25 Crushable Guys Under 25 For 2012

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Google Autocomplete: nba

Scoop Jardine's the guard, and arguably the best player, on Syracuse's basketball team this year. Our readers agree because they voted him number one in our reader's choice athlete poll.  This college basketball team just can't stop winning and they have the 6'2 senior to thank for that. From the very beginning of his Syracuse basketball career, he played well enough to be in the starting line-up. The freshman went on that year to play in 33 out of 35 games. Not a bad start for a player who Scout.com rated  the 66th best high school basketball player in the country. With his senior year coming to a close, we've got big (and tall) hopes for the player in the NBA.

Twitter Followers: 178,544
Facebook Fans: 203,437
Google Autocomplete: youtube

A lot of normal folks who become internet famous let it go to their head, but Keenan Cahill -- known for lip-syncing with the likes of 50 Cent and Katy Perry -- keeps himself firmly grounded. He insists that his life hasn't changed, and that may be true—but ours have, since we now know this sweet, unassuming teenager. His rise to YouTube celebrity illustrates everything that's good about the internet: You can now get famous for doing something that's fun for you and makes other people laugh.

Twitter Followers: 55,089
Facebook Fans: 65,830.
Google Autocomplete: shirtless

Shane Harper might only be 19, but he's been performing since the age of 9, so his recent breakthroughs have hardly come out of nowhere. In 2010, after many years of bit parts and backup dancing in movies and shows like High School Musical 2 and Zooey 101, he landed the recurring role of Spencer Walsh on Disney's family sitcom Good Luck Charlie. In 2011, he scored a guest-starring spot on the massively popular Wizards of Waverly Place, the same show that made Selena Gomez famous. But it's through his music that he's really come into his own. Released last April, his self-titled debut album of sunny pop songs was a huge hit with the tween set, and it didn't hurt that he opened for Greyson Chance and Cody Simpson on their Waiting 4 U tour, either. With a deluxe version of his album out now and a sweet working relationship with Charlie co-star/duet partner/girlfriend Bridgit Mendler, it's a good time to be Shane Harper.

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Google Autocomplete: rap

While most Hollywood spawn tend to lean on their parents for a career, the Northwestern student and the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson has no intentions of that. Instead he’s planning to rap his way to a college degree. Or at the very least, rap until he gets a college degree. His creative lyrics turned him into a viral sensation overnight and before long he was a household name. But recently's he's gotten media attention for something even more exciting than his controversial lyrics -- his shirtless twitpics that show off his amazing abs.

Check out one of our favorite original Chet Haze music videos right here.

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Google Autocomplete: fan fiction

In 2010, these five young men from England and Ireland -- Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson -- auditioned for The X Factor, but when they failed to make it into the "Boys" category, judge Nicole Scherzinger suggested they be put into a band. From that came One Direction; they qualified for "Groups" and ultimately finished in seventh place. But Simon Cowell, seeing how well they meshed together, swooped in and gave the boys a record deal.

Their first single was officially released in September 2011, and their tour sold out within minutes. They smartly positioned themselves as the new ambassadors for last year's Pokemon Black and Pokemon White Nintendo releases. They're also keyed in to Twitter, interacting with fans and playing games like "Two Truths and a Lie" to share more about themselves. Unfortunately, with fame comes more rabid fans, like those who bullied contest winners who got to sit on-stage with 1D during a concert. target="_blank">They've had to scrap audience participation like that in order to discourage resentment within the fandom.

Basically, these boys are firing on all cylinders. Even before their first album made it to America, the
boys became a worldwide trending topic after singing two songs on The Today Show. If you haven't been barraged yet, get ready to be inundated by these kids in 2012.

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Google Autocomplete: 2012

Experiencing Taylor Lautner exhaustion but not yet ready to give up on your werewolf love? Then you should get to know this young man, who on-screen is the up-and-comer from the Quileute tribe, and in real life sings, models, and dances. Booboo (born Nils Allen Stewart, Jr.) got his start as a backup dancer for Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers; furthermore, he was part of the Disney hip-hop group T-Squad. And lest you think he cares only about advancing his own career, he's also a celebrity ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

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No one’s ever survived puberty as well as Matthew Lewis. The once awkward looking actor, known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter franchise, blossomed into a beautiful young man this year. That transformation alone qualifies him to be on this list. However he’s determined to do more than just drop jaws with his chiseled English looks. He’s also starring in two movies this year: a short called Night of the Loving Dead and Wasteland.

