10. Theatre Director John Doyle
I am a bit of a theatre and Broadway geek, so please allow me this indulgence. In 2007 I had the pleasure of seeing two brilliant John Doyle productions of Stephen Sondheim classics. I saw his revolutionary productions of Company on Broadway and the touring company of Sweeney Todd in Toronto (I had seen the revival in 2006 on Broadway as well.) John Doyle's brilliance cannot be expressed in words. One needs to simply sit in a darkened theatre and experience it live in and person. Doyle is famous for his actor as musician versions of classic musical theatre fare. He does not simply revive a musical, he takes a classic and makes it completely unfamiliar to us making us feel like we've never seen or heard it before. He also inspires me to swear audibly in a Broadway theatre out of sheer and utter amazement.
9. Smart, Young, Female... and Canadian.
In 2007 three amazingly talented women out of Canada made huge artistic impact internationally. One is a banged hipster chanteuse with a definitive Parisian flair in her music.
The second is a former child star whose who possesses the most intregrity of any current film artist in her desire to create art and go against the Hollywood grain.
And the third is a pint size one woman show from Halifax who may become the youngest Best Actress Oscar Winner ever. 
Feist, Sarah Polley, and Ellen Page have done more for Canada this year than any tourism commercial dreamed of. They made Canada look like a breeding ground for amazing home grown talent. They made us look hip, current, and smart. Most of all, their talent made anything seem possible. 8. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova in Once.
Sweeney Todd & Mrs. Lovett, Away from Her's Fiona and Grant, not even Juno and Pauley Bleeker, the film couple of 2007 was an Irish busker and a Czech Immigrant who created beautiful music together. They were novice actors and undiscovered musicians, but they successful created the most real and vivid portrayal of any screen couple this year. I cannot wait for their performance of Falling Slowly at the Oscars.
7. Larry Craig's Wide Stance.
You gotta love this story. Republican Senator goes into a airport washroom, tries to pick up a undercover male police officer with foot and hand signals and gets busted for lewd conduct. His defense was that he has a wide stance and that he was picking up a piece of paper that had fallen on the floor. Now I am a homosexual, but not even in my wildest dreams or most desperate moment would I ever try such an act because it makes my stomach turn. Now what I really want to know is why would you do such a thing if you were an elected official and not just any elected official, but a Republican who had voted against gay marriage, and LGBT hate crimes? To borrow a line from Diablo Cody, obviously Mr. Craig is not the brightest light in the tanning bed. I absolutely love when a complete asshole gets caught red handed or wide-stanced, if you will. Larry Craig deserves all the humiliation and shame he has suffered and will continue to suffer based on this event. For his utter stupidity, the karma's a bitch award of 2007 goes to Mr. Larry Craig. Keep picking up those pieces of paper and hating homos Mr. Craig because karma will keep biting you in the ass and we'll be enjoying every moment.
6. Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar!
In 2004 I fell in love with a plus sized, afro-tastic, Sister Act 2-loving diva on American Idol. A mere three years later she won a motha-fucking Oscar.
Talk about the ultimate Hollywood Cinderella story. You place 7th in Season 3 of American Idol and then you beat out 700 other hopefuls for the role of Effie in Dreamgirls. You get to perform the To Be or Not To Be of musical theatre in the song "And I'm Telling You." You sweep all the major awards and then win an Oscar for your film debut and cement yourself as the most successful AI alum of all time. You also get a record deal with Clive Davis that Idol didn't reward you with. Oh and the offers didn't stop rolling in. It doesn't get much better than that. 5. The Cast of 30 Rock.
While, I wasn't one of the dozens of viewers in 30 Rock's first season on NBC. I did purchase the DVD and spend a solid week in September hysterically laughing at the most brilliant show to come along in years. The cast of 30 Rock never ceases to amaze me. Tina Fey's straightwoman Liz Lemon is always getting the short end of the stick. Alec Baldwin's brilliant Jack Donaghy barely speaks above a whisper and always blasts Fey's Liz Lemon with the best retorts.
Tracy Morgan's Tracy Jordan seems to out-crazy himself every episode. Jane Krakowski's ego maniac Jenna loves to break into song at any given moment and bring attention her way as often as possible. And the there's supremely naive and loveable page Kenneth played by Jack McBrayer who will do anything in the name of the peacock. These five individuals are simply the best cast of TV. The show is brilliant, but it's the casts' delivery and comic nuance that make even the world's most cynical Kevin Grisham/Rural Juror fan fall in love.4. SNL's Penelope
The highlight of the '06/'07 SNL was Penelope, the one upping sensation who's probably a little bit better than you. The thing about Penelope is that she is universal. Everyone knows a Penelope or has been to a party with a Penelope. Yes, that right Penelope was the best thing about the last year of SNL. Actually she was the best thing about the past five years. Actually she is a lot better than Dick in a Box so... probably better than all digital shorts combined... so... (twirls hair in hands).3. Natasha from America's Next Top Model.
Mail Order Bride Brilliance! Natasha was without a doubt my favorite contestant of all nine cycles of America's Next Top Model. Why? Because she was fearless in her fierceness. (Sorry I couldn't resist writing that last sentence) Natasha never shied away from the competition. She competed without any inhibitions like she was in the ironman contest. But she was always unaware at how well she was competing. She was also constantly unaware of how absolutely hysterical she was. She was just running on her own Russian Piss and Vinegar. But that piss and vinegar created some of the most Laugh out Loud ATNM moments. Now she may not be heading the way of Reality Royalty JHud, but she should at least guest star on 30 Rock.
2. Fantasia on Broadway.
The belle of Broadway in 2007 wasn't Best Actress Tony Award Christine Ebersole. Nor was it rialto faves Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, or Donna Murphy. It wasn't even breakout Laura Bell Bundy in Legally Blonde. Omigod, you guys! It was a 22 year old mother and former American Idol winner.
Fantasia lit up Broadway with her spectacular turn as Celie in The Color Purple. I witnessed the performance in June and was completely blown away. Fantasia was living every moment of the performance. Trusting her every natural instinct, the performance didn't hit a false note. She was so believable that wanted to know more about her childhood to know how she was able to tap into so much authenticity. Oh yeah, and she sang pretty phenomenally as well. By the time she sang the 11th hour, I'm Here in the second act I didn't quite know how to handle myself. It was like a religious experience. I was witnessing Broadway history. It was a Broadway grand slam performance to rival the best of the best. 1. Miss Teen South Carolina.
I personally believe that this 48 second clip is the most bizarrely brilliant thing I've ever seen. It makes absolutely no sense what so ever. Every like, such as. But it remains the most entertaining thing I've seen all year (it has 20 million hits on youtube and I swear 10 million are from me alone.) After seeing this clip thousands of time, I still find it as ridiculously hilarious and perplexing as the first time I saw it and for that reason it is my top present of 2007.
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