soaphunks.net blog: Soaphunks.net Awards nominations soon: Have your voice heard!

Nominations for the 11th Annual Soaphunks.net Awards will be announced at 11:11pm ET on 11/11, and before all those elevens hit, you can have your chance to shamefully influence the nominations. Unlike Adonis, the summertime contest here at soaphunks.net that often boils down to a popularity contest among rabid fanbases, the nominees for the annual Soaphunks.net Awards are personally decided by the-powers-that-be here at this site...namely, me. You can review the past 10 years of nominees and winners here.

I try to be as fair as possible and nominate without regard to anything other than qualifications in 2009. But as I'm human, it's possible I could miss someone who is worthy. Therefore, I turn to soaphunks.net fans and ask them to send me suggestions for who should--and shouldn't--make this year's list of nominees.

I am truly interested in hearing what you guys are thinking in each of the categories. Feel free to e-mail me with suggestions of whom you feel is a must-have in a certain category...or someone who had better not be there. Please remember that I am looking for thoughtful suggestions across all soaps and multiple soap hunks, so any submissions I receive that say "So-and-so should be in every category" will be quickly set aside.

The same 16 categories will be up-for-grabs this year, and should reflect hunkiness for 2009 only. Don't suggest someone who was a great hunk in 1998 but now, well, isn't. Feel free to review the caps from the entire year on each actor's page on soaphunks.net, as I often use site caps as evidence of worthiness in each category. Please note: GL may have been cancelled, but since it aired for more than half of the calendar year, it and its male stars are eligible.

Here's a quick cheat sheet for all the categories:

Best Hunk: The top award. In order to cut the mustard in this category, a nominee must have had noticeable shirtlessness on their soap in 2009. If I would have to call Sherlock Holmes to find 2009 shirtless footage of your favorite, you probably don't need to bother suggesting him. Remember, this isn't Favorite Actor; it's Best Soap Hunk.

Hunkiest Soap: Tell me what soap you think had both the widest array of hunks in the cast, and/or what soap had the most shirtlessness per capita in 2009.

Best Hunk Over 40: You can consult my site's actor pages for many birthdates. As long as he turns 40 before November 11, he's eligible. This category gets more crowded every year!

Most Missed Soap Hunk: Which former soap hunk would you give up your first-born to have return to daytime? They can be recent exits, or long-ago departures. Here, I tend to gravitate towards nominating guys who have achieved success in some other arena during 2009, such as a primetime show.

Hunkiest Newcomer: Which newbies caught your eye in 2009? To be eligible, freshmen had to have their first major appearance in 2009, or perhaps the very end of 2008.

Most Shamefully Clothed: We know he has a great body under all those clothes, but his soap never proves it! Permanently stuck in their shirts throughout 2009, the Most Shamefully Clothed nominees could have saved their shows a fortune in wardrobe costs.

Best Chest: Sometimes there is confusion about the difference between the next two categories. Best Chest is really better called Best Torso. As in, "everything on the front," from the neck to the waist.

Best Pecs: Manboobs alone.

Best Abs: Always a competitive category, Best Abs contenders are pretty easy to spot...just look at his stomach. If you can easily count to six, he's a keeper.

Best Butt: To successfully evaluate a fine derriere, one must have proper evidence. I am especially picky in the Best Butt category that I have pic/vid evidence to back up the nominations.

Best Arms: Bulging biceps get them in every time.

Best Voice: Whose voice alone makes you melt? Not necessarily reserved for guys with accents, but those are often hard to top. I will pay particular attention to American suggestions here, though.