2011 was a year full of royal weddings, celebrity breakups, celebrity meltdowns, political distaste, television specials, reality TV takeovers … and the list goes on and on. Some moments of 2011 you will want to relive and some you’ll just want to forget. Some moments you’ll wish never happened and some you’ll wish happened differently. In the second annual “Best Of…” poll at YakkityYaks, we want to take you on a short trip down memory lane looking at the moments that defined 2011 – for better or for worse. Dabbling a little into television, movies, music and just about everything else, we want you to speak up and vote for the moments you think best defined the start of a new decade! Which reality TV star was most deserving of their victory this year? Which television sitcom ranks as the best comedy of 2011? Which celebrity could you have gone the whole year without hearing about? What do you think 2012 will bring in the world of news? All that and more in our polls that we’ll be unveiling all week long! Read on below for the nominations in TELEVISION and get your voting on! Nominees for Movies and Music (click to vote) will be announced tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Vote for everything else Pop Culture Here!

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Word has been swirling about possible replacements for Matt Lauer after it was revealed that he may leave The Today Show after his contract expires in December 2012. No surprise there following the departure of Meredith Vieira earlier this year, but who might be next in line to replace Lauer during the morning NBC telecast? Reread the title. That’s right. The American Idol host himself is reportedly in talks with NBC as a possible replacement should Lauer opt out. Reports of the Seacrest-NBC meetings were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

We should note that these meetings are preliminary in nature and may or may not be followed through, but one wonders if Seacrest has room for one more hosting gig or if he’ll be planning on leaving one gig for another after 2012.

Lauer has been a staple on The Today Show, filling the co-anchor chair since 1997; but with the likes of Katie Couric and Vieira stepping away from the table, is Lauer far behind?

Seacrest currently hosts and produces a number of specials and news programs on E! (an NBCUniversal network), as well as radio countdown show American Top 40 and of course American Idol. Seacrest has been in talks to enhance his affiliation with NBCUniversal and this move might be the enhancement many are looking for. Spokespeople for Seacrest, NBC, Lauer and the Today Show have been keeping quiet so far.

So what do you think? Would you like to see Ryan Seacrest at the head table of NBC’s morning show or do you want to see another replacement for Lauer? Should Lauer even leave? Sound off below!

Prepare yourself. The schedule which you are about to see reproduced below from the network that brings you American Idol, Bones, The X Factor and Glee is about to give you a coronary. Earlier today, Fox revealed their midseason plans and let me tell you … it’s a doozy. Marking a return for it’s 11th season, American Idol premieres January 18. Idol will follow the Wednesday/Thursday airing pattern. Making its debuts will be Alcatraz, the drama from JJ Abrams, and Touch, featuring Keifer Sutherland. Fox will also join its fellow networks in offering a 2 hour block of sitcom entertainment. Tuesdays will now be known as Fox’s night of comedy. Per the schedule, it appears that Glee will bow with its finale in February and will finish it’s 3rd season in the spring.

Take a breath and check out the midseason schedule below. When confusion sets in and all else fails, be sure to bookmark our forum calendar for up-to-date and clear layouts of what’s airing each night!

All times below EST and new shows are marked in red. For midseason schedules for ABC and NBC click the network’s name!

MONDAY
Monday, Jan. 16:
8:00PM Alcatraz (Series Premiere)

Mondays, beginning Jan. 23:
8:00PM House
9:00PM Alcatraz (Time Period Premiere)

Monday, March 12:
8:00PM Alcatraz (Two-Hour Episode)

Mondays, beginning March 19:
8:00PM House
9:00PM Touch (Series Premiere)

TUESDAY
Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 17:
8:00PM Glee
9:00PM New Girl
9:30PM Raising Hope

Tuesdays, beginning March 6:
8:00PM New Girl (encore)
8:30PM Breaking In (Season Premiere)
9:00PM New Girl
9:30PM Raising Hope

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, Jan. 4:
8:00PM Glee (encore)
9:00PM Mobbed

