riverdale introduced him to a new generation of fans. to luke. reporter: both shows paid tribute to the actor they knew and loved. number five, lil nas x breaks music charts with old time road i got the horses in the bag reporter: the country rapper s jam with billy ray cyrus topped the billboard top 100 18 week. lil nas flying under the radar but charged when released. it was a viral tick tock meme that turned his newbie into a banger. i want to take my heart to the old town road reporter: the song hit a bump in the road when bill bod pulled it from country charts generating cries of racism. the rapper turned it around hitting personal and professional triumphs. came out over the summer psh single tripful platinum and reached diamond
with her juice. a look at the top entertainment news in 2019. number nine, jeopardy host alex trebek s courageous battle against pancreatic cancer. news to share. reporter: trebek announced stage four diagnosis in march and vowed to aggressively fight the disease. he underwent intense chemotherapy and resurfaced just five months later to announce on the mend. happy to report i m still here. reporter: and ready to return to jeopardy for its 36th season. in a touching moment, trebek choked up. what is, love you alex. that s very kind. thank you. reporter: a tv star embroiled in a hate crime scandal is number eight. empire actor jussi smollet, gay and black, claimed to be a target of a racist and homophobic attack. police say he staged the attack to gain attention. jussie smollett took
advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. reporter: indicted on 16 felony counts but prosecutors later dropped up a charges. smollett maintains his innocence. i would not be my another s son if i was capable of are one drop of what i was accused of. reporter: he didn t return for the show s sixth and final season. a new type of battle brings us to number seven. the fight for your streaming views and sub description dollars. new kids on the block. apple tv plus, disney plus and soon pea pok and hbo max. netflix the king over 150 million subscribers but industry insiders are watching the impacts the new plat performs will have against established rivals. content at the core of any streaming service. we ve seen record-setting production and licensing deals over the last few years. reporter: oprah, reese