed.” I felt the same way–many times during the show. Harris (and Spider-Man) deserved better. But at least the actor finally got an award out of it. Memo to NPH: Don’t feel obligated to host every awards show that asks you to do so.

The show served not only to congratulate the videogame industry, but serve as a marketing platform to preview and promote a number of 2011 games that could afford the product placement showcases within the telecast. Naughty Dog, the studio behind the Uncharted franchise, aired a promo during the telecast to announce that the third installment in the series, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, will be released on November 1, 2011–or 11/1/11. If you missed our scoop on the game, and you want more info on the plot and the kind of gameplay to expect, click here. The promo for Batman: Arkham City was riveting, and the tease for Mass Effect 3 gave me sci-fi-destructporn goosebumps. Monolithic robotic Reapers laying waste to London like War of the Worlds tripods on steroids? I’m in. But does that mean the game will be set on Earth? Or was the promo merely intended to be a capture-the-imagination vignette designed to dramatize what’s at stake in the game? Can’t wait until next year to find out. There were promos for other games, too, including Resistance 3 and Elder Scroll: Skyrim. Gamers, were you pleased by the winners? And what promos looked most promising to you?

More from EW:
Neil Patrick Harris on hosting the Video Game Awards

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‘The Walking Dead’: Let’s meet this week’s zombie cover stars!

People tend to know well ahead of time that we intend to put them on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Not so the quartet of folks who are featured, in zombie form, on this week’s Walking Dead-celebrating issue alongside the show’s star, Andrew Lincoln. “One of my other zombie friends from the show texted me a picture and was like, ‘Look! You’re on the cover!’” says Alyssa Courtney Gruhn (a.k.a., “Bottom right cover zombie”). “I was like, ‘Whaaat?’ It came out of nowhere. It was pretty awesome.” Music store manager Charles Casey was similarly surprised to find himself following in the EW cover-decorating footsteps of such luminaries as Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and, uh, the dog from Frasier. “I got a call from my boss, who subscribes, and he informed me that I was on the cover,” says Casey, who is the zombie on the far left. “I actually work next to a Barnes & Noble, so I gave the heads up to my friend who works there and he bought all the copies they got this week. I have 15 sitting in front of me.”

Maybe we should put non-A-listers on our cover more often. Think of all the extra copies we could sell! In the meantime, after the jump, our quartet of undead unknowns reveal how they got their Walking Dead roles in the first place, recall the heat-blasted Atlanta shoot, and tell us their zombie-playing secrets.

Image Credit: Matthew Welch/AMCSONYA THOMPSON
Entertainment Weekly: How did you get the Walking Dead gig?
ST: I was also a zombie on Zombieland and the agency that got me that audition said, “Hey, you’ve been chosen to be a zombie in The Walking Dead.” It just went from there. I attended zombie school, where they taught you how to move, and where they chose their 20 core zombies that were going to be featured.

EW: Is it worrying that you’ve been cast as a zombie twice?
ST: It is kind of a joke for me. Because I was also a zombie in Night of the Jackals, which is this little independent thing. Then I went to Zombieland, and in [TV movie] Ben 10 I was kind of like a zombie too. So when I got this one I was joking with the casting company that they were type-casting me. [Laughs]

EW: Is it true you’ve started to get invited to conventions.
ST: I have been invited to the Atlanta Comic Con, which is next weekend, and I’ve also been invited to one in Nebraska and that’s in June. The zombie thing seems to be really working for me. Hey, if I’ve got it, I’ve got it, right?

Image Credit: Matthew Welch/AMCLARRY MAINLAND
Entertainment Weekly: How did you get the Walking Dead gig?
LM: I’m a newbie to this whole thing. The Walking Dead is the first thing I ever did. A good friend of mine said, “You look like a zombie without any makeup. You really ought to put in for it.” I went, “Well, gee, thanks.” But he had done a couple of extra acting stints and he had a ball doing it. So I told my wife, “What the heck?” I put in my information thinking it would never happen and two minutes later I got a phone call. Greg Nicotero [Walking Dead makeup effects supervisor], he said, “You were one that has ‘The look.’”

EW: What’s your favorite memory from the shoot?
LM: It’s an overall memory. I was amazed at how nice Greg Nicotero and his crew from KNB were, in making us up and everything. Frank Darabont [Walking Dead executive producer and pilot director], he was an incredibly busy man. But he’d stop right in the middle of whatever he was doing to answer any question you had and to go out of his way to be friendly. And that’s not the way I thought directors were. The biggest memory? We all had the same thing. I live here, but it was incredibly hot that month. We had an index temperature during the tank scene that was 105. And I believe in that particular scene, I was wearing a sweater. It was like, “Okay, when they go “Cut!” we start stripping as best we can. Because it was hot. But it gave us all that dead look, I’m telling you. So it worked out good.