Wednesday, Jan. 11:
8:00PM Mobbed (encore)
9:00PM Mobbed

Wednesday, Jan. 18:
8:00PM American Idol (Season Premiere, Part One)

Wednesday, Jan. 25:
8:00PM American Idol
9:00PM Touch (Special Preview)

Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 1:
8:00PM American Idol
9:00PM Mobbed

Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15:
8:00PM American Idol

THURSDAY
Thursday, Jan. 12:
8:00PM Bones (encore)
9:00PM The Finder (Series Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00PM American Idol (Season Premiere, Part Two)
9:00PM The Finder

FRIDAY
Friday, Jan. 6:
8:00PM AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC (Live)

Fridays, beginning Jan. 13:
8:00PM Kitchen Nightmares
9:00PM Fringe

SATURDAY
Saturdays, beginning Jan. 7:
8:00PM Cops
8:30PM Cops
9:00PM Drama Encore
11:00PM – 12:30AM Encores

Saturday, Feb. 11:
8:00PM America’s Most Wanted Special Edition
11:00PM – 12:30AM Encores

SUNDAY
Sunday, Jan. 8:
7:00PM Bob’s Burgers (encore)
7:30PM The Cleveland Show (encore)
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM The Cleveland Show
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM American Dad

Sunday, Jan. 15:
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM Napoleon Dynamite (Series Premiere)
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM Napoleon Dynamite (Special Time)

Sunday, Jan. 22:
6:00PM NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Live)
10:00PM/7:00PT American Idol (Special Broadcast)

Sundays, beginning Jan. 29:
7:00PM Bob’s Burgers (encore)
7:30PM The Cleveland Show
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM Napoleon Dynamite
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM American Dad

Sundays, beginning March 11:
7:00PM Animation Domination Encores
7:30PM The Cleveland Show
8:00PM The Simpsons
8:30PM Bob’s Burgers (Season Premiere)
9:00PM Family Guy
9:30PM American Dad

Update: Ryan Seacrest tweeted a “cryptic” message just minutes ago. Ryan Seacrest: “Prepping for major announcement tmrw. Keep an eye on my twitter after 8am east & watch @JLo on @TodayShow #rhymingisfun”. Now if that doesn’t confirm our suspicions…

Sources close to Ryan Seacrest and the Jennifer Lopez camp are hinting that the “On The Floor” diva will be returning to the American Idol judging panel next season. We recently reported that Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler have both signed on for Idol’s 11th season (already holding auditions in a city near you). Jennifer Lopez might not be far behind. As of a month ago, JLo was unsure of her Idol status, considering she is planning a talent show with hubby Marc Antony.

Judges returning to American Idol

Sources close to both Idol and JLo are hinting at an announcement any day now. If so, here’s to hoping that next year’s panel adds more criticism to their comments, or the Idol franchise is in danger of becoming stale especially with the success behind The Voice and the upcoming X Factor.

JLo Not Returning to Idol?

American Idol crowned its 10th winner, Scotty McCreery, back in May with judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler on the panel. Should JLo return, the trio will be back together for a second consecutive season after the shifting of Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul and Ellen Degeneres.

It’s quite a busy day here at the Yak, but we’ll keep delivering the news! For this reality round-up, we have news from two of the biggest reality competitions today. We have confirmation that Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler will be returning to the judge’s table on American Idol next year. Randy’s contract is not quite up and Steven signed a multi-year deal, so neither of these are real surprises. The question is still up in the air for the woman from the block. No word from Jennifer Lopez or the Lopez camp regarding a return to the Idol main stage. As we reported earlier, she may want to pursue furthering her movie career, as well as her reality show in development with hubby Marc Antony.

Jennifer Lopez Not Returning to Idol?

In other news, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine will be returning to The Voice next season to help coach and mentor a new set of contestants on the hit NBC show. Last night, The Voice crowned Javier Colon as its inaugural winner during a show full of show-stopping performances with some pretty big name stars. The likes of Miranda Lambert, Ryan Tedder, Pat Monahan and Stevie Nicks helped with the night’s festivities as Javier was victorious.