Check out our favorite snapshot of Matthew Lewis post-puberty right here.

Twitter Followers: 451,766
Facebook Fans: 1,685,156
Google Autocomplete: looks like sex

Whoever said you had to choose between getting a "real" degree and following your passions? Mike Posner graduated Duke with a sociology degree and marketing/managing experience, all of which he's put to good use promoting his music. Tracks like his first single "Cooler Than Me" rock in the States and overseas; his latest project is the album Sky High, for which he's inviting artists like Snoop Dogg as well as his fans to send their "Brains Up" photos. Plus he always sounds like he's stoned.

Justin Bieber's hands-heart? That's out. The hot new hand gesture is putting your fists together and making a brain a la Posner.

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Google Autocomplete: girlfriend

Move over Michael Phelps. The collective pop culture consciousness can only remember the name of one swimmer at a time, and that name is about to change from yours to Nathan Adrian's. With 12 Olympic medals (one gold!) and two American records to his name (the 500 and 100 yard freestyle), this dashing young man is poised to clean up at the 2012 summer Olympics in London. He's also a pre-med at USC Berkley, so he'll soon be able to fix other people's bodies in addition to honing his own.

Twitter Followers: 1,303,420
Facebook Fans: 1,763,076
Google Autocomplete: virgin

Nothing divided this country this year more than Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s devout faith, on and off the football field. His signature prayer move turned into a real life meme with people all over the country  “tebowing” in random places. Whether or not you agree with his Christian beliefs (and views on abortion) doesn’t change the fact that the whole country appears to be crushing on him right now. Even the people who usually wouldn’t  dare to discuss the sport. Including Taylor Swift.

Twitter Followers: 1,684,261
Facebook Fans: 1,607,965
Google Autocomplete: wiki

This year was a big one for the 14-year-old singer Greyson Chance. The viral video star who first made headlines when he appeared on Ellen, released his debut album this year: "Hold On Till The Night”. Although he’s still dancing on the edge of puberty, we know his teenage years will only bring big things for this big talent.

Twitter Followers: 631,073
Facebook Fans: 1,413,488
Google Autocomplete: knicks

There's nothing America likes more than an underdog, besides maybe an underdog who helps their team win, so it's no surprise that "Linsanity" has grown to a fever pitch, with t-shirts, endless "Lin"-isms, and even a Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor. You all know the story by now, but in case you don't, we'll condense it: little known Harvard nerd toils in basketball obscurity for years until one day, the coach finally decides to put him in and he leads the New York Knicks to a turnaround victory. And then some straight-up victories, after that. And then some insane fandom creating memes after that. The Taiwanese-American San Franciscan credits his faith in God for helping him play well, but his work ethic and intelligence doesn't hurt, either. Lin becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season, and New York fans are wondering if the team that gave him his lucky break can even afford to keep him. Some claim Linsanity is even affecting the stock market.

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Google Autocomplete: gay

Taylor Lautner's probably one of the few men in the world with abs more recognizable than his face. The Twilight heartthrob's gone from a tween werewolf hottie to a bonefide sex symbol. He's wrapping up the Twilight franchise this year and has a few projects up in the air. The only thing we do know about Lautner is that wherever he does go, his shirt likely won't follow.

Check out our favorite shirtless pics of our fave werewolf right here.

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After completing the eighth Harry Potter film this year, Daniel Radcliffe shed his wizard robes for Broadwaw, film roles and scandal. Yes, little Harry Potter set out this year to prove to us that he’s all grown up and ready to leave his life of wands and lightning scars behind him. While promoting his film The Woman in Black, he shared fun facts about his pubic hair preference (more please), his soberness on the Harry Potter set (or lack therof) and his feelings on Twilight (Avada Kedavra!). As much as we love Daniel Radcliffe, we're ready to see him fully shed the Harry Potter image this year -- and maybe when he finally does, he can get back to his #8 spot on the list. His upcoming projects, such as his role as Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, will hopefully help him achieve that.

Check out his efforts to get away from his Harry Potter image right here.

Twitter Followers: 18,214,277
Facebook Fans: 41,195,952
Google Autocomplete: baby

The barely legal pop sensation Justin Bieber crushed middle school (and middle-aged) hearts around this world when he made his relationship with Selena Gomez official. But that didn't stop everyone from continuing to go crazy over the world famous artist. After all, this is the man-boy who can take off his shirt and start a riot. He's like the Beatles of our generation, except he's only one person and his haircut gets more buzz than the Rachel.

