Welcome to round two of Teen Heartthrob Madness! Yesterday, we shared the results of round one’s votes, and even though I, apparently, am a mediocre predictor of who will be chosen as King Heartthrob, I’m not wholly surprised at who made it through to this next round.
Here’s what the Tiger Beat bracket looks like now:
And our contenders:
(1) Justin Timberlake vs. (8) Jonathan Taylor Thomas
You might know him best from his stints hosting Saturday Night Live, but Justin has a pretty lucrative secondary career as a singer. From the tender age of 14 until he was legally allowed to drink alcohol in the U.S., Justin was a member of the best boy band ever,* ‘N Sync. His sweet tenor tones, dance moves, and the sweet platinum blond ‘fro tore up hearts the world over.
*You heard me.
JTT, as he was known to his friends, starred as Randy Taylor on Home Improvement, a U.S. TV series that ran from 1991 to 1999. Randy was not only the hottest Taylor brother, he was the smartest and most charismatic as well. (Sucks for the other brothers, right?) During his time as the best Taylor brother, J Double T was in classic movies including Man of the House and Wild America; he also voiced Simba in The Lion King.
(5) Christian Slater vs. (4) Luke Perry
Although he’d been involved in stage productions and acted in other movies beforehand, it wasn’t until 1989 that Christian became a household name—with teenage girls (and guys) who loved the rebellious outsider type, specifically—for his role as JD, Veronica’s love interest/accomplice (and generally unhinged person) J.D. in Heathers.
Luke might have stood alongside the original Buffy Summers as she fought vampires, but he was most well known as rich kid/bad boy Dylan McKay on the original Beverly Hills, 90210, which he was on for eight seasons during the show’s 10-year run.
(6) Jason Priestley vs. (3) Taylor Kitsch
Jason, the other Beverly Hills, 90210 vet on our bracket, played one-half of the Wonder Twins the Walsh twins alongside Shannon Daugherty. According to Wikipedia*, Brandon was “the moral center of the show and the glue that holds the gang together” for nine seasons.
*Sorry guys … I’ve never seen the show.
I’ve only just started watching Friday Night Lights, but I’ve been hearing about the infamous Tim Riggins (played by Taylor) for years. I haven’t finished the first season, so I’m not sure I quite get what the fuss is all about yet, but there’s no denying that his particular brand of perpetually drunk, unfairly attractive, never quite lives up to his potential, possibly hiding a heart of gold type of guy has its appeal.
(7) Usher vs. (2) Joshua Jackson
Although he’s had roles in a few movies and was a judge on a season of The Voice, Usher Terry Raymond IV is best known for his music career, through which he’s shown off his singing and dancing chops (and abs) since the very young age of 13—after he competed on Star Search.
If you don’t know who Pacey Witter is, then 1) you need to watch Dawson’s Creek and 2) you’re totally missing out on the best sidekick/comic relief turned ridiculously swoon-worthy leading love interest in TV history, acted to near-perfection by Joshua.
That’s all for today! Check back tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday for the rest of the matchups. And be sure to cast your votes for the entirety of Round Two by this Saturday (March 15) at midnight; we’ll post the results Sunday.
Have you still got a player in this game? Let us know in the comments.
