The end of 2011 has arrived and what better way to reminisce about all the news-worthy stories of the year than to take a walk down memory lane.

Written By Eliza Nguyen

These stories were most likely bombarding your television screens for weeks at a time at some point, or made it on the front cover of your local newspaper and you couldn’t help but mention it in passing in a conversation with friends, family, or coworkers. Maybe some were talked about more than others, but as far as we're concerned, there are the Top 10 Entertainment Stories of 2011.

10. James Franco hosts the Oscars

The 83rd Academy Awards announced that they would have James Franco and Anne Hathaway as co-hosts for the 2011show. Many were excited to see this pair on television together, as they are two of young Hollywood’s brightest stars. But after the show was aired, many voiced how displeased they were with the hosting abilities of Franco in particular. He was described as being ‘distant, bored, and smug.’ At one point, many even thought he was re-living his Pineapple Express days as a stoner. But this was not the end of the controversy about hosting the Oscars. Eddie Murphy was first appointed to host the 2012 show, but he dropped out due to loyalty to Brett Ratner, who directed him in Tower Heist, after Ratner stepped down as Oscar show producer following a series of controversial comments, But the good news in this was that the Academy turned to crowd-pleaser Billy Crystal, who was confirmed last month as Oscar host for 2012. 

9. The Untimely Death of Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse was always in the headlines for her outlandish partying habits, but aside from that, she was still respected by the music industry for her talent. Her music encapusulated many genres like R&B, soul and jazz, and she was recognizable for always sporting that bee-hive hairdo everywhere she went. Her hit 2006 album Back to Black was an honest and raw portrayal of what her life was like, and it earned her six Grammy nominations and five wins, including "Record of the Year" and "Best New Artist." This year was supposed to be her come-back year after spending some time in rehab and settling her divorce with ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, but sadly Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment on July 23, 2011 due to alcohol poisoning.

8. Rebecca Black’s "Friday" Makes a Splash

This 14-year-old from Anaheim, California made her music debut with her hit song “Friday,” which went viral on You Tube when it was uploaded in February. Her song was dubbed “Worst Single of the Year” by many music critics and viewers, but that didn’t stop her from selling 40,000 digital copies in the first week, or from making numerous television appearances. Her song even made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. After having a fallout with her label ARK music factory, who helped her make her video, she decided to create her own record label under the name RB Records and from there, she has released her self-produced single called “My Moment.” Let’s see how far this moment will take her into the new year.

7. Oprah Ends Her Historic Run on Daytime

Oprah Winfrey’s show was the longest-running daytime television talk show that aired in the U.S. for 25 consecutive seasons and she is acclaimed for being one of the most influential women in the world. Her show put a focus on trying to better the lives of people, and raise social awareness, but at the same time, she did like to have fun. Her infamous “Oprah’s Favourite Things”  always had in high ratings from viewers, and those ever lucky enough to be in the audience would walk away with a handful of goods. Her final episode aired on May 25, 2011 as a two-part show that included interviews and appearances from Tom Hanks, Madonna, Beyonce, and Stevie Wonder, just to name a few. Four o’clock weekday afternoons will never be the same without Oprah.

6. The Schwarzeneggers Call it Quits

What seemed like the only marriage in Hollywood that was going to last, it too eventually turned. Maria Shriver filed for divorce in May from her former-California Govenor husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger after a quarter of a century of marriage and four children - Katherine, 21, Christina, 19, Patrick, 17, and Christopher, 13 - together. The divorce papers were filed after Shriver made allegations against their housekeeper Mildred Baena, that her 13-year-old son bore some resemblances to Schwarzenegger. The following day, he confessed to fathering her child, and the rest, as they say, is history.

5. Conrad Murray Put on Trial

After the sudden death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, in the summer of 2010, many had speculated that the death was not accidental. Jackson was preparing for his long-awaited World Tour, but had spent his last remaining days at home, and was being treated by Dr. Conrad Murray who usually prescribed himdrugs and medications, including the dangerous sedative Lorazepam, which Jackson overdosed on contributing to his death. Murray was also accused of being negligent after Jackson was found dying, hesitating to both performing CPR and calling 911. After an intensive six-week trial in L.A., the jurors came back and found Dr. Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Michael Jackson. Murray now faces approximately four years in jail.

4. Steve Jobs Loses Fight with Cancer

As the co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs was innovative and proved to be a great leader of new technology by introducing to the world such devices as the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. Jobs grew up as an adopted child in San Francisco. He enrolled in Reed College, in Portland, Oregon for one semester, but then dropped out. He met  Steve Wozniakwhile working a summer job at Hewlett-Packard, and they stayed in touch eventually forming Apple, Inc in the garage of Jobs' parents in 1976. The rest, as they say, is history. At the time of his death, Jobs was listed as the 42nd wealthiest American by Forbes magazine, with a new worth of $8.3 billion USD. He was diagnosed with pancreative cancer in 2003 and in 2009, he resigned as CEO of Apple and appointed Tim Cook to the position saying that he was stepping down to focus on his health. He died in his California home on October 5, 2011 due to complications with his wife, children and sister were by his side during the time of his death.

3. Vancouver Riots Over the Stanley Cup

Since the Stanley Cup final was being hosted in Vancouver, many had anticipated a riot to break out no matter which way the game ended. But despite those sentiments, many did not want to re-live the moments endured from the 1994 riots, when the Canucks lost to the New York Rangers and, well, you know... This time around, as the moments of the game came closer to an end, with the Boston Bruins beating Vancouver 4-0 on June 15, riots on the streets of downtown Vancouver immediately broke out. It all began with one person throwing debris at a television screen installed for public viewing, on one of the main streets of Vancouver. After that, rioters took to smashing windows of storefronts, looting merchandise, and setting cars on fire. Many joined forces by using social media as a tool for identifying those involved and only recently have a few of the ring leaders been charged for their actions.

2. Prince William Weds Kate Middleton

When Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, he presented her with a ring that was once worn by mis mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. They met in 2000 at the University of St. Andrews, where they both attended university, and having been together for almost a decade, it seemed appropriate that they would take their relationship to the next level. Their wedding was held on Friday April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London. Many fans waited to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, and those who couldn’t be there in person, could watch the wedding as it was broadcast live around the world. Kate most certainly looked like a princess in her wedding dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Meanwhile, the first trip abroad for the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was to Canada, where they toured the Maritimes, and Northern Canada with a stop over in Ottawa for Canada Day festivities.  

1. Charlie Sheen Goes Crazy, Gets Fired, Goes Crazier

When Charlie Sheen decided to pull some drug and alcohol fueled erratic behaivour on the set of his show, Two and a Half Men, the production of the show was put to hold. After that, Sheen began acting rather strange and made a few on-camera interviews that showed the world he was most likely a victim of drug abuse. Sheen has spoken out before about drug problems, and so it seemed like this all was surfacing once again, but somehow worse than before. He publicly talked about the crazy parties he had with porn stars and how he would stay up for days. That’s when he coined the term “tiger blood,” saying that’s what he had as it allowed him to party for days at a time. We also found out that he lives with two girlfriends, as they help take care of his twin sons, Bob and Max. With all this negative publicity, Sheen was fired from Men, and later replaced by Ashton Kutcher, but not one to be kept down he decided to go on tour My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option to make up for the money he had lost from not having a role on the show. Funny enough, the tickets sold out in seconds. In the fall, Sheen announced that he had a new show in the works, a comedy series based on the Adam Sadler movie Anger Management. I guess being crazy has its perks, and in light of that, Charlie Sheen is #winning for being the top entertainment story of 2011.

Written by :

elizan