1. Taylor Swift: “Red” sells 1.2 million in its first week. It’s the strongest opening frame since Eminem”s “The Eminem Show” 10 years ago. Can a duet between the two be far behind?
2. Blake Shelton: His win for CMA male vocalist of the year? A sure thing. His win for CMA Entertainer of the Year? A total shock-to him just as much as to anyone else. He is “The Voice.”
3. Bruce Springsteen: He proves himself a true son of New Jersey as he headlines a benefit for Hurricane Sandy along with Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel and that Englishman in New York, Sting.
4. Britney Spears: She makes it through the first live episode of “The X Factor.” Of course, all she had to do was not drool or face plant. And Sam Lufti’s lawsuit against Spears and her parents is thrown out.
5. Kid Rock: He finally joins the new millennium and offers his new album, “Rebel Soul,” on iTunes. Welcome to 2004.
6. Rihanna: She will promote her seventh album in seven years by playing seven shows in seven days in seven countries. She”s no doubt traveling on a 777.
7. Eminem: His Eminence hints that a new album will be forthcoming in 2013… via the side of a baseball cap. Hey, it will probably turn out better for him than or the Tigers.
8. Tim McGraw: Finally unshackled from Curb Records, he announces the title of his first album for Big Machine, the not-so-cryptically titled “Two Lanes of Freedom.”
9.Alt-J: British quartet who”s starting to find favor on these shores grabs the the U.K.”s prestigious Mercury Prize for its debut album, “An Awesome Wave.”
10.Chris Brown: He dresses as an Arab terrorist for Halloween. Oh Chris…every time we think you may have turned the corner, you do something unbelievably stupid. When “Suburgatory” makes you a punch line twice within first two minutes, you are not yet forgiven.