The Voice Goes Live

Both American Idol and The Voice will be holding auditions this summer and return to the small screen midseason.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Randy Jackson assured us that all of the judges, himself, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez were to return for next season. Jennifer Lopez, however, is not so sure.

Jennifer Lopez was a big hit with fans this last season on American Idol.  She brought a certain amount of knowledge and stardom that the show had been lacking since Paula Abdul was abruptly asked to not return two seasons ago.  While Randy Jackson stated recently that all three judges would be back, it looks like he might have been lying to America.  Jennifer Lopez may in fact NOT return.

When asked yesterday if she were going to return to the AI panel next season, J-Lo could not confirm. Mind you, she didn’t just flat out say no, but she is apprehensive to say the least.  “I’m very, kind of on the fence about it. I had an amazing time doing it and I loved it, but I have a lot of other things happening and it’s going to come down to making a choice of…what I want to do for the next year,” she said. So Ms. Lopez didn’t completely blow it off, but she wasn’t a 100% yes as Randy had proclaimed.

What do you think? Would you miss her on the judging panel if she were to bow out? Let us know below!

Hello everyone, it’s time for the Yak to take out the trash! Every week we’ll have all those little bits and pieces of buzz that we felt needed to be shared and dumped at the same time. Recycled, if you will. But either way, we’re here to dish the dirt before it heads off to the landfill.

Well, well, well, could the “twilight” be fading just a bit for one of the hit movie series’ stars? Taylor Lautner, set to appear in the movie “Abduction” in September (actor/producer), has been dropped by his publicist Robin Baum, of Slate PR. After just three months, Baum, who also reps Johnny Depp and Daniel Craig, abruptly dropped Lautner. Baum hasn’t commented on reasons, and Lautner’s management couldn’t be reached for comment but word on the street is that Lautner’s father, Daniel Lautner, isn’t exactly an easy guy to work with. Just a tip for you, Daddy Lautner……go google Michael Lohan and see how far being an overbearing stage father gets you.

This past Wednesday, Simon Cowell, executive producer of hit series Britan’s Got Talent and X-Factor, angrily denied allegations that the winners of said series had been picked from the very start. Or rather, Syco, Cowell’s production company, dismissed the allegations as being “100% totally false”. Reps for the company told the Hollywood Reporter that they were taking legal action against a website for posting a memo purportedly from a Sony Music exec which said they had insider knowledge of the “fix”. One of the allegations made was that Ronan Parke, the 12 year old favored to win Saturday’s final of Britain’s Got Talent, has been under contract by Syco and groomed for the past two years for the show. Parke, who is getting Justin Bieber comparisons, was also according to this memo, told to play up his youthful looks and to be more effeminate. (Sorry, but what 12 year old wouldn’t have youthful looks?). This memo went on to say that Parke had been picked to win before auditions for the 2011 series had even begun. Producers of the show emphatically state that the blog, which has been widely spread on the web, is completely false. Well..hmmm..there’s always conspiracy theories when it comes to shows like this and while I’d like to think they’re false, it’s also been apparent on many seasons of various shows such as American Idol, etc. that the judges do have their favorites and at points have not been so subtle in their urging of fans to vote for them. Plus, if you read the fine print at the end of shows such as Idol, and even Project Runway, it does state that the producers of the show do have a final say in the results themselves. I’m not sure what to think about this honestly.

Who wants to see J-Lo in the buff? Well,  her first husband, Ojani Noa, wants to help you. Apparently he has been shopping around one of the all too common celebrity sex tapes of himself and Mrs. Marc Anthony. He’s gotten bids too, from major porn companies, of the alleged “honeymoon sex tape”. Anyone remember “A Night in Paris?”. Starting bids of the hundreds of thousands of dollars are expected to skyrocket into the millions now that several top-tier porn companies have entered the bidding war. J-Lo has apparently fought for years to keep this tape under wraps, as the footage itself comes from the 1997 honeymoon (before she broke out into total fame) and apparently has 27 hours of footage, with 15-20 minutes of total nudity in it. What I find funny is that all these porn companies are salivating to get their hands on the footage, yet Noa’s producing partner, Claudia Vazquez, states that it’s not technically a “sex tape” either. The marriage was short-lived, as they divorced after a year, and for several years after that they were on good terms. It’s because of that amicability that Noa got many possessions, including the tapes themselves (seriously J-Lo?).

