Sexiest Man Alive 2008

DAVID BECKHAM

The soccer star, now 34, made a lot of women happy when he posed in just his underwear for Emporio Armani (country singer Miranda Lambert, whose boyfriend Blake Shelton is among PEOPLE's Sexiest Men, says, "That Armani ad sort of changed my life"). Alas, except one: his mum. "When the photos came out," Beckham says, "she was the first one to call me and say, 'What are you doing?' "

See who else made the list in PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive issue, on stands Friday!