"A couple of hackers may have conspired to have Miley Cyrus win Time magazine's online Person of the Year vote, but the pop star is actually being considered for the magazine's annual honor, making Time's list of 10 finalists, it was revealed Monday morning.
Along with Cyrus, other contenders for Time's 2013 Person of the Year are Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Pope Francis, 2012 winner President Barack Obama, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, NSA leaker Edward Snowden and gay rights activist Edith Windsor.
Before Thanksgiving, Cyrus was leading the online vote as the person who most influenced the news this year for better or worse, with 29 percent of the vote. But her success may have been due to the efforts of two hackers who were rigging the vote for the pop star. Cyrus didn't end up winning the online vote, placing third with 279,300 votes, or 16.3 percent of the total. The online winner, announced last Thursday, was Egypt’s Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who received 449,596 votes, or 26.2 percent of the total, beating out Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who received 356,771 votes or 20.8 percent.
Still, Time's editors will make the final decision about who will grace the magazine's cover as its 2013 Person of the Year, revealing their choice on Wednesday's "Today" show.
Time managing editor Nancy Gibbs appeared on "Today" on Monday to reveal the 10 finalists, saying of Cyrus' inclusion: "Power is not just political. It can be cultural. It can be spiritual. She came in like a wrecking ball … the most watched video of the year and at a time when we are living with an explosion of exhibitionism, since we all now carry cameras with us at all times, she is a symbol.""
Billboard
@selenagomez where you at 🎅🎅🎅
— Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) December 10, 2013