The CMA’s New Artist of the Year, Darius Rucker.

By Maya Carpenter

We are nearing the end of the year, and there’s no better way to leave than with a look back at some of the year’s top songs, movies, and moments. There were some great moments, but some others were really hard to fathom. The hardest, of course, was the death of our beloved Michael Jackson. When he died, the whole world went numb. His music will forever be in our hearts.

We’ve gasped at the Chris Brown and Rihanna debacle with mixed reactions. Some want to revive Brown’s career, others are still protesting. On the other hand, Rihanna has gained a lot more listeners and fans, so she seems to be doing quite well, especially after winning Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year award.

Even in the most trying year, music is sure to put you back in good spirits. Singer-songwriter Maxwell released his long-awaited album this year. It was long overdue and he has reminded his fans how talented he really is. Jay-Z, another fave, has come out of retirement for the umpteenth time to let everyone know he’s not letting hip-hop go that easy.

And we cannot forget our girl, Whitney Houston. She’s back with her latest album “I Look to You,” and in all honesty she’s not the same Whitney: she brought back what we’ve been waiting for, and it’s Whitney without the drama!

Here’s an interesting fact: Darius Rucker, lead singer of the former band Hootie and The Blowfish, is a hit in the country music world! He made history for being the first African American to win New Artist of the Year for the Country Music Associations Awards (CMAs).

Speaking of the CMAs, country phenomenon Keith Urban has been a chart topper this year with his latest album “Defying Gravity.” He was recently nominated for four Grammys and won The Musical Event of the Year, sharing the honor with Brad Paisley.

More Interesting Moments of 2009

Beyonce Knowles

Taylor Swift

Let’s not forget British sensation Susan Boyle who, to date, has the best-selling album by a woman in the Billboard Soundscan era. She debuted at No. 1 in the first week, selling more than 700,000 copies of her album I Dreamed a Dream. The Scottish pop singer launched her career with a dazzling performance on Britain’s Got Talent.

Kanye West unfortunately stole the show from country music star Taylor Swift the night of the MTV Video Music Awards. As Swift was beginning her speech for her award for Best Female Video, West stormed the stage, grabbed the microphone from Swift, and implied that Beyonce should have won.

Although this wasn’t a happy moment for either party, it will go into MTV’s most memorable hall of fame moments. But Swift can’t be too unhappy: she has eight Grammy nominations for the upcoming 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. Swift also won five 2009 American Music Awards: Artist of The Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Country Female Artist, Favorite Country Album for her latest album Fearless, and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.

Beyonce also made her mark for 2009, 10 Grammy nominations for songs off her latest album I am…Sasha Fierce. She won an American Music Award for Best R&B Female Artist and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year with her single “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it).”

Let’s take a look back at some top songs for 2009.

Best R&B, Pop, Country and Hip-Hop Songs of 2009
•    “Pretty Wings” by Maxwell
•    “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
•    “Bad Habits” by Maxwell
•    “So Beautiful” by Musiq Soulchild
•    “The Point of it All” by Anthony Hamilton
•    “Green Light” by John Legend
•    “Best I Ever Had” by Drake
•    “God in Me” by Mary Mary – Though they are a gospel group, they are one of the biggest crossover groups of 2009. They managed to stay current not in only in gospel but in mainstream R&B music.
•    “Kiss a Girl” by Keith Urban
•    “Jump Then Fall” by Taylor Swift
Top R&B, Pop, Country, and Hip-Hop Albums of 2009
•    “Black Summer’s Night” by Maxwell
•    “Blueprint 3” by Jay-Z
•    “I am…Sasha Fierce” by Beyonce
•    “Fearless” by Taylor Swift
•    “I Dreamed a Dream” by Susan Boyle
Must-See Movies
• Precious
• The Blindside
• Michael Jackson’s This is It
• G. I. Joe
• New Moon
• The Soloist
• The Taking of Pelham 123
• Princess and the Frog – This is a must-see simply because this is not your average Disney movie. It’s a twist – and a nice change – to see an African-American animated tale.

What’s Up For Next Year?

P. Diddy’s newly formed group Dirty Money: the group consists of Diddy and two female vocalists, one of whom, Dawn Richard, is a former member of the pop group Danity Kane.

Whom to Look For in 2010

•    Priscilla Renea- Check her out at www.priscillareneamusic.com/
•    Dondria- Check her out at www.myspace.com/dondrianicolemusic
•    Bobby Ray- Check him out at www.bobatl.com
Both Priscilla and Dondria were discovered on Youtube. Dondria was sought out by Jermaine Dupree and is now on So-So Def Records, and Priscilla is on Capitol Records.
Hip-Hop’s breakout star Drake. This Canadian-born actor-turned-rapper managed to release mix tape after mix tape, win awards, get a Grammy nomination, but we’re still waiting for his debut album, Thank Me Later due to be released in 2010.