Britney? Beyonce? Who Is MTV News' Woman Of The Year? The Countdown Begins Today!

These are the ladies who have dominated the 2008 headlines — with more to come in the next few days.

By James Montgomery

Who was the biggest star of 2008? Who had the most impact on the year that was, who inspired the most headlines or generated the biggest amount of buzz? It's really tough to say ... yet, for decades now, plenty of magazines have been doing just that (we're looking at you, Time). And so, after years of sitting on the sidelines, we here at MTV News have decided to get in on the act too.

Over the next few days, we'll be unveiling our list of the most fascinating, controversial and, well, BRITNEY!!! women of the year. These are the artists, actors and pop-culture heavyweights who dominated the headlines here at MTVNews.com (and no, Sarah Palin didn't make the cut ... we'll leave that to the folks at Time).

Today, we present picks 10 to 6. On Tuesday, we'll reveal numbers 5 to 2. And then, on Thursday, we'll unveil our 2008 MTV News Woman of the Year. And, of course, we'd love to hear what you've got to say — we'll even publish some of the best comments later this week — so if you agree with us (or if you don't), let us know in the comments below.

Why did K-Fed start spilling beans on Britney?

Plus: Britney and ‘Project Runway’; Wentz learned from Ledger
By Courtney Hazlett

Ever since Britney Spears’ big breakdown, her ex-husband Kevin Federline has been approached by nearly every publication in the celebrity business about telling his side of the story.

He’s kept mum until this week’s big exclusive with People magazine, which has many wondering: Why did he start talking now?

There are two schools of thought on the subject. The more cynical comes from a former associate of Federline’s: “He doesn’t do anything unless there is a financial motive behind it, period. There’s a fee connected to everything he does. He gets a substantial amount of money from Britney, yes, but he wants to make his own money too, and he knows that he’s sitting on a gold mine when it comes to the ‘real’ story of Britney.”