Counting Down PopEater's Most Popular Stories from the First Half of 2010

22. Sandra Bullock: Let's Get Back To Normal. When Sandra Bullock stepped onto the stage at the MTV Movie Awards in June, she received a rapturous standing ovation from the crowd. In the wake of Jesse James' cheating scandal, the audience seemed to be echoing the support the Oscar winner has received from the public. Wearing a sequined black dress, Bullock addressed the crowd, saying she just wants to "go back to normal" and that she's "not going anywhere." Then Scarlett Johansson made her move. Watch it Here




21. Pink's Wet Grammy Performance. Pink brought the circus to her Grammy Awards performance in February with acrobatics and aqua.

<<< 20. Elinor Burkett's Kanye Moment at the Oscars. Maybe it went semi-unnoticed because they were accepting one of the night's lower-profile awards, but the personal tiff between 'Music by Prudence' producer Elinor Burkett and director-producer Roger Ross Williams spilled over on stage at March's Oscars, causing one of the night's weirder moments.

Burkett rushed the stage while Williams was doing his thank-yous and verbally nudged him aside so she could speak. The problem is, she was not supposed to accept the award, and because of personal animosity between the two filmmakers, she said Williams rushed to the stage while his cane-wielding mother blocked Burkett from exiting the aisle. Read More on the Oddities >>>

19. How Belinda Carlisle Beat a 30-Year Drug Habit. "I hit a lot of bottoms," the former Go-Go told PopEater's Nicki Gostin while discussing her searing new memoir, 'Lips Unsealed.' Those lows had an awful lot to do with a cocaine habit that grabbed hold of her for 30 years. Now 51, she's been sober only five years. "I don't know why it took me so long," she says. Read More of Our Exclusive Interview >>>

18. Rest in Peace Rue. Rue McClanahan, one of the last surviving stars of the seminal sitcom 'The Golden Girls,' died in June after suffering a massive stroke, her manager confirmed to PEOPLE. She was 76 years old at the time of her death. "She passed away at 1 AM this morning. She had a massive stroke," Barbara Lawrence told the magazine, adding that the actress "had her family with her. She went in peace." Read Rue's Obit >>>

17. Jesse James Asks for Forgiveness. Under increased scrutiny over claims he'd been unfaithful, Jesse James issued a statement in March apologizing to wife Sandra Bullock for causing "pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension." The reality TV host says he alone is to blame for the scandal, although he does not admit to specific details. He also claims the "vast majority" of reports are false. Read More From When the Stories Were Just Coming Out >>> At the time, 69 percent of our 101K voters thought Sandy shouldn't accept the apologies. Turns out, those voters were right.

16. Corey Haim Dies at 38. We mourned the teen idol, who rose to fame in 1980s classics 'The Lost Boys' and 'Lucas,' after he died in March. Haim collapsed in the Oakwood apartment belonging to his mother, who was at home at the time and called 911.

"As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees," Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.

Haim's mother later said she received a call from the LA County Coroner's Office, who told her that an autopsy found her son had an enlarged heart and his lungs were filled with water. His cause of death was due to pulmonary congestion. Read More on Haim and His Work >>>

15. "I Won't Let My Dad's Dreams Die." Josh Harris, son of late 'Deadliest Catch' captain Phil, spoke to PopEater about keeping his father's memory alive as grueling episodes of the show hit the air. Read Our Interview >>>

14. Blubbering Chris Brown Steals the Show at the BET Awards. It was just this week that Brown broke down and blubbered his way through a tribute to his idol, Michael Jackson. Haven't Seen It Yet? Time to Watch >>>

13. Is 'Biggest Loser' Dangerous? Kai Hibbard, a finalist on the third season of 'The Biggest Loser,' reveals how dangerous she feels the show really is to its contestants. "I have people that come up to me and talk to me and ask me why they can't lose 12 pounds in a week when I did. When I didn't. It didn't happen. It's TV. I need to take blame and responsibility for the fact that I helped perpetuate a myth that's dangerous." Read More on Her Reveal >>>

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12. John Travolta and Kelly Preston's Baby Announcement. The actor broke the news to his fans on his website (below) back in May. "It's impossible to keep a secret ... especially one as wonderful as this. We want to be the first to share this great news with everyone that we are expecting a new addition to our family. Love, John, Kelly and Ella." Wonderful news for the couple coming off their devastating loss of son Jett in 2009. Read More >>>