But Justin's still working on that difficult transition from child stars to adult heartthrob, and 2012 may just be the year that makes or breaks his adult musical career.

Check out all the celebs who wished the Biebs a happy 18th birthday.

Twitter Followers: 1,318,529
Facebook Fans: 159,823
Google Autocomplete: gay

Although Chris Colfer's been around for a few years, his star power keeps on rising and that's the reason he moved up a spot on this year's list. While most people known him as Kurt Hummel on Glee, he's using his clout in Hollywood for larger projects that will not only push his career further, but also continue his work to make life easier for LGBT youth. Already this year he's premiered the trailer for Struck by Lightning, the film he wrote and starred in.  In addition to that he's also joined the cast of Dustin Lance Black's play Prop 8. Not a bad start to the year for a 21-year-old TV star.

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Over the past year, Ezra Miller quietly crept into Hollywood -- and on our list -- as his indie films got release dates. With at least four roles where he's a high schooler, you might think he's been pigeonholed—until you realize that he's provided such nuanced performances that it's liked he's captured four different types of kids, each wholly real. Easily his most shocking and compelling performance so far has been as the title killer in We Need to Talk About Kevin, but he's also attached to the much-hyped teen movie The Perks of Being A Wallflower starring Emma Watson and Logan Lerman.

Twitter Followers: 98,542
Facebook Fans: 21,538
Google Autocomplete: shirtless

Already a star in his native Mexico, this dreamy young man is now taking the US by storm. Diego Boneta first rose to fame on the teen-oriented telanovela Rebelde, which as far as we can tell, was basically a Mexican version of Gossip Girl with musical numbers. This helped him establish a parallel singing career, which he rode to the top of the Latin pop charts. His first US roles came in the form of small recurring parts on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars and The CW's 90210, and he had a big part in the small film Mean Girls 2.

His real breakthrough, though, comes in the form of rock musical movie Rock Of Ages (due out this coming June), in which he plays Tom Cruise's band mate. With an all-star cast including Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Russell Brand, the role poises him for even more exposure here. And all of that love he's already acquired in Mexico should easily translate into success in Hollywood (it worked for Salma Hayek, right?) And his skin-tight Rock Of Ages '80s ensembles probably won't hurt, either.

Twitter Followers: 91,394
Facebook Fans: 11,964
Google Autocomplete: injury

It seems like these days, every bit of news about sports stars boils down to gossip about their personal lives: Tiger Woods cheating,Tom Brady leaving his pregnant girlfriend, O.J. Simpson getting away with murder. And these are the legends! That's why it's even more impressive that as a college senior Mark Herzlich battled a rare form of bone cancer and managed to keep his football career alive.

So far, he's gotten all of the success he deserves. After avoiding a surgery that would have cost him his leg, Herzlich rebounded and got back into training. In summer 2011, he was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent—and what a year the Giants had  winning the Super Bowl. You've got to appreciate a guy who can keep a sense of humor about everything, like with this game day tweet:

2 yrs ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off plane in Indy to play in The #SuperBowl. #TakeThatSh*tCancer

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Anton Yelchin is your new Renaissance Man: He battled vampires in Fright Night, succumbed to self-loathing in The Beaver, and is one-half of the long distance relationship that made your throat tight in Like Crazy. While you've probably drooled over him in movies like Like Crazy, you probably didn't know that he's originally from Russia. His parents, professional Olympic-level ice skaters, moved to this country before Anton was even one year old.  Over the years, he's quietly worked his way up the ranks by carefully selecting quirky, dark roles without ever restricting himself to a single genre. And yet, he brings the same tough-as-nails exterior and wry smile to each role, making us almost believe that Anton himself can straddle thrillers, comedies, and romances without breaking a sweat.

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Google Autocomplete: girlfriend

As compared to last year, Alex Pettyfer has managed to stay out of trouble and maintain his spot on our list. He seems to be transitioning from a bad boy -- consider his messy break-up with Dianna Agron last year -- to a badass, taking on action-heavy parts. However, he still has great abs. And a great sense of humor: In In Time, he played a gangster stealing people's minutes, and now he's baring all for the stripper comedy Magic Mike. Plus, we're not obsessed with who he's dating anymore! (Though it's probably his co-star Riley Keough.)

Check out a hot shot of Alex Pettyfer right here.