EW: What’s the secret to playing a zombie?
LM: Well, what Frank kept telling us was: “Quit trying to be everybody you see. Do it your way. If I see a horde coming down a street, I don’t want to see two people together. Because if everybody looks the same, I’ve got to cut and do it all over again.”

EW: Are you surprised by the success of the show?
LM: This has become a phenomenon. I think the top people knew this was going to happen. But all of us were surprised at how this thing has taken off. And even with us, we’re all going back and forth: “Man, that hour flew by!” We’re surprised you put us on the cover. But my picture was inside the Bullseye two weeks ago. There’s some good-looking guy in the middle [Joe Manganiello from True Blood] and I’m on the right side of him. People were telling me I was right beside the middle. I said, “No, that’s me in the middle!” [Laughs]

Image Credit: Matthew Welch/AMCALYSSA COURTNEY GRUHN
Entertainment Weekly: How did you get the Walking Dead gig?
ACG: I’m an actress, but I actually got the gig because I was working at a haunted house in Atlanta called Netherworld. It’s one of the nation’s top haunted houses and the casting director sent an e-mail to the owner saying, “Tell all your employees to come out and audition.” So I auditioned and Greg Nicotero loved me. And I love him. He’s the coolest guy that I think I’ve ever met in my entire life. I got to be in a lot of cool stuff on the show. It was so much freakin’ fun.

EW: What scenes are you in?
ACG: I was at pretty much every zombie shoot. I was in the first scenes in the tank, but only I can really see myself, because there are so many other zombies. In the last episode, I was the zombie that attacked Ed in the tent and then directly after that I’m in the scene with Greg Nicotero when he’s getting Amy.

EW: Ed was actually the first person to get bitten onscreen in the entire show. Which makes you the first killer-zombie.
ACG: I’M THE FIRST KILLER ZOMBIE!!! I never thought of it that way. That’s awesome. I guess I am. But people were dying left and right that episode. That was crazy.

EW: What’s the secret to playing a zombie?
ACG: Everybody has their own style. I like to let my eyes focus on my surroundings, but I don’t focus on anything in particular. So it looks like you have a blank zombie stare on your face. And you kind of open up your mouth a little, just like you’re real dumb, like there’s nothing going on up there in your head. Basically, acting dumb is what I do. [Laughs]. And it works!

Image Credit: Matthew Welch/AMC CHARLES CASEY
Entertainment Weekly: How did you get the Walking Dead gig?
CC: I manage a used CD and movie store in Atlanta called CD Warehouse. I’ve been reading the comic for a few years now and when I found out they were going to film here I sent my stuff in and was lucky enough to get in.

EW: What was the shoot like?
CC: Other than the miserable heat, it was a dream scenario. Like I said, I’ve been a fan of the comic for a long time. I love all the Darabont movies. I love Greg Nicotero’s work. While I was on set I had the chance to meet Charlie Adlard, who draws the comic. He played a zombie with us for two of the days. I met [Walking Dead comic writer] Robert Kirkman. Everybody was super pleasant. I still can’t believe I got paid to do it.

EW: How much have you been featured on the show?
CC: So far the majority of the scenes that I’ve done have either been cut or you’ve seen me in the background. They basically tiered the zombies out in makeup level. So ‘A’ would be like an hour, two hour job. ‘B’ would be a lighter job. ‘C’ would be a mask. And the episode that’s airing this Sunday, when they get to the CDC, that was the only day that I had an ‘A’ level makeup job. So I’m hoping this will be the week that you can actually see my face.

EW: Regardless, you’re definitely on the cover of our magazine!
CC: Exactly. It is definitely a dream come true. I was bummed in the beginning when people were getting the cover of Fangoria and Rue Morgue. Now that this has come out I was like, “Man, thank god I didn’t get any of that stuff!”

EW: Yeah, to hell with those guys! So, what’s the secret to playing a zombie?
CC: For me, it was really about trying to accentuate whatever they gave me for a makeup job that day. I would try to take my zombie motivation from the wounds they gave me.

EW: I think that’s the technique Judi Dench uses as well.
CC: That’s what we have in common! Greg Nicotero gave us some really great advice. It seems simple enough, but he said, “Just go to a bar at two or three o’clock in the morning and watch those people stumble out. That’s kind of what we’re going for.”

