Today we have reason to celebrate: it’s Ryan’s 36th birthday! Ryan’s a year older, but he’s even better looking and more successful than he was this time last year. It could almost be annoying if we didn’t love him, but as we do we’ll wish him even more success and a very happy birthday!
A birthday seems like a good time to take a look back at the year and remember some of the many things Ryan’s done since he turned 35. It started with a successful New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: the show was once more the most watched New Year’s Eve show and ratings were up on the previous year.
In January, the start of American Idol Season 9 marked the arrival of Ellen DeGeneres and the announcement that it would be Simon Cowell’s last season. Simon suggested Ryan would replace him, joking about Ryan jumping between the stage and the judging chair and kicking off speculation that would last for months. Some of the new contestants stood out for their singing ability (or lack thereof), but one guy made it to air after inviting Ryan to ‘call him’! No matter how busy he is, Ryan always seems to make time for charity, and in January he helped Larry King raise millions of dollars for disaster relief in Haiti following the earthquake.
Idol Season 9 auditions continued in February, and Ryan’s “Rock My Town” contest brought Season 8 favourites Adam Lambert, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta to NYC for a free concert. Just before Valentine’s Day, Ryan took his mom out for a quiet lunch in Santa Monica … or so she thought until they were ambushed by a Scope Outlast flash mob performing a dance to “Kiss Me” — the video was posted online and views raised money for Operation Smile.
It was a great year for Ryan Seacrest Productions with successful new shows including Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which aired on ABC starting in March. Ryan appeared on Oprah, giving an insight into his life and motivation as well as talking about the Food Revolution, and Ryan hit the headlines for getting up and personal in Simon Cowell’s face when he wouldn’t give a straight answer on Idol. An uncomfortable-looking Simon offered to sort it out later in his trailer. We didn’t get to see Ryan and Simon kiss and make up, but there were rumours about Ryan kissing someone … a blonde A-list dancer. Ryan also made a lot of young girls happy by giving them Justin Bieber at Disneyland (sadly for them they had to give him back) and streaming a chat live for everyone to enjoy.
April started with an April Fools joke as Joel McHale “hacked” Ryan’s twitter and website. Ryan’s involvement with good causes continued as Idol Gives Back raised $45 million … and we all wanted to know exactly what Ryan knew about Adam Lambert’s talented tongue. Julianne Hough laughed off rumours she was dating Ryan, but that’s okay because we found out that somebody loved him … his son, Butter Pants, in Shrek 4.
Ryan and the Idol judges were featured on an episode of The Simpsons and American Idol said an emotional goodbye to Ryan’s buddy Simon in May, and rumours had everyone on the panel being replaced, with only Ryan sure to return. Ryan attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and speculation about his relationship with Julianne Hough continued: they were spotted together, and Ryan was reportedly “smitten”, but he stayed silent and Julianne said they were just friends.
Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami Season 2, another ratings hit for Ryan Seacrest Productions, premiered in June and Ryan hinted at leaving his radio show at the end of his current contract, sparking much speculation about his future career options. Ryan was photographed walking hand-in-hand with Julianne Hough in Malibu and seen getting cosy backstage at her show in Nashville … Ryan didn’t comment but Julianne described Ryan as nice, sweet and a really good guy. Ryan led a touching tribute to Dick Clark at the Daytime Emmys, helped raise money for the Gulf Coast clean up, hosted an opera anniversary gala, got excited about the World Cup (and hot tubs), made number 44 on the Forbes Power List and was ranked as the most influential TV host in LA by LA Confidential and Mediaite.
Larry King announced he was leaving Larry King Live, and named Ryan as his preferred replacement resulting in a lot of speculation as Ryan left LA for a vacation around the Cote d’Azur and Riviera ligure in July. Just him, his friends, and a few paparazzi photographers trailing behind. Julianne Hough joined Ryan in Italy and was photographed wrapped around him … even though the press reported that she initially thought Ryan was gay. That didn’t stop the rumours about them getting serious and moving in together. Ryan also hit the headlines for leaving a $10k tip after a business dinner in Sardinia. On his return to LA, Ryan said he didn’t have time to replace Larry King, though he was flattered to be suggested. American Top 40 celebrated its 40th anniversary and Ryan hit the road for American Idol Season 10 auditions — and entertained us with great behind-the-scenes videos.
In August, Ryan received an Emmy as producer of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution team, this year’s Outstanding Reality Program. There were rumours about a Ryan Seacrest-Larry King radio venture. Ryan was still on the road for American Idol auditions, and at the centre of speculation about the future of Idol as everyone waited to find out about new judges and format changes. Ryan continued to help others with the announcement that the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s first Broadcast Media Center would be built at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Ryan broadcast his morning radio show from Children’s Hospital Orange County in September, raising money for CHOC and bringing smiles to the faces of the children, checked on progress of his Foundation’s new Media Center in Atlanta, and helped fundraising for Stand Up To Cancer. Ryan’s Emmy award winning show (I like typing that!) Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution aired in the UK as ABC picked up a second season to film in LA. Ryan had barely introduced the new American Idol judges to the world when rumours of his first feud … a diva war with Jennifer Lopez … hit the gossip columns. Ryan spent Labor Day Weekend in Cabo with Julianne Hough, then took her to dinner with his parents a couple of weeks later … sparking rumours of an imminent engagement.
Speculation about Ryan’s future continued into October. There was still no news about his morning radio show but Ryan was rumoured to be looking at starting a new cable network. Filming for Kourtney and Kim Take New York, the latest Kardashian spin-off, got underway in NYC. Ryan was reported to have put his Hollywood Hills home up for sale, resulting in more speculation that he was planning to marry or move in with Julianne Hough. Ryan and Julianne were seen dining out around NYC and Atlanta, but Julianne told ET that the rumour Ryan was about to propose was news to her … and probably to him too. Ryan was on the road for American Idol again, filming auditions with the new judges. Jennifer Lopez appeared on Ryan’s radio show to laugh about their supposed feud and the difficulty she was having remembering that guy who isn’t Steven Randy’s name.
November was a special month as Ryan was back in Atlanta to launch the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s first Media Center. During the press surrounding the launch, Ryan explained how the Foundation came about, why he chose Atlanta, and his family’s involvement. While in Atlanta, Ryan visited the Ronald McDonald House and hosted the second Hearts and Hands Gala. Ryan scored an election day interview with President Obama, and American Idol callbacks came to an end, with Ryan literally on top of the world (or the AT&T building anyway). We finally found out that Ryan had decided to continue with his KIIS FM morning show for another three years — and that he had an expanded development contract with Clear Channel, which sounds exciting. Ryan, his family and Julianne spent a well-documented Thanksgiving in Paris, amid more speculation about a proposal, and Julianne told Ellen DeGeneres that Ryan’s a phenomenal boyfriend.
Earlier this month, Ryan played dead on all his social networks to help raise $1million for HIV and AIDS. Ryan went to Walt Disney World to film the Disney Christmas Day Parade, American Idol filmed Hollywood week, which included a trip to Las Vegas, then Ryan co-hosted the last ever Larry King Live before disappearing off for a vacation that appears to have been mostly off the radar.
It’s been a busy year for Ryan and he’s given us a lot of entertainment with the promise of much more to come next year and beyond. We hope he had a great vacation, and will have a birthday and Christmas week to match. Next weekend he’ll bring in the New Year, and hopefully with it everything he wishes for himself in the future.
Don’t forget to watch the Disney Christmas Day Parade tomorrow on ABC!
