We're not sure about the "restless" part, but we do know that this year's Y&R Online Awards winners definitely fell under the category of "young."
As they'd done in the nominations phase of the awards, Ashley Bashioum (Mackenzie Browning) and David Tom (Billy Abbott) pulled off some incredible wins. While Tom picked up several key wins, it was Bashioum who may have left the most indelible mark on this year's awards.
The Outstanding Leading Actor field was crowded with familiar names. Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) and Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters) have all been graced with Daytime Emmy Awards. So, most experts had predicted that these three - or primarily Bergman and Braeden - would battle it out for the top male acting award. That was not the case. Young David Tom breezed into the field and grabbed 41% of the total vote.
Tom's on-screen pal, Ashley Bashioum, pulled off an equally impressive win among the women. Bashioum's vote total was more than double that of her nearest competitor, Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman).
Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) just edged out Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers) to win the Outstanding Supporting Actress award, Case's margin of victory was just four votes. Amazingly, this was not the closest finish of the awards. More on that later.
Though rumors of his departure continue to swirl, Christian Le Blanc (Michael Baldwin) earned the title of Outstanding Supporting Actor. In the field, Le Blanc bested David Lago (Raul). Lago, however, did manage to find solace in the Outstanding Newcomer category. Lago took the award in a tough fight against Rick Hearst (Matt Clark/Carter Mills).
Bashioum and Tom had their first head-to-head battle of the Dankies in the Outstanding Young Performer category. Some voters appeared torn between the two nominees and there was some speculation that the two might cancel each other out. That was not the case as the pair combined for 76% of the total vote. Bashioum came out on top by a sizeable margin, with Tom placing second. Camryn Grimes (Cassidy Newman) placed third with Bryant Jones (Nate Hastings) finishing in fourth.
The "will he stay or will he go" saga of Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters) didn't seem to bother voters - just as long as they get a chance to check out the male star's face every now and again. Moore picked up the honor for Most Attractive Male Performer award by a smidge more votes than second-place Don Diamont (Brad Carlton).
Sharon Case (Sharon Newman) snapped Bashioum's win-streak in the Most Attractive Female Performer battle. Case nabbed over one-half of the total vote in a field where Bashioum placed last. One voter commented that Bashioum may have lost because of her age. This same voter, however, warned that in a few years the young actress could easily battle it out for title.
Down time for Bashioum was short-lived. The actress' character, Mackenzie Browning ,and Eric Braeden's Victor Newman fought tooth and nail in the Favorite Character field. In fact, the final count was reminiscent of a recent national election. We're not sure if the final vote was cast by someone from the Sunshine State, but Mackenize toppled the mustached mogul by just one vote. Billy Abbott and Sharon Newman rounded out the field.
Just a couple of months after her departure from The Young and the Restless, Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Winters) was named the Most Missed Performer. Rowell, of course, left her role last year after she and show executives were unable to come to terms on a new contract.
Beau Kazer (Brock Reynolds) picked up a win for his performance in the Outstanding Performance in a Recurring Role or Special Guest Appearance.
In the Outstanding Overall Performer category, each of the nominees in the Outstanding Leading Actor and Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress categories were placed in a single category. Voters were then asked to pick one of those performers that turned in the best overall performance in the past twelve months.
Again the battle highlighted this year's top nominees --- Ashley Bashioum and David Tom. Eric Braeden, however, also slipped under the radar and battled for the top honor as well. Tom and Braeden tied for second place with 14% of the vote. Bashioum picked up the win with 19% of the vote. Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman) was the next highest-rated actress having finished in sixth place.