11. Why Did Anna Paquin Come Out as a Bisexual. Earlier this year, 'True Blood' and 'X-Men' star Anna Paquin surprised Hollywood when she announced she was bisexual in a PSA for the Give a Damn campaign. It was the first time the actress, who is engaged to 'True Blood' co-star Stephen Moyer, made her sexual preferences public. The actress explained why she spoke up and why she didn't think she'd done anything remarkable by coming out. More of Her Reveal >>>

10. 'Growing Pains' Star's Suicide. Unable to hold back sobs during a dramatic press conference in Feburary, 'Star Trek' star Walter Koenig confirmed that his son, Andrew, had taken his own life and had been found in Vancouver's Stanley Park. "My son took his own life," an emotional Koenig told a rapt press corp about his son, who had played Boner on the '80s sitcom. More on Koenig's Death >>>

9. Simon Cowell Grants Dying Girl's Wish. Simon Cowell fulfilled five-year-old Bethany Fenton's final wish before she lost her battle with a brain tumor. She achieved her dream of singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' for Cowell when she visited the 'Britain's Got Talent' studios in North London ahead of Saturday's finale on June 5 and even met some of the finalists in the competition. More on Cowell's Kindness >>>



8. Single Ladies Did 'Nothing Provocative.' In May, a YouTube video surfaced from The World of Dance competition in which a group of young -- and we mean really young -- girls wearing midriff-baring tops, short skirts and black stockings dance to Beyonce's 'Single Ladies.' The dance troupe, called Precision Dance, hails from Orange County, and definitely "put a ring on it" during the competition in Pomona on April 10. Larry Peters, executive vice president of The Hozman Group and rep for the dance competition, says the controversy was blown out of proportion. "There has been a great deal of controversy regarding this performance, and it has been taken out of context. It is a little sensitive now, to say the least," Peters told PopEater. Read More on the Controversy

7. Sandra Bullock Sets Her Sights on Life Away From Hollywood. Sandra Bullock has been through more than anyone can imagine over the past few months, so it's no wonder she'd be planning a major change. Our own Rob Shuter reported that the Oscar-winning actress was considering packing up and leaving the drama-filled city of Los Angeles in order to get away from her now ex-husband Jesse James and the wreckage he brought forth with his infidelity. Shuter's Original Report >>>

6. Why We Were Team Coco. PopEater threw its support to Conan O'Brien in the heat of the cold January late night wars. Sixty five percent of our 80K voters were with us instead of team Leno. Read Our Pop-Ed

5. Bret Michaels' Brain Hemorrhage. We held our breath as dear PopEater pal Bret Michaels was in critical condition in April with a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage. He pulled through and spoke with us early in June. "I combined diabetes with appendicitis with a brain hemorrhage, then a warning stroke and the PFO ... that's a five whammy cocktail punch. If you would have told me all that combined together, I would have said, 'That person has to be a goner,'" Bret told us. Read More of Our Interview >>>

4. We Are Introduced To the Magic of Greyson Chance. Who looks like Justin Bieber, sounds like Lady Gaga and plays piano like a sixth-grade virtuoso? This guy! A stunning video of a young Biebz-look-alike/Gaga-sound-alike jamming a 'Paparazzi' cover back in May. We spent our day watching the clip, like, 95 times. It was only days before he appeared on Ellen and rumors of a record deal surfaced. Watch the Viral Phenom >>>

3. Goodbye Dixie. Legendary TV star Dixie Carter, who earned millions of fans on shows like 'Designing Women' and 'Diff'rent Strokes,' died in April. She was 70. Carter died in Houston of complications of endometrial cancer. Read Her Obit >>>

2. The First Sign of Trouble for Sandra Bullock. It was just a little over a week after the Oscars that a tabloid report surfaced putting Jesse James with another woman. No way, we said. Then Sandra pulled out of an overseas 'Blind Side' premiere and her heartbreak went public. How We First Broke the Story To Our Readers >>>

1. The Death of Gary Coleman. The 'Diff'rent Strokes' star died in late May after suffering a intracranial hemorrhage that left him in a coma and on life support. The actor was taken to the hospital earlier that week and his condition deteriorated as the days went on. After being on life support for at least a day, his family made the decision to remove him from the machinery that was keeping him alive. Read the Story >>> and Count Down Last Year's Biggest PopEater Stories