Here are the ten most popular celebrities in terms of appearance on the covers of The Only Ten Magazines That Matter since this blog started in January 2010.

1. Jennifer Aniston (97)
2. Sandra Bullock (90)
3. BrAngelina (88)
4. Kim Kardashian (82)
5. Kourtney Kardashian (61)
6. Wills'N'Kate (59)
7. Kendra Wilkinson (52)
8. Barack Obama (49)
9. Jesse James (47)
10. Angelina Jolie (46)

Both Angelina Jolie and Barack Obama are new to the top ten since the last three month review, a change I correctly predicted. The only person knocking on the door at the moment is Oprah Winfrey, and if things go as they have been going, Angelina will pass Jesse James for the ninth spot, then Oprah will knock Jesse out of the Top Ten. Kourtney and Kendra are fading from view, and while Wills'N'Kate will continue to climb, I have no idea who else beyond Oprah might break into this list by the end of the year.

2011 list
1. Jennifer Aniston 2011 (34)
2. Wills'N'Kate 2011 (30)
3. Kim Kardashian (29)
4. BrAngelina 2011 (27)
5. Sandra Bullock 2011 (21)
6. Barack Obama 2011 (19)
7-9. Bachelor Brad (17)
7-9. Elizabeth Taylor 2011 (17)
7-9. Kendra Wilkinson 2011 (17)
10. Leah Messer 2011 (16)

Three months ago, I correctly predicted Ryan Reynolds would fade from view, but I incorrectly guessed that we had seen something close to the last from Bachelor Brad and Miss Elizabeth Taylor. I'm going to double down on my earlier incorrect predictions and say Brad and Liz will be out of the top ten by the end of September, and add another guess that Kendra is about to fade. I can't be sure who will overtake them, but right now it looks like a swarm of Teen Moms, more's the pity.

Notice that Kim Kardashian is the only sister in the top ten for this year. Her upcoming wedding has turned Kourtney and Khloe into ghosts, and the TV show is going to start focusing on the underage sisters. I'm the last person to judge what will work on reality TV, but this might be a bridge too far.

One can always hope.

The next review will come about Labor Day. You can still check in every day here at It's News 2 Them™ for the latest in supermarket gossip.

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The percentages of nice stories to mean ones actually improved in several magazines since the last count three months ago, but the basic standings remain the same. Here the Only Ten Magazines are ranked from nicest to meanest, with the most recent percentages and what those percentages were at the end of March. (Both the current numbers and the March numbers are based on starting dates of January 2010.)

1. OK! 68% unchanged
2. People 65% up from 61%
3. Us Weekly 53% up from 50%
4. Weekly Life & Style 51% up from 50%
5. In Touch 34% unchanged
6. Sun 28% up from 23%
7. Star 22% unchanged
8. Examiner 15% unchanged
9. Globe 11% up from 10%
10. Enquirer 10% unchanged
    
    

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While the main gossip rags that predict deaths are just the Three Wicked Step Sisters, the Enquirer, Globe and low rent Examiner, a whole slew of the mags will tell their readers some celebrity is pregnant. The common thread is how unreliable these stories are.

The way I count these predictions is to go back six to nine months and list all the Bun In The Oven Alerts. That means this review is dealing with stories from October, November and December of 2010. Here are the stories that actually panned out.

Mariah Carey
Pink
Natalie Portman

Here are the stories that were so much balloon juice.

Angelina Jolie
Khloe Kardashian (twice)
Kim Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian (three times)
Beyoncé Knowles
Kate Middleton
Elin Nordegren
Willow Palin
LeAnn Rimes
Jessica Simpson
Carrie Underwood
Kendra Wilkinson
Trisha Yearwood

Three true stories, sixteen lies. Batting average of .158, not as stinky as the death predictions, but still AMAZINGLY unreliable.

This underscores the reason I started this blog in the first place. If the supermarket rags are this bad at stuff that can be verified or proven false, imagine how bad they are at the stuff that just remains rumor.

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So far in 2011, the vultures of the tabloids, which usually means the Enquirer, Globe and low rent Examiner, have given death predictions for a total of 30 celebrities, three of whom have died in these past six months, Miss Elizabeth Taylor, James Arness and Peter Falk. That works out to a batting average of .100, which is pretty darn sad no matter how you slice it.

The overall record since the beginning of 2010 is 10 correct predictions out of 84, a slightly better but still stinky .119. Of course, if they just stop predicting and wait, their batting average will eventually be 1.000. That's how this game works. But it's not in their nature not to speculate on life and death, no matter how bad they suck at it.

Here are the new names added to the list since January that are still alive.

Larry Fortensky
Roy Clark
George Jones
Donna Fargo
Miss Kitty Wells
Dick Van Dyke
Nancy Reagan
Steve Jobs
Regis Philbin
Paula Deen
John Edwards
Chuck Berry
Miss Angela Lansbury
Miss Maureen O'Hara
Jack Klugman
Amber Portwood

Here are the people who have been mentioned since January, but are repeat customers from 2010, excluding Miss Elizabeth Taylor, who was pegged for death six times in the month before the end.

Miss Aretha Franklin x2
Miss Doris Day x2
Bob Barker x2
Billy Graham
Jerry Lee Lewis
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Whitney Houston
Charlie Sheen
Bill Clinton
James Garner
Miss Loretta Lynn

Best wishes to the people on the list, their family and friends, and double best wishes to the special ladies, Miss Loretta Lynn, Miss Kitty Wells, Miss Aretha Franklin, Miss Angela Lansbury, Miss Doris Day, and Miss Maureen O'Hara.

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