Had the July edition of the ‘Sexiest Males Alive’ list been published two weeks ago, as I originally planned, I’m pretty sure Jesse McCartney still would have been in the number one spot. He looked hot in the June Attitude issue, and otherwise he did nothing to diminish his God-like status. So how could he be dethroned? It was inevitable, really, when the pics of Hunter Parrish from the new Weeds season came to my attention. That’s not to say that McCartney isn’t still absolutely adorable, or that he could not retake the top spot soon, but right now I’d feel like I was fooling myself if I didn’t put Parrish in pole position. As we’ll see in the write-up below, most of the changes to this month’s list are due to a person (for instance Raphael Nadal) getting my attention in a way that reminded me of how much I adore him and hence catapulted him upwards, more than it means that those going in the opposite direction have become any less attractive.

Let me just summarize: This month the list is expanded to fifty names. We have ten newcomers, and three among the top 25. The highest ranking newcomer is Ryan Sheckler at #13; climber of the month is Raphael Nadal, moving up 13 spots; Alfie Allen is the one experiencing the steepest fall, down a full 20 spots; and five people fell of the list (Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Calvin Goldspink, Chris Trousdale, Zac Hanson). On that note, let’s see who’s left:

#1-#10: The real story here, apart from Hunter Parrish taking the lead, is the rise of Emile Hirsch. It might be that his gaining nine spots on this is list is the only good to ever come from his participation is the awful Speed Racer, but then at least it wasn’t a total waste (not for me, anyway). Cristiano Ronaldo got a bounce from Euro 2008, and Brits Charlie Hunnam and Mitch Hewer suffered minor setback but generally it was a steady month in the top-tier. We welcome Alex Pettyfer to the Ivy League of hotness.

#11-#20: Adorable nice-guy Ricky Ullman is moving up, and should credit Disney Channel for still airing repeats of Phil of the Future. Skaterboy Ryan Sheckler makes a strong debut, thanks to a couple od episodes of reality series Life Of Ryan, and his insanely fit body. At 18, he may be young, be he is still two years older than the comet of the second-tier, 3:10 To Yuma-star Logan Lerman. The main reason for his rapid rise, however, is reruns of his absolutely terrific breakthrough performance in the WB’s prematurely canceled Jack & Bobby. On the other side of the spectrum, Jesse Eisenberg drops nine spots, for no other reason than I haven’t watched The Squid and the Whale in a while. He’ll be back. Wimbledon exposure and a God-like upper body made this a great month for the aforementioned Raphael Nadal.

#21-30: David Archuleta, Max Theriot and Chace Crawford gives a fresh touch to the third tier. Crawford may seem like just a textbook playboy, but he’s brilliant at it. Archuleta and Theriot are both young, but they have a powerful mix of cuteness and undeniable talent. The O.C. alum Ryan Donowho nearly came out of the screen when I watched Imaginary Heroes again this, and his slacker-ish sex appeal makes him a future Top 20 contender. Leonardo DiCaprio and Aaron Carter both took a dive, but for the long run, Carter is worse of, by far. Any attention could get Leo back in the game, but my memories of Carter’s obnoxiousness in House of Carters may need a long time to fade. And how cute is he, really?

#31-40: At first sight it might seem like all of these guys are trapped in a downward spiral. But again I stress that this could change quickly. Even though they might not be Top 20 material, you’d be unwise to permanently write off Adam Brody, Ed Speleers, Brady Corbett or even Australian soap actor Ryan Clarke for a future spot in the top 30. Likewise, Michael Cera has a clear path back into the spotlight when I finally get around to seeing Juno again. Cheers to Welsh footballer Gareth Bale and Australian actor Rhys Wakefield for their more than respectable first showings. Aurelien Wiik’s sudden slip is a cause for concern, however. Once yoir genuine cuteness is called into question, it can be hard to recover.

#41-50: Attitude Magazine and the Australian soap Home and Away both deserve credit for their consistent stream of contenders to this list: Recent coverboys Ed Speleers and Jody Latham came to my attention through the lens of that British gaymag, and it’s even responsible for me discovering Skins. My appreciation is not diminished by the fact that Joe Dempsie takes a toll this month. As far as Home and Away is concerned, we welcomed the geeky good-looks of Jason Smith, alongside such current and former alumni as Mitch Firth, Chris Egan, Rhys Wakefield and Ryan Clarke. In a surprising move, mostly fueled by his cynical sexiness in Igby Goes Down, 90’s heartthrob Ryan Phillippe, makes the cut. Alfie Allen, seems to be headed out in the dark, slipping from the top 30, when one day I just couldn’t quite remember why I was drawn to him in the first place (he too, recently graced the pages of Attitude).

Here’s the entire list:

1. Hunter Parrish (Previous ranking: 5)
2. Jesse McCartney (1)
3. Emile Hirsch (12)
4. Nicholas Hoult (2)
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (6)
6. Mitch Hewer (3)
7. Charlie Hunnam (4)
8. Zac Efron (8 )
9. Alex Pettyfer (11)
10. David Gallagher (7)
11. Ricky Ullman (16)
12. Sean Faris (9)
13. Ryan Sheckler (new)
14. Mitch Firth (13)
15. Jeremy Sumpter (15)
16. Logan Lerman (27)
17. Jamie Bell (19)
18. Chris Egan (17)
19. Jesse Eisenberg (10)
20. Raphael Nadal (33)
21. Chris Lowell (22)
22. Tyler Hoechlin (18 )
23. David Archuleta (new)
24. Max Theriot (new)
25. Ryan Donowho (32)
26. Kevin Zegers (20)
27. Chace Crawford (new)
28. Leonardo DiCaprio (14)
29. Aaron Carter (21)
30. Fernando Torres (34)
31. Brady Corbett (28 )
32. Michael Cera (24)
33. Gareth Bale (new)
34. Frankie Muniz (25)
35. Ed Speleers (29)
36. Randy Harrison (31)
37. Adam Brody (26)
38. Rhys Wakefield (new)
39. Ryan Clarke (37)
40. Aurelien Wiik (23)
41. Jay Brannan (40)
42. Jody Latham (new)
43. Jay Baruchel (38 )
44. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (41)
45. John Dempsie (35)
46. Lukas Podolski (new)
47. Kostja Ullmann
48. Jason Smith (new)
49. Ryan Phillippe (new)
50. Alfie Allen (30)