The list is back after an August hiatus, with what we might call the Lessons From My Brother Edition. This blog has been a secret pet project of mine for the last several months, and I intended for it to stay that way, due to the, erm, somewhat private nature of the topics discussed here. But a couple of days ago, my brother discovered the site by accident, as I had apparently not been careful enough in erasing my web history. He’s gay too, and many of the changes on the list this month was triggered by our discussion of what changes he would have made to the July edition. Turns out we have much the same taste in men, and where we differ, his perspective has had a tendency to break into my own considerations. More on that in the round-up below.
First, however, I thought you should know that we welcome both Zac Hanson (#38) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (#40) back on the list, after they both fell off in July. I guess working with the Early Gay Crushes series really brought back memories. In other news, Ed Speleers (#23) and Adam Brody (#25) both climb an impressive twelve spots this month, while young American Idol runner-up David Archuleta (#41) experiences the steepest fall, dropping a full 18 spots. He’s not alone in his misery, however, as Michael Cera (#48) and Frankie Muniz (#50) both drop 16 spots, barely making the cut. On a brighter note, we have five newcomers this month, ranging from Gossip Girl heartthrob Ed Westwick (#32) to old faithful middle Hanson, Taylor (#49) We also, perhaps only temporarily, bid farewell to Aurelien Wiik, Jay Brannan, Jay Baruchel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Podolski, Jason Smith and Alfie Allen.
As I’ve said before, generally the movement on this list is caused by a particular standing to me as relatively more attractive that he was considered two months ago. That, however, of course doesn’t necessarily mean that any ot the other people on the list have become markedly less attractive, only that they perhaps have not been as good at getting my attention lately. With that said, let’s break it down:
#1-10: Again, the fight for the top spot was incredibly close. I’ve gotten comments lately about the obvious hotness of Jesse McCartney, and early in the week he again looked like the frontrunner. If I were to point to one thing in particular that again tipped the scale in favor of Hunter Parrish, however, I’d cite this incredibly hot clip of him doing a behind-the-scenes video for the Broadway musical Spring Awakening. He even sings well. As long as I keep discovering new things about him, J-Mac will have a hard time dethroning him. Beside from the rivalry for top honors, Zac Efron gains a remarkable five spots, almost exlusively due to the fact that I have never ever seen him look hotter than he does in this pic (To paraphrase John McCain: His smile alone contributes to global warming. And hos about those nipples! And pecs! *sight gets blurry*). Elsewhere in the top tier changes are minor, except muscular skater boy Ryan Sheckler lands at #7, on the strength of Life of Ryan photo stills, and a passionate sales pitch from my brother. Kudos also go to Ricky Ullman, the unconventional Phil of the Future cutie, breaking into the Top Ten, at #9.
#11-20: The second-tier resemble the sense of volatility that runs through the entire list. As memories of this summers Euro 2008 campaign faded, as he has been injured for the better part of the opening of the Premier Leauge season, Cristiano Ronaldo surprisingly has been knocked out of the Top Ten, currently residing in the #11 spot. This of course has got more to do with fierce competition than anything else, and he could back as soon as next month. Moving up, meanwhile, is Logan Lerman, who proved himself to be real pretty boy material earlier this year, with his glowing presence in James Mangold’s refreshing western movie 3:10 To Yuma. My brother then redirected my attention to former Home and Away star Chris Egan, who for the first time surpass former colleague Mitch Firth, taking 7th Heaven‘s Tyler Hoechlin with him on his way up. Hoechlin’s seven spot surge should probably be attributed to the fact that I sat down to watch some old Heaven episodes recently. He of course is pretty fit, and again, there’s something about that smile. Same goes for Ryan Donowho, who got plenty of The O.C. exposure this month, which obviously didn’t hurt. Also worth worth noting is that Kevin Zegers is back in the Top Twenty. While not exactly shocking for a DiCaprio clone, it’s still a somewhat unexpected development.