Eventually Noa and Lopez had a falling out, over her firing of him from her restaurant and later over a “tell-all” and biopic that Noa and Vazquez were trying to produce. During the research for this biopic, they discovered this footage. Lopez managed to block the tell-all book in 2006, however, last week a Los Angeles judge cleared the tapes for release. So from the looks of it, we’ll get a view of Lopez we have never seen before….I wonder if it’ll be on the floor, London to Ibiza. What do you think?

Hey, join us in our forums and let’s chat, about this and everything else we have there! Look up, you’ll see the link to it there!

NBC has decided to give it’s new Reality Singing Competition “The Voice” it’s top start treatment: the coveted spot immediately following the Super Bowl in February.

The network has scheduled already a special one hour episode of The Voice in it’s blind audition stages for Feb. 5th, 2012. The show had been considered for awhile now to take that position, as it already has the momentum going from the first season.

“There is no better showcase on television than to follow the Super Bowl, and we believe ‘The Voice‘ is deserving of such high-profile exposure,” said NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt. “The attention grabbing blind audition phase of ‘The Voice’ has mass appeal and will fittingly team up with the biggest sporting event of the year.”

Fox, on the other hand, is placing it’s new season of American Idol a few weeks prior to the Super Bowl, airing it’s first episode following the NFL’s NFC Conference.

Are you a fan of The Voice? Let us know what you think below!

As we reported pre-Idol finale, last season’s champ, Lee DeWyze, was rumored to have not been invited to participate in or attend the American Idol finale at the Nokia Theater Wednesday night. Cameras caught a quick glance at Lee in the audience, but the reigning champ (before Scotty McCreery took the title) was noticeably missing from the stage on the season’s biggest night. Previous Idol champs Carrie Underwood and David Cook each had a role to play on the two night finale festivities, but last season’s winner was simply missing.

Well, things have since developed into a twitter battle between Nigel Lythgoe and Lee DeWyze. Earlier Thursday, Lythgoe tweeted, ““I was so upset Lee DeWyze wouldn’t present the winners trophy to Scotty. Especially as he’s been on the show this season. I guess he was shy,” implying the Season 9 winner was asked to but did not want to partake in the show’s final moments. DeWyze didn’t take long to counter. “Just for the record, I was not asked to be involved in the finale. It wasn’t until about 2 minutes before they announced [the winner] that Nigel had approached me and asked if he could ‘borrow’ me for a second. I didn’t feel a last-second jump on stage was appropriate. It was Scotty’s moment. I appreciate American Idol,” DeWyze continued, “and the opportunity it has given me. And the people who have made that show possible. I am not angry, or bitter etc. It was an amazing finale, and I would have loved to be a part of it. I just wasn’t asked.”

Needless to say, no comment has been made by Nigel Lythgoe in retaliation to Lee’s claim. Nigel has bigger and better things to worry about with So You Think You Can Dance kicking off on air today (and don’t forget to check out our recap here tomorrow morning!). Whose team are you on? Team Nigel or Team DeWyze? What’s your take on the whole situation? Let us know below!

Haley Reinhart, one of American Idol’s final 3 contenders for the top spot, took a pretty hard fall during her “contestants choice” performance of  Led Zeppelin‘s “What Is and Should Never Be.”

Walking toward the judges table, she tripped on the stairs, fell to her hands and knees, but got right back up. It didn’t seem to affect her, or her performance in the least. Now that is a professional! Her father, Harry, was playing guitar on the Zeppelin performance. I am surprised we didn’t see him run out to try and catch her!

