News of the Stars & DJ Patrick Ryan’s Top 20 of 2009

Well, it’s the end of the year … finally! For many, 2009 has been a year they would like to quickly forget. Housing prices tanked and so did the global economy. On a musical note, 2009 has been a banner year for a few select artists. Let’s revisit this year’s top music newsmakers.

By far and away, the biggest comeback story of the year is our beloved Whitney Houston.

After a tumultuous and abusive 14-year relationship with bad boy Bobby Brown, Houston divorced him. Houston’s mentor Clive Davis was right there telling Whitney that we all needed to hear from her again. He wanted her back on his roster of performers and her public wanted to hear that voice again.

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Kris Allen vs. Adam Lambert on CD - The American Idol Battle Continues

by Chris Narloch

The American Idol music machine rolls on with each season’s winners and cast-offs desperately trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame with rushed-release CDs that more often than not are underwhelming.

Read more: Kris Allen vs. Adam Lambert on CD

Cloistered Serenity Inspires Sacha Sacket’s New EP Hermitage

by Steven Le Vine

Sequestering himself in a California mountain cabin to flee an exhaustive touring schedule has had a profound effect on openly gay, California-based piano rocker Sacha Sacket.

“When you are on your own and haven’t seen anyone for more than a week, strange things rise to the surface,” Sacket told Outword. “In some cases, issues you didn’t even know were there. You think about your life completely differently.”

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Billie Myers: Out, Proud and Risen Like a Phoenix

On October 11, 2009, Billie Myers provided her soulful rendition of “America, the Beautiful” accompanied by the saxophone of Dave Koz at the Equality March on Washington shouting, “I stand here as a very proud member of the LGBT community. I will not be defined by anyone else!”

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