EW: Robert Kirkman told me Nicotero is always coming up with reasons why he has to play a particular featured zombie.
CC: Most definitely. I noticed he gave himself two really choice roles over the last two episodes! I don’t blame him. I know, especially when he attacked Amy, there was a lot of heavy prosthetics that had never been used before. Obviously you don’t want to stick one of us in that scene and have us ruin the prosthetics and have to reset everything. I was familiar with Nicotero’s work going in, but now that I’ve seen him so much on set, it’s really amazing how many times I see him pop up in [films]. He’s in from Dusk Till Dawn for a couple of seconds. He pops up in Inglourious Basterds. He was in Piranha. It seems like anything he works on, he works himself into at some point. But he definitely makes a great zombie!

More about The Walking Dead:
‘The Walking Dead’: This week’s EW cover story goes behind the scenes on TV’s best new show
‘Night of the Living Dead’: How a 42-year-old zombie movie refuses to die
‘The Walking Dead’ recap: The Sound, The Fury, and the Zombies
‘Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman talks sbout last night’s episode, ‘Vatos’
‘Walking Dead’ comic creator Robert Kirkman talks about last night’s episode, ‘Tell It to the Frogs’
‘The Walking Dead’ recap: Dissecting Frogs

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2010 in Music: The Year That Went Pop - Billboard

Imagine it's Jan. 1, 2010, and a psychic has laid out the following music predictions for the year:

--Ke$ha, the self-proclaimed "sick and sexified" singer of "TiK ToK," will not fade into obscurity. Instead, she'll release two albums and rack up three more Billboard Hot 100 top 10s before the year is up, the last of which will debut at No. 1.

Ke$ha: A Q&A With the Hot 100 Artist of the Year

--Lady Gaga will wear a meat dress, flip the bird at Yankee Stadium and pull rosary beads out of her mouth, but none of this will be as entertaining or successful as her music.

--"Biebermania" will not only show no sign of letting up, it will also afflict the Recording Academy, which will nominate the teen phenom for a best new artist Grammy Award.

--The cast of Fox's hit musical series "Glee" will surpass the Beatles' record for most appearances by a non-solo act on the Hot 100.

--B.o.B, a rapper who sings and plays guitar, and Bruno Mars, a Hawaiian who specializes in modern-day doo-wop, will help each other become famous with a tenderhearted duet.

--A 12-year-old Oklahoma boy will sign with Lady Gaga's management after performing "Paparazzi" at his school's talent show. Meanwhile, a 10-year-old "America's Got Talent" finalist will take her operatic seasonal EP to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and another 10-year-old will have grown women whipping their hair back and forth.

--A song about a mythical private jet will hit No. 1 and gift us with the year's best new party terminology: slizzard.

--Only one rock band will reach the Hot 100 top 10 -- Train, with "Hey, Soul Sister."

Photos: Behind-the-Scenes of Billboard's Year-End Cover Shoot

In a year when some of the music industry's few remaining presumptions, such as "digital sales will keep growing" and "tours can withstand a weak economy," were subverted, no one can be blamed for not foreseeing all the ways in which pop music would take over the marketplace. But a takeover it was.

Seven of the year's 20 best-selling albums were by pop artists -- that is, in Billboard parlance, acts without significant success on our genre-based charts, such as Country, R&B/Hip-Hop, Modern Rock, etc. This compares with four in 2009 and two in 2005. The 2010 top 10 includes Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream," Lady Gaga's "The Fame," Justin Bieber's "My World" and "My World 2.0" and the Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D." If you expand the definition of pop to include Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum, whose mainstream-leaning country hits were embraced at pop radio, and Eminem, whose "Recovery" featured some of his most unabashedly crossover songs to date, you could argue that nine of the top 10 albums speak to pop's dominance (all but Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas").

The fact that Billboard's top two artists of the year, Gaga and Swift, didn't chart on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is also telling. It's the first time that neither of the year's top two artists has graced that chart since 1997, when LeAnn Rimes and Spice Girls came in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

But perhaps most striking is the way in which synth-driven, Auto-Tuned, four-on-the floor-influenced pop dominated the Hot 100. Of the 15 songs to reach No. 1 on the chart this year, just six fall outside of this descriptive: Eminem's "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie," Rihanna's "Rude Boy" and "What's My Name?", B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars' "Nothin' on You" and Mars' "Just the Way You Are." When these are the four artists delivering the closest thing to a slow jam, it's safe to say we've entered a new era.

"When you listen to radio now, it's all so much about tempo," says Barry Weiss, outgoing chairman/CEO of RCA/Jive Label Group, which can count Ke$ha, Usher and P!nk among this year's biggest success stories.

"We're in a golden spot for pop music, for sure," adds Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman/CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG), whose artists Bieber, Rihanna and even Kanye West helped solidify pop's current boom. "I don't see it moving any time soon."

Next: The Grammys Give Pop the Love

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