Once the performance was finished, the judges, of course, had to confront the elephant in the room. Steven Tyler asked “Would you fall for me?” but then continued to praise her for the performance. Jennifer Lopez also praised her, and added that this past weekend even she fell: “I’ve fallen, Beyonce’s fallen … You keep going. It’s a sign of a professional who knows what they’re doing.” Randy Jackson thought it was a planned fall.

A planned fall? Yeah, that one confused me too.

Anyway, Reinhart was a-ok, and in fact was awarded the first round victory in tonight’s 3 person stand off.

What do you think? Helped, hurt, or neither? Let us know below!

Well, American Idol has whittled it’s way down to the top three: Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart and Scotty McCreery. James Durbin was sent packing last night, which in my opinion, was pretty surprising. In fact, just based on the poll here, it seems it surprised many. This season has actually surprised many with their eliminations. Pia was a surprise elimination that seemed to irritate many of the Idol watchers. In fact, many stopped watching from that point forward. Between the judges not being critical of anyone, the push of certain performers, etc. this season has kinda been a drag to many. In fact, the first time I have heard the judges actually be critical was this week’s performance night, to Haley.

So, why was James eliminated? What made someone who has never found himself in the bottom three suddenly eliminated, and another Idol who has been in the bottom three repeatedly, not only safe from elimination, but not even in the bottom two?

My theory? It comes down to two words: Adam Lambert.

Yes, our old Idol friend Adam Lambert last week endorsed Haley. This came as a surprise to many, since many have been comparing Durbin to Lambert, including James who tried to model himself a bit after him, so we thought Lambert would return the favor and either endorse James, or endorse no one. Well, he endorsed Haley. Many of us have wondered why? That is not to say Haley is not a great singer by any means, but when you ask around, there are many that think Adam may have shown his preference for her because of the competition James may bring him, or that he was tired (or jealous) of hearing people compare James to him. Some of James’ fans have even gone so far as to say he is better than Lambert. So, taking all the chatter around the net about James, it seems Adam made the choice to try and distance himself from The Durbin.

Lambert endorsed Haley all over Twitter. Lambert has over a million followers. So, coincidence? I think not. Did loyal Lambert fans send the rocker packing?

Quite frankly, I don’t think that former Idols should endorse the current contestants, as it gives an unfair advantage, but, that’s just me.

What do you think? Let us know below, then come on in the the FORUM where we are discussing James’ Elimination and have a poll HERE to see if you think Lambert had anything to do with it!

So who wants an alleged haunted house that the Idol 10 group lived in? Well, for those of you with a large sum of cash on hand (and we all know we just are bursting at the seems with extra change from our last grocery trip) it’s available for a mere $12 Million! Like I said, just forego your Costco or Target trip and you too can have a chance at this once in a lifetime deal!

Built in 2008, the house features 9 Bedrooms, 9 Bathrooms, and is approximately 15000 Sq. ft. on 2.14 acres of land. The home boasts a swimming pool and spa, butler/maid prep Kitchen, Lavish Landscaping, Parking for over 100 cars, dual winding staircases, and of course, ghosts, so say the American Idol troop.

Yeah that’s right, not only do you get this wonderful piece of property where you can throw huge elaborate parties with that extra money you saved offering 11,995,000, but you will also have the opportunity to live with extra special guests that just won’t move on. Oh, and spiders.

As you may recall, the group of this years Idols have reported that the house began being infested with spiders, then lights began to flicker, sheets floated down the hallways on their own, and a hand floated down from the ceiling. This is when they decided to move out, and now, lucky you, you can own it! I mean come on, if you put only 20% down, it would only cost you $48,362 a month! Now that’s affordable!

Let us know below how much you are going to offer! It’s only fair, so others have a shot too.

It was bound to happen, and we all got to see a little piece of it Tuesday night. (That is, if you watched The Voice this week. If you haven’t seen this show, this writer thinks you should go check it out!)

