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America’s Next Top Model Cycle 11 Premieres and the Drama Begins
5-Sep-2008
Written by: Ivana Cheong
The notorious fourteen finalists are revealed.
In her interview with the New York Times Magazine earlier in the year, Tyra Banks said that the theme for this cycle will be futuristic. She will be called Tyra-bot; Miss J with the scary white bob wig will be Alpha J; and Mr. Jay with the also scary, frosted white long hair will be called Beta J.
When the ads came out with a hippie theme, I was confused, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic. As always, I looked forward to Wednesday’s premiere. What can I say? As stupid and clichéd this show is by now, it’s still addicting.
The setting was very, very weird. There was a runway that “analyzed” the contestant’s walk, a platform that took their profile picture and stored their information, and a hand-scan system to reveal who were the lucky 20 to go into the next step.
But before all of that, Tyra, Jay Alexander, and Jay Manuel got together to interview the girls. Whoo, the girls!
Tyra said that she hand-picked each and every one of them, but maybe next time, she needs to pick better. She needs to have on the show girls that are hungry for work; girls that know the fashion industry inside and out; and girls who have the substance and the intention to make their mark in the fashion world.
Some fit the profile, some need some guidance to go further, and some are just not cutting it at this point. One of the girls claimed that she graduated from Harvard, and was a literature major. But when Tyra asks her about her favorite books, heroines, and to pose like White Fang, her face just went blank. She even tried to look at Jay Manuel for help, but to no avail. Tyra knew more about literature than this girl.
I’m tired of these girls who are supporting the “airhead model” outlook. But who knows? It’s only the first episode.
The girls’ first photo shoot has a political theme. Their task is to encourage today’s youth to vote. This is especially important with this year’s election. The girls needed to make voting look sexy.
Some of the girls just got it naturally. Others, such as Nikeysha and Clark, were bland and they need some serious guidance. Jay kept calling out, “Hooch. Hooch,” during Sheena’s shoot.
Here is my rundown of the best, the worst, and the most dramatic contestants of Cycle 11:
Analeigh: She is a pretty girl; no wonder she was sold to a Saudi prince before. . . . Yeah, I know, right? During a promotional interview, Tyra says it’s because this girl is too naïve, so she’s hoping that Top Model will toughen up Analeigh. She has a really good model face, but that hair color is like drain water. She has a lot of potential, though, I can see.
Brittany: The one who didn’t change her name, from Vegas. She has an interesting background; she’s half Native American and half African-American. Although, she’s not very memorable for me. While I was trying to think back to last night, I completely forgot who she was. Anyways, she told the judges during castings that she was on the cover of Vegas Weekly. And I suppose for her that means she’s made it big. But as Tyra says, “Well . . . not yet.”
Sheena: There’s only one Kimora, but the world can always make room for two, Tyra told the Jays during casting. Sheena is the first Asian girl to be in the competition in a long time, and I think she’s going to stay around for quite a while. Sheena made me laugh a lot; she could be Asian one moment, and the other, she’s like your loud neighbor down from the ‘hood. She’s very sensual and sexy, which could easily turn into hoochie, as Mr. Jay said. But she accepted the judges’ criticism and is using it to improve. With a little bit of Tyra teaching, she still will not be Kimora Lee Simmons, but she will be a good model in her own right.
Clark: I hate to sound judgmental, but she is one of the girls that I immediately did not like. Miss Thing’s got an attitude! She seems very full of herself, and she made quick judgments about Isis. As Tyra says, Clark is too pretty. So she hopes that if she makes it to makeovers, Clark needs some ugly to be model pretty. Clark’s got a lot of disses already; but I know that the producers will want to keep her around just for the drama. I sense makeover meltdown!
Elina: She’s got a crush on Clark! I think her face is absolutely amazing, and she’s just very intense. Which makes sense as to why a lot of ANTM fans are kind of scared of her. She told the judges that she’s got an open sexuality, which shows her liking to Clark. Why Clark though, is the question. But she seems to have an interesting personality. She decided at a very early age to go vegan and is now also an animal rights activist.
