Jenice Armstrong: Oh, those popular Sexy Singles!

EVER WONDER what life is like for people after being named a Daily News Sexy Single?

Being featured in the newspaper and on philly.com can be a life-changing experience. For others, it's a way to get more exposure. Some have used the experience to find love.

It really runs the gamut.

To see what this year's singles have been experiencing, I reached out to some. Here's a sampling of what I heard:

"On the day that the pictures appeared in the paper, I was doing a monthly segment that we broadcast from a local restaurant with Congressman Bob Brady," WURD radio personality Bill Anderson wrote me in an e-mail.

"At about 7, when we were scheduled to begin, Congressman Brady walked in the restaurant and came toward the broadcast table and proclaimed that 'Today I only want to talk about really important issues to this country, the stuff that the public really cares about.' He then pulled out a copy of my picture in the paper held it up and said, 'Today's show we're focusing on this sexy guy in the paper.' For the rest of the show, whenever there was a down moment, he would remind the listeners to go check out the pictures on the website and thanked me for NOT taking off my shirt!"

Another Sexy Single, Laura "the Butt" Grillo, had the honor of having a South Philly restaurant offer to name some dishes after her, following a front-page article about how she was trying to raise money for a much-needed heart procedure. Coquette Bistro and Raw Bar at 5th and Bainbridge streets suggested naming some of their dishes either "butt steak fajitas" or "butt kebabs" as a fundraiser since Grillo doesn't have health insurance. For the record, Grillo, who needs to undergo cardiac ablation, thinks she will be able to afford to have her procedure done in December. Meanwhile, she's grateful for all the offers of assistance she has gotten from Daily News readers and says she eventually wants to help others who wind up in her situation.

Cynthaya Johnson, who revealed in her Sexy Single profile how she'd been homeless before owning Top Flight Luxury Car Service, received offers for speaking engagements, including one that she recorded for a self-produced motivational CD, "Streets of Hard Knocks: A Powerful Message of Self Improvement."

And you thought that being a Sexy Single was just about meeting the opposite sex.

That's part of it. No doubt.

But at the People Paper, we pride ourselves on reflecting our readership and community. There's a vibrant singles culture in Philly. According to Forbes magazine, the City of Brotherly Love ranks 10th out of 40 American cities listed as the best places for unmarried people.

The first Sexy Singles section appeared seven years ago and sold so many papers, it has become an annual tradition. Every summer, we host a party to salute the singles who are spotlighted. They get to bring their friends along because, as it was said on the HBO show, "Sex and the City," "If you are single there is always one thing you should take out with you . . . your friends."

This year's celebration takes place tonight at the Waterworks Restaurant & Lounge behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. VIP reception for the Sexy Singles and their guests begins at 7 p.m. Doors open to the general public at 9.

Send e-mail to heyjen@phillynews.com. My blog: http://go.philly.com/heyjen.