Twitter Followers: 3,560,671
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Google Autocomplete: songs

When we discussed The Jonas Brothers last year, we acknowledged that they'd already split up into three distinct entities, each with his own career trajectory. We even tried to figure out member of 'N Sync each brother's career matched up with, based on what each had done so far. Well, it turns out we were wrong about who the Justin Timberlake of the group was. With his manly eyebrows and soulful crooning, Joe Jonas has broken off from the pack this past year what with his solo album Fastlife, his opening slot for Britney Spears, and his very grown-up video for "Just In Love."

Brother Nick Jonas appears to be launching a Broadway career. Not only did he recently star on the new hit show Smash, but he also got the lead role (formally Daniel Radcliffe's role) in the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying. 

Although the brothers are working more on their own projects and developing their own individual identities, they're still planning on collaborating together on their next album. While they don't know when it's going to drop yet, they say that it won't be like anything they've ever done before. All we know is that the older these boys get, the more they continue to impress us. So we gladly welcome the new album, and hopefully we'll be able to welcome it by the end of 2012.

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Google Autocomplete: and miley cyrus

When Liam Hemsworth appeared on our list last year, we were pretty sure he was about to become famous for way more than just dating Miley Cyrus. He had upcoming roles in Arabian Nights and The Hunger Games, and he wasn't even dating Miley anymore! Since then, he's not only gotten back with Miley, but consumed a penis cake with her, so it's safe to say that's still the buzziest thing about him. But that all might be about to change, as The Hunger Games is finally set to be released March 23, and he plays the starring role of Gale Hawthorne. He's also an ambassador of the Australian Childhood Foundation and seems like a genuinely good guy. Plus, Liam is just a hot name. We're rooting for you, pal. This is your year.

Check out photos of Liam Hemsworth at the Hunger Games Mall Tour.

Twitter Followers: 624,783
Facebook Fans: 43,674
Google Autocomplete: mixtape

Of all the kids in the controversial Odd Future crew, Frank Ocean seems the most above the fray. Maybe because he's a singer, maybe because of who he's worked with, or maybe just because he doesn't run his mouth off every chance he gets. In 2011 he made a name for himself by releasing his first mix tape, "Nostalgia, Ultra", for free on his blog. Although the mix tape made a quiet debut, music critics soon gave it rave reviews.  In addition to his mix tape debut and singing on Odd Future's albums, he's worked with Kanye West and Jay-Z (as a guest on 2011's Watch The Throne...maybe you've heard of it?), written songs for John Legend and Beyonce, and even worked with hip-hop legends Nas and Pharrell Williams. With his debut studio album and an appearance at Coachella planned for 2012, this should be a banner year for him.

Twitter Followers: 231,235
Facebook Fans: 217,081
Google Autocomplete: and vanessa hudgens

Last year we named Josh Hutcherson the Best Break-Out Star, and we're so glad we were right. We knew that there was something to Josh when he played mouthy, contemplative Bug in 2010's The Kids Are All Right, but it's The Hunger Games that will cement his leading-man status. Although fans were initially wary of the brunette Josh to play baker's son Peeta Mellark, he's brought that same sensitivity and resolve to Suzanne Collins' dystopian deathmatch. (Dyeing his hair blonde certainly helped.)

But just because you've just starting to hear Josh's name in relation to Hunger Games doesn't mean he's new to the acting scene. In 2005 he played the adorable lead in Little Manhattan and in 2007 he played Jess Aarons in The Bridge to Terabithia. By 2008 he impressed Hollywood enough to be nominated for a Young Artist Awards (essentially the Oscars for kids) for his role in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Also, he manages to be both adorable and hilarious on press tours.

So it's not surprising now to see how far he's come in the past few years. From a minor role in Kicking and Screaming to the lead role in what's sure to be one of this year's biggest and most anticipated films. Josh has certainly worked hard to get to where he is and it doesn't look like he's planning on slowing down anytime soon. Already this year, he's working on three films in addition to Hunger Games: Carmel, Red Dawn and 7 Days in Havana.

However all three of The Hunger Games films will dominate the next few years of Josh's life, as Twilight did last year's #1 Robert Pattinson. We're excited to follow along with him on the big screen as the story unfolds. To top it off, he's a total sweetheart with Hunger Games fans, sharing insights from shooting and accepting handmade gifts (like this scarf from one fansite) with humility. Let's hope that he stays just as levelheaded and gracious as his career starts to really take off.