Hannah: Sweet, little innocent Hannah just won’t stop talking about her old life back in Alaska. I get it, yes, one’s childhood is precious, but it just seems like she’s got nothing else to talk about. I can see a lot of fans that will empathize with her situation. She said that back in cold, cold Alaska, her family did not have running water or electricity, and thus no heat. Hannah also recalled experiences where she got chased by a moose. Okay. . . . She’s got a great face, though! She sort of reminds me of Anya, from Cycle 10.
Isis: As previously said before, Isis is the first transgendered contestant ever on the show, which caused a lot of prior controversy. It sucks that most of the girls in the house were really rude and mean to her; one of the semifinalists (kind of innocently) came up to her and asked if she was a man. The only one that saw the positive in Isis instead of the negative was McKey. And the judges, too, of course; Isis has got a beautiful face that is very photogenic. And as Nigel said, she’s the only one that actually knows the fashion world! Everybody else was like a deer in headlights, I swear!
McKey: Speaking of McKey, I think she’s going to be one of my favorites in the long run. Her face is stunning, as the Jays said, but especially her sparkling eyes and natural pouty lips. That hair is a little bit too bright like a siren, but I think she should stick with red, because that color makes her eyes pop like nothing else can.
Joslyn: I love Joslyn—Joslyn with the high, squeaky voice, and the passion for fashion! She is hilarious, charming, and really personable. And that girl honestly wants to be a model bad, because she’s tried out 30 times. That doesn’t make sense, you say, there’s only been eleven cycles! She told the judges that for each cycle, she made sure to go to at least 2-3 castings. Learn from this, girls! This is true passion.
Lauren Brie: Her face is absolutely breathtaking. I hope they don’t change her hair too much, because she looks like one of those accomplished Eastern European models. She said that her dad’s a police chief, so all boys fear the daddy!
Marjorie: I love her! She’s so nervous, but it’s so endearing! She used to live in France, but moved to the U.S. when she was 7 years old, I think. She talks very spastically, and makes a lot of hand motions in her words. I think she could be the next Agyness Deyn. She needs to get control of her nerves, though, mon cheri, and she could go far! Maybe not in the competition, because she’s too “European,” but far nonetheless.
Samantha: I hope Tyra is right when she says that there’s something special about this California blonde that nobody knows yet. Nothing against her personally, but I am sick of girls on ANTM, generally, who do not know the fashion world. And Samantha looked like one of them last night. She said that she wanted to change the fashion industry, and have her own personal stamp on it, and yet when Tyra asked for her opinions on the industry (like designers, models, brands) she completely went blank. Just like a lot of the other girls in casting.
Nikeysha: HEY! Yeah, Nikeysha is cute, but I think I’m the only one who notices that she looks a lot like Keri Hilson. . . . Nevertheless, I liked her attitude during casting, but not during judging. However, she has a good face, but needs to learn how to pose. I think she’ll go quite far this cycle. But, Nikeysha needs to know how to take the judges’ criticism, because when they were commenting on her photo, she just kept interrupting them and giving excuses. She needs to be more like Sheena, who’s absorbing everything and learning from it.
ShaRaun: “ShaRaun looks like Diana Ross circa Mahogany days,” Tyra says. I see it. This girl is confident! And I don’t think it’s so much cockiness as she knows who she is and what she wants. I do think that all this confidence is quite off-putting though, because when she was making her rounds with the experts, she wanted to introduce herself, first and foremost, with, “Hello, my name is ShaRaun and I am America’s next top model.” In my experience and in the history of ANTM, most of the girls who are this confident do not have the substance to back it up.
And in ShaRaun’s case, it was true. She was the first one eliminated. At this point in the game, all that the judges can look at is the photo to see who should go home. And ShaRaun’s just did not serve.
As always (and like everybody else), I am looking forward to the makeover episode the most. I am probably most excited to see what the glam gods will do to Clark to ugly her up to make her less pretty pretty and more model pretty. The girls seem more interesting than a lot of the past contestants, so I just hope that this won’t be a boring, cookie cutter season where every judging is obviously fixed.
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