Judge David Young OUT at the OUT100 awards

WOW!!!!! Never in a million years did I imagine that I would ever be a part of such a wonderful event. I just said to my spouse, Judge Scott Bernstein, that when we started dating 13 years ago who would have thought we would end up here. I  just saw Bebe Neuwirth and Jennifer Hudson--so cool. To be in a room with such amazing leaders in the LGBT community is a real honor.  I hope you will tune in to my show, the Judge David Young show. For times and listings go to JudgeDavidYoung.com. I am the first openly gay man to host a daytime TV show!

-- Judge David Young

The final five Out 100 award winners

And now, finally, we can reveal the final royal five of the Out 100!

• Jennifer Hudson, Breakthrough Star
• Thom Browne, Stylemaker of the Year
• Bill T. Jones, Lifetime Achievement
• Mary-Louise Parker, Entertainer of the Year
• Bryan Batt, Artist of the Year

See their beautiful portraits and read more about their grand accomplishments at the Out 100 site.

Presenting...The Cinephiles & The Artisans

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

We're proud to present The Cinephiles and The Artisans, two groups of Out 100 nominees who have made defiantly queer contributions to everything from film to make-up to architecture.

Be sure to check back tomorrow, when we'll reveal the final set of honored men and women who rocked 2007 -- the cover girls and boys of our annual Out 100 issue. 

And stay tuned as we gear up for live coverage of the Out 100 party this Friday...

Presenting...The Transformers

Photographed by Danielle St. Laurent for Out

These next lucky 13 honorees for the Out 100 are shaping the way our world thinks about queer life, through advertising, media and public pressure.

The group also includes an Out 100 first: a father and son.

Rev. Mel White came out in 1993 and founded Soulforce, an interfaith organization that this year visited 32 conservative schools to engage in non-violent resistance and dialogue about religion and sexuality.

Meanwhile, his son Mike -- an actor and writer who brought us his own odes to confused sexuality, like Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl -- made his directorial debut with The Year of the Dog.

(The photo above was -- appropriately enough -- shot at West Hollywood's religious-themed gay haven, The Abbey.)

Presenting...The Dramatists & The Wordsmiths

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

Just consider this Fine Arts Friday.

Today's reveal of Out 100 honorees are a refined group of writers and stage performers, including more than a few who do double duty. They've helped revive lost playhouses and stories and captivated our attention.

Please welcome The Dramatists and The Wordsmiths...

Presenting...The Serialists & The Channelers

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

It's the golden age of television, and both behind the scenes and on camera, it's the gays who are leading the way to a whole new level of mainstream acceptance.

Our next set of honorees helped give a facelift to three sagging channels -- Tim Gunn and Andy Cohen made Bravo the gayest stop on your dial; Greg Berlanti and Jon Robin Baitz are two of the always-out producers behind ABC's gay revival; and Russell T. Davies brought the BBC (and by extension US audiences) Queer as Folk, Dr. Who and Torchwood.

And our other group of televisionaries are the guests we invite into our living room -- two judges (one legal -- David Young -- and one fierce, Top Model's J. Alexander), a chat show host (Graham Norton) and one many-honored Out 100 alum (Alan Cumming, who will be in the new sci-fi adaptation of The Wizard of Oz).

And, in a year of revolving closet doors for TV actors, we can also offer one long-anticipated quiet confirmation: Noah's Arc star Darryl Stephens (above), who has declined to discuss his sexuality while playing a series of nuanced gay roles. He doesn't exactly talk about it, but he proudly joins the other queer honorees in our pages.

Presenting...The Frontmen and The Orchestra

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

We've got 11 more members of the Out royalty for you today -- all musicians, but each masters (or mistresses) of such diverse genres and sub-genres that they each deserve a category all their own.

Please pay your respects to The Frontmen (we use the term not in any gender-specific way but to indicate that certain timeless something that the dynamo at the front of a stage commands) and The Orchestra.

Presenting...The Playmakers & The Winning Team (plus: tickets for the Out 100)

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

We're going to be naming names right up until next Friday's gala Out 100 party -- plus I just found out that you can still buy tickets to the November 9 event at Cirpriani's in New York.

Today's group of honorees are especially good sports -- both in their careers as sports writers and players -- and in their willingness to embrace the royal theme of our photo spreads.

Meet the eight athletically-inclined honorees at Out.com.

(And don't forget to circle back around and vote in round two of The Gaybies -- who was the best celebretarian of 2007?)

Presenting...The Noisemakers

Photographed by François Rousseau for Out

And by noise we obviously mean sweet, beautiful, surreal melodies.

Our next batch of Out 100 honorees are all musicians who have definitely embraced the beat of a different drummer and in doing so have become masters of their own unique sounds.

Plus we added a beautiful portrait of John Waters and Penny Arcade to our last round of honorees.

(Don't forget to keep voting in the Gaybies -- formerly known as the BreakOut Awards -- for the Out 100 of tomorrow.)

Presenting...The Provocateurs

Perez Hilton photographed by François Rousseau for Out

Our next round of honorees for the 2007 Out 100 is a quintet of performers, writers, filmmakers and all-around big-mouths unafraid to tell you exactly what they think -- whether you want to hear it or not.

Whether they're doing it for the greater good of gays everywhere -- like our last bunch, The Rabblerousers, say they are -- or just to make a name for themselves, The Provocateurs continue to force the uncomfortable (and sometimes very necessary) truth out of the shadows and into a national conversation.

(Don't forget to keep voting in the Gaybies -- formerly known as the BreakOut Awards -- for the Out 100 of tomorrow.)