The Voice coach, Adam Levine from Maroon 5, made a comment on Tuesday’s show, speaking to a contestant that did not get a coach to turn around during their “blind audition”. He said, “The people that we’re not turning our chairs around for could win American Idol,” after he and fellow celebrities Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton decided not turn their chairs either. We all heard it, and many of us in the forum, and around Twitter, commented on it.

So far, we had heard nothing from the ‘Idol-sphere’ really about The Voice, and how they really feel about the competition, until today.

Randy Jackson told the Hollywood Reporter today that “It’s a great thing when talent can be simple, honest and revered as opposed to spinning around with gimmicky chairs. Maybe Simon Cowell should have people opening doors. Like, ‘Knock, knock. Who’s singing? I can’t see you!“

He continued, “Look, none of these other shows could exist without somebody forging the path before them. I’m happy to say that Idol did that and paved the way.”

The Voice itself has premiered with some very impressive ratings, and has certainly impressed me. So much so, that I have stopped watching Idol. To me, Idol has lost it’s special something, and I think it was the right timing for Simon to leave. The judges are no longer judging the contestants, but are more a cheerleading section, and I find myself really disliking Jimmy Iovine. I would much rather see the contestants do what they want to do on their own. Let them be individuals, and find within themselves the artist they wish to be, rather than be coached by this guy. A little less arrogance, and some more humble pie would be nice Mr. Iovine.

Jackson states his only fear is that “with all these shows coming is that people don’t tire of the format,” he adds. “I don’t know how much singing at you the public can take” referring to The Voice, America’s Got Talent and Cowell’s X Factor premiering in the Fall.

Personally, I can take a lot, if it’s good. I don’t find The Voice gimmicky. In fact, it seems to me they came up with a format that could work for seasons to come… New judges can be brought in every season, allowing for a fresh take every time.

What do you think? Agree with Randy, or do you think Idol may have met it’s match?

This week on Idol: The Top 5 finalists, Lauren Alaina, James Durbin, Jacob Lusk, Scotty McCreery and Haley Reinhart will perform songs from “Now and Then” – One current song of their choice, and one from the 1960′s.

Thursday, the live result show will feature a performance by Idol Judge Jennifer Lopez with Rapper PitBull and a performance by Lady Antebellum. In addition, sometime this week, we should be seeing the premier of the video of “Judas” by Lady Gaga. We are unsure whether this will be on the performance show or the elimination. We here at the Yak are guessing it will be on elimination night however, seeing that they wouldn’t want to steal the spotlight from the Idols, and that they usually jam pack a lot of stuff on elimination night.

So, what do you think? Do you like the idol theme for this week? Looking forward to the performances on elim night? Leave us a comment below, and be sure to join us in the forum to talk about all things Idol!

As if The Voice couldn’t get better… yes, I do love this new show, and apparently, so did 11.8 million others for it’s premier.

NBC has announced the addition of more star power for the next phase of the competition. The celebrity mentors, Christina Aquilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton were allowed to choose an “industry insider” to help them get their team members ready to go head to head, the battle against each other to avoid elimination. So who did they choose?

• Christina Aguilera chose Australian Singer/Songwriter Sia.
• Adam Levine has chosen Blackstone, Marron 5′s music Director.
• Cell Lo picked up R&B Artist Monica.
• Blake Shelton is getting his help from Reba McEntire.

In the upcoming phase of the competition called “Battles”, the eight members of each team will have to battle it out with their own teammates in order to remain in the competition. The coaches themselves will be responsible for eliminating their own team members until their teams consist of 4, basically cutting their teams in half.

The next episode of The Voice airs tonight at 9e/8c, which will be part 2 of the “blind auditions”. If you missed the premier and have catching up to do, you can see it in it’s entirety online HERE.

Starting May 10th, The Voice will move to it’s new, and regular time slot of 10e/9c (which no doubt will make Deadliest Catch fans happy!)

Have you watched The Voice yet? If not, WHY? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think! Don’t forget to also join us over in the forum HERE to discuss The Voice, Deadliest Catch, American Idol, DWTS, ANTM, Survivor, The Amazing Race, and all your reality favorites, including, of course, Big Brother coming soon!