MJ’s Death No. 1 Entertainment News Story

While Jackson’s death astonished the world, other music-related news stories also captured headlines. For example, who can forget Susan Boyle’s triumphant rise from obscurity to become one of the most in-demand singers of the year?

On the other hand, many of you would probably like to forget Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift’s moment in the sun at the MTV Video Music Awards when he grabbed the mic from the teen country star and said Beyoncé should have won the best female video honor.

Then there’s the ongoing saga of Chris Brown, from his arrest for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna earlier this year to his guilty plea resulting in six months community labor and five years probation. You might have caught a few news reports on that one.

There were other entertainment news stories, such as David Letterman’s blackmail scandal and Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of The Joker in the Batman flick “The Dark Knight,” but when it came to what’s newsworthy in the world of hype, promo and glitz, music-related subjects grabbed four out of 10 positions.

Here’s Associated Press’s Top 10 entertainment stories of 2009 (as voted by U.S. newspaper and broadcast editors surveyed by the news organization):

1. Michael Jackson’s death
2. Susan Boyle

3. Late-Night swap – Conan O’Brien takes over “The Tonight Show,” Leno moves to 10 p.m.
4. Walter Cronkite dies
5. David Letterman affair
6. Chris Brown assaults Rihanna

7. Kanye West being himself at the VMAs.
8. Live Video explodes on the Web
9. Kate and Jon Gosselin broadcast split

10. Heath Ledger wins Oscar

Of course, there’s probably a few more entertainment stories that should have made AP’s Top 10 list but didn’t. That’s where you come in. Just drop your ideas for a better list in the comment thread below.