#21-30: In July, in an effort to explain why Ed Speleers and Adam Brody were suddenly in free fall, I predicted that “[E]ven though they might not be Top 20 material, you’d be unwise to permanently write [them] off“. Looking back, that now seems a little too definitive, as they both rocket upwards on this month’s list. In the case of Brody – whose rapid rise has much to do with this particular picture and his geeky charms in The O.C.- he in fact more than offset his June to July slide. As far as Speleers go, a quick return to his Attitude photo shoot from January was more than enough to move him up. I refuse to make another projection, but I no longer see any absolute reasons why their rise should stop here. Elsewhere, Gareth Bale profits from the start of the soccer season, while Jeremy Sumpter needs to win back my immediate attention. Quite surprisingly, tennis god Raphael Nadal failed to capitalize on both his New York Magazine profile, and his stint at the U.S. Open earlier this month.
#31-40: At #30, Chace Crawford is still the highest ranked Gossip guy, but Newcomer Of The Month, Ed Westwick, made him work for it. It remains to be seen how both of them do in the coming months, as their picture-perfect looks might lose a little bit of its appeal over time, but for now they’re well-positioned to climb. Daniel Agger has not played much for Liverpool yet, but the reminder that he’s still out there proved powerful enough to him a place on the list. He follows Michael Angarano, the boyishly cute former Will & Grace co-star, who owes his debut to the fact that I watched him in the truly awful family comedy Sky High a couple of weeks ago. Also, Aaron Carter’s slide continues, and he’s now under pressure from fellow 90’s idol Zac Hanson to cede the title as Sexiest 90’s Pop Act. Stay tuned. Brady Corbett simply has fallen victim to increased competition.
#41-50: We’ve already touched upon the demise of David Archuleta, but with all the names bubbling just below the #50 mark, frankly, I would be somewhat surprised if he were to bounce back anytime soon. Sometimes, ‘cute’ alone may not be enough. Chad Michael Murray, on the other hand, may very well see his star rise, as I just realized what an underappreciated hottie he is. So long as he stays clear of extensive facial hair, his face (and body) has potential to melt its way far above the current #42 spot. I should also note that I tried to find a higher place for him, but unsuccesfully. We congratulate Taylor Hanson on his first showing, and extend warnings to both Michael Cera and Frankie Muniz that what they’re seeing could well be the writing on the wall. Could the geeky charms get them back in the game once again?
Sexiest Males Alive, September 2008 edition:
- Hunter Parrish (July ranking: 1)
- Jesse McCartney (2)
- Zac Efron (8 )
- Emile Hirsch (3)
- Nicholas Hoult (4)
- Mitch Hewer (6)
- Ryan Sheckler (13)
- Charlie Hunnam (7)
- Ricky Ullman (11)
- David Gallagher (10)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (5)
- Logan Lerman (16)
- Alex Pettyfer (9)
- Chris Egan (18)
- Tyler Hoechlin (22)
- Sean Faris (12)
- Mitch Firth (13)
- Jamie Bell (17)
- Ryan Donowho (25)
- Kevin Zegers (26)
- Jesse Eisenberg (19)
- Jeremy Sumpter (15)
- Ed Speleers (35)
- Gareth Bale (33)
- Adam Brody (37)
- Chris Lowell (21)
- Raphael Nadal (20)
- Max Theriot (24)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (28 )
- Chace Crawford (27)
- Fernando Torres (30)
- Ed Westwick (new)
- Randy Harrison (36)
- Michael Angarano (new)
- Daniel Agger (new)
- Aaron Carter (29)
- Rhys Wakefield (38 )
- Zac Hanson (RE)
- Brady Corbett (31)
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas (RE)
- David Archuleta (23)
- Chad Michael Murray (new)
- Ryan Clarke (39)
- Jody Latham (42)
- Ryan Phillippe (49)
- Kostja Ullmann (47)
- John Dempsie (48 )
- Michael Cera (32)
- Taylor Hanson (new)
- Frankie Muniz (34)
Welcome To All That 
