Issue Date: January 4, 2004

POP CULTURE

The power(less) list

A month-by-month look at stars who lost luster in 2003.

Sick of reading "Power List" after "Power List"? We are! So we decided to do just the opposite: a look at those whose wattage dimmed last year.

January -- Trent Lott
The Senate majority leader steps down in the wake of racially charged remarks he made at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party the month before. Lott is now chairman of the Senate rules committee.

February -- Britney Spears
A month after her New York restaurant went belly up with $400,000 in unpaid bills, the pop tart is (oops!) embarrassed again. Ex-flame Justin Timberlake gets revenge with his hit "Cry Me a River," about a cheating girlfriend. The video features a Britney look-alike.

March -- Evan Marriott
A month after the "Joe Millionaire" finale, its star is already a Joe Schmo. And his onscreen lovefest with Zora went nowhere. Marriott later tells "People" he's looking for a girlfriend with "big boobs." Say it ain't so, Joe.

April -- John Rocker
The former star pitcher fails to make a major league roster. He went off his rocker in 1999, denigrating minorities and gays in an interview. The Atlanta Braves then traded him in 2001. He bounced around to three teams, finally being released for good in '02.

May -- Howell Raines
The "New York Times" honcho, who led the paper to seven Pulitzer Prizes, resigns shortly after the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal. He's believed to have gone fly-fishing.

June -- Tom Green
"The New Tom Green Show" debuts to dismal ratings. MTV unplugs it barely three months later.

July -- Kobe Bryant
The L.A. Lakers superstar is charged with raping a concierge at a posh Colorado resort. Just months before, his image was as wholesome as milk. Soon, his endorsements begin to fade away.

August -- "Dell Dude"
Benjamin Curtis is absent when the computer maker airs its back-to-school ads. His lucrative contract went up in smoke after a February bust for marijuana possession in New York. Lame, dude.

September -- Bennifer
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez never make it to a happy Hollywood ending. Their wedding is indefinitely postponed, just a month after their "Gigli" tanked at the box office. Yes, the pair have been spotted together lately, but can their hot-and-cold romance make it out of development hell?

October -- Rush Limbaugh
The radio talker resigns from ESPN after claiming Philadelphia Eagles star Donovan McNabb got undeserved raves simply because he's a black quarterback. Now Limbaugh's under investigation for illegally buying prescription painkillers.

November -- Michael Jackson
Police arrest the King of Pop, accusing him of molesting a 12-year-old boy who visited Jacko's Neverland Ranch. A similar accusation in a 1993 civil suit was settled for a reported $15 million to $20 million. Guess we'll really find out "who's bad."

December -- FAO Schwarz
Toy empire FAO Inc. files for Chapter 11 for the second time in a year. Its stores, including the New York flagship featured in Tom Hanks' "Big," are not expected to see another holiday season. FAO Schwarz's "world of toys" retail playland made shoppers of all ages feel like kids. Wal-Mart just ain't the same.

Sara Anderson