THE year 2008 is a year of winners. There?s Manny Pacquiao with his recent victory over the veteran Oscar de la Hoya. But it?s also true for a number of Filipino singers, celebrities and instant TV stars, many of whom made their mark in contests and reality shows.

?Pinoy Idol? produced a singing champion in Gretchen Espina, while the first-ever ?Project Runway Philippines? premiered this year on ETC. Aries Lagat, a fashion designer from Lanao del Norte, won the reality TV show competition, but the franchise itself also came out victorious by satisfying fans of the original US program.

?Survivor,? the mother of all reality TV competitions, finally reached local shores when GMA 7 debuted ?Survivor Philippines.? Shot in Thailand, the shows raked in high ratings and produced a lot of winners, not just student-basketball player JC Tiuseco, but also other showbiz-ready potentials such as the exotic and exposure-hungry Patani, who with her charm and X-factor did end up getting the exposure she was craving for.

TV personalities such as Rhian Ramos and Marian Rivera continued to shine this year, with the former fabulously celebrating her debut and getting her own show, ?Lalola? on GMA 7. The latter, meanwhile, attracted more people to her fanbase with the fantaserye ?Dyesebel? and the hit movie ?One True Love.?

The country also went gaga over several hunks, from Brazilian-Japanese imports Akihiro Sato (Penshoppe?s new endorser) and Hideo Muraoka (the new face and body of Folded and Hung) to basketball players Chris Tiu, Simon Atkins and Kirk Long, all endorsers of the innerwear brand Hanford.

Many also got bitten by the vampire bug and went crazy over ?Twilight? (both the movie and the book by Stephanie Meyer), and its lead star Robert Pattinson, of course.

However, 2008 also saw some very unfortunate deaths among celebrities: the very promising actor Brad Renfro; Heath Ledger, whose portrayal of Joker in the latest Batman movie got everyone raving; ?Jurassic Park? author Michael Crichton; and Kapuso star Marky Cielo, 20, who reportedly died in his sleep.

Abroad, the list of scene-stealers would include comedienne Tina Fey, who won legions of fans when she did a hilarious impression of Gov. Sarah Palin.

Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, went home with eight gold medals from the 2008 Olympic Games. Isis, the self-proclaimed woman trapped in a man?s body, made waves when she made it to Cycle 11 of ?America?s Next Top Model? as the first-ever transgender contestant.

The mainstays of ?The Hills? continued to make moolah: Lauren Conrad with her fashion line, while Audrina Patridge branched out to movies and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag got married.

The boys and girls of ?Gossip Girl? also became even bigger: The boys were featured on the cover of the November issue of Details, while the girls remained at the fashion forefront with their distinctive preppy look.

Who made it to your list? E-mail the author at ninomarksablan@yahoo.com.