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"Welcome to Digital Spy&amp;#039;s news review of 2013, where we collect the biggest entertainment stories of the last 12 months. From Celebrity Big Brother to the Oscars, David Bowie to Miley Cyrus we hope to give you a proper overview for a hectic year in movies, music, TV, technology and showbiz. Our review is in two parts, so come back tomorrow for July to December standouts, as we relive the first six months of the year below.  January In the first of many shock pop comebacks, January was dominated by news that David Bowie hadn&amp;#039;t actually retired. In fact he&amp;#039;d been pretty busy behind closed doors and surprised us all with the announcement of his 24th studio album The Next Day - his first in a decade.  At the movies, a sci-fi collision of worlds came with confirmation that JJ Abrams - the man behind Star Trek&amp;#039;s successful rebirth - would be given the chance to do the same for the Star Wars franchise. The reality TV merry-go-round spun faster and faster, with Rylan Clark winning Celebrity Big Brother so soon after being on The X Factor that he had to sneak off for tour rehearsals. Meanwhile, Julie Burchill was making friends and setting the tone for a year of Twitter-fanned linkbaiting and column wars.  Also in the news: Blockbuster follows HMV into administration Katie Price marries stripper boyfriend Kieran Hayler in Caribbean B*Witched, Liberty X, Atomic Kitten return for Big Reunion Ex-Coronation Street actress Sophiya Haque dies, aged 41  February 2013 was the year that Jennifer Lawrence went from well-respected actress (and our very own 2010 Star of the Future winner) to full-blown superstar, stumbling her way to a Best Actress Oscar. Ben Affleck, Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway were among the other winners as Seth MacFarlane divided the audience.  Following a successful Super Bowl performance, Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9 apparently tried to get all less-than-flattering pictures of the set removed from the web. Two words? Streisand effect. And after teasing us at a live show the previous month, My Bloody Valentine outdid David Bowie by releasing their third [proper] studio album mbv - a mere 22-year wait after their second. Also in the news: Coronation Street&amp;#039;s Natalie Gumede confirms Kirsty departure PS4: Sony&amp;#039;s new PlayStation 4 console releasing holiday 2013 BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James strips naked after completing Comic Relief challenge Oscar Pistorius charged with murder over girlfriend shooting  March After their shortlived reunion, Girls Aloud split up once more, claiming that their comeback was a &amp;quot;reminder that dreams really do glitter&amp;quot;. A less cheery pop reception was had by Justin Bieber, whose late appearance at London&amp;#039;s O2 and later fainting incident seemed to kick off a problematic period of time for the pop superstar.  Incredibly, Ant &amp;amp; Dec scored their first ever number 1 single, when their PJ &amp;amp; Duncan debut &amp;#039;Let&amp;#039;s Get Ready to Rhumble&amp;#039; topped the charts after being performed on their Saturday Night Takeaway show. Across the pond, Justin Timberlake made his return to music with The 20/20 Experience - the first of two 2013 records from the former *NSYNC star. Having teased us since August 2011 Jessie J finally shaved her head for charity, while Ricky Gervais resurrected David Brent for a music video and look back at his wilderness years. March also saw the sad deaths of sports and Dancing on Ice commentator Tony Gubba, who was 69, and Harry Potter and Withnail &amp;amp; I&amp;#039;s Uncle Monty, Richard Griffiths, who was 65. Also in the news: X Factor star Christopher Maloney: &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m gay&amp;#039; Justin Bieber in fight with photographer, threatens to beat him Taylor Swift admits &amp;#039;I Knew You Were Trouble&amp;#039; is about Harry Styles Tulisa denies &amp;#039;X Factor&amp;#039; axe: &amp;#039;I want to come back, I&amp;#039;m a fighter&amp;#039;  April JLS called it a day - sort of - enjoying a goodbye so long we thought it had been written by Raymond Chandler. The pop world dusted itself off and got down the dancefloor with Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers with their megasmash &amp;#039;Get Lucky&amp;#039;.  Margaret Thatcher&amp;#039;s death at the age of 87 split the country - the media and world of entertainment were no different. &amp;#039;Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead&amp;#039; even entered the charts. The movie world, however, was united in its grief when Roger Ebert died at the age of 70, leaving behind decades of remarkable film criticism as his legacy. Also in the news: Facebook begins charging users for non-friend and celebrity messaging Michelle Keegan confirms Coronation Street exit Dan Aykroyd on &amp;#039;Ghostbusters 3&amp;#039;: &amp;#039;It could shoot in 2014&amp;#039; Psy &amp;#039;Gentleman&amp;#039; video reaches 22 million hits in 24 hours  May In soapland, Coronation Street scooped the big prize at the British Soap Awards, with a good showing across the board, while Samantha Womack confirmed a brief return to EastEnders later that year.  Having suffered months of middling-to-poor reviews, it was reported that Spice Girls musical Viva Forever! would close this year, having made a loss of at least \u00C2\u00A35m. JLS&amp;#039;s Marvin Humes and The Saturdays&amp;#039; Rochelle Humes welcomed their first child, a girl called Alaia-Mai Humes. Also in the news: Xbox One reveal: Video live stream of A New Generation Revealed event Emmerdale star Richard Thorp dies, aged 81 TNA boss Dixie Carter: &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;m open to WWE crossover event&amp;#039; The IT Crowd to return for final special  June Andrea Begley won The Voice UK after surviving the brand new &amp;quot;steal&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;knockout&amp;quot; twists. Over on ITV, shadow dance act Attraction won Britain&amp;#039;s Got Talent, beating comedian Jack Carroll and singers Richard and Adam - while Simon Cowell got pelted with eggs and Holly Willoughby wore a dress.  It was also confirmed in June that Matt Smith would be leaving Doctor Who at Christmas, though we didn&amp;#039;t know how much of a surprise we&amp;#039;d be in for until his replacement was announced later in the year. And although the new iPhone and iPad (and iPad mini) were a while away yet, the ground was being prepared for the biggest Apple change in ages with the announcement of the sleek iOS7 for mobile and tablet devices. Gamers saw an Xbox 180, when Microsoft dropped plans for the Xbox One to be always-on and restrictions on borrowing or selling used games. Also in the news: James Gandolfini dies, aged 51: Sopranos star suffers heart attack Kim Kardashian, Kanye West baby &amp;#039;named North West, nicknamed Nori&amp;#039; Michael Douglas: &amp;#039;Oral sex caused my cancer&amp;#039; Tulisa &amp;#039;caught in cocaine deal&amp;#039; by undercover reporter  What do you think were the biggest entertainment stories of the first half of 2013? Share your memories of the first six months of a year in showbiz below "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a537543/2013-news-review-a-year-in-entertainment-part-one/>