America's Next Top Model winner Whitney Thompson will be in town tomorrow to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the O's game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards (though she probably will not be wearing the outfit above).
Seems kind of random until you consider that Whitney is the new representative for CoverGirl, a company with roots in Baltimore, and that the day's activities will also include a makeover tent on Eutaw Street.
As predicted, Tyra Banks and company gave the top prize to Whitney, the full-figure model from Florida.
I hate to write “I told you so,” but I totally predicted that Whitney would win. I also alluded to the fact that the judges thought Anya was stupid. (Did anyone catch Paulina Porizkova say that the Hawaiian beauty looked “stupid” in her Covergirl photo?)
Anywho, the judges eliminated Fatima after she delivered a “robot-like” Covergirl commercial. (Fatima was very gracious in her departure. She promised that the world had not seen the last of her. Blah, blah, blah…)
After Fatima exited the show, it was time for Whitney and Anya to take to the catwalk for the final challenge: a fashion show featuring Versace designs. (It wasn’t as exciting as it sounds.) I was really disappointed in this year’s fashion show. There was no real heat coming off that runway.
Last cycle, Salesha and Chantel had a memorable runway show. (Chantel tripped a man on stilts. It was hilarious.) The cycle before that, Jaslene and Natasha stomped their way up and down the runway, which generated some serious heat.
This cycle, Anya and Whitney lacked the pizzaz and attitude that have become synonymous with the season finale for the show.
In past walkoffs, the camera would pan to Tyra, who would yell words of encouragement. This year, she was almost silent throughout the fashion show. (Tyra had to realize that this finale was pretty weak.)
If this is the best that the talent pool has to offer, I think that the show needs a new burst of inspiration.
What if the producers lured back past favorites who fell short of winning the title for an all-star season? (Heck, it works for MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules!)
I think an America’s Next Top Full-Figure Model season might work. What about a season featuring male models? I thought about a season featuring drag queens, but it appears that RuPaul is already piecing that show together as I type.
A note to Tyra and company: It’s time to give the waifs a break. Let the gene pools replenish. Then go back to the girls. Or keep same format. Just make the contestants dynamic. And don’t you dare give me the same lackluster finale I saw last week.
Season finale tonight on 'America's Next Top Model'
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
I was wondering how many insults Dominique could absorb before bowing out?
Miss J kept on referring to her as a transgender man week after week. Even I thought it was cruel. (OK, no I didn’t. But if I had a heart I, probably would have objected.)
Anywho, Dominique was simply the weakest of the remaining contestants last week. It was her time to go. Dominique’s exit has set up a final three that has been fixed from the beginning.
I have a horrible suspicion that the judges are going to give the top prize to Whitney, the plus-sized model. Week after week, Whitney has informed viewers that a plus-sized contestant has never been named America’s Next Top Model. (It’s almost as if the show’s producers have enforced a quota so that the viewers will grasp the magnitude of Whitney’s win during the season finale. Frankly, this force-feeding method is insulting. It’s probably one of my biggest gripes with the show.) Whitney is pretty. But, she’s not the strongest contestant. She shouldn’t win.
Anya takes wonderful photographs. But let's face it. She’s kind of dumb. At times she gives Alicia Silverstone’s Clueless character a run for her money. Whitney routinely refers to Anya as “blonde.” Even Tyra all-but-called Anya “dumb” in an exchange on the judges panel a couple of episodes ago.
Fatima, on the other hand has overcome female circumcision. She nailed the Italian script during the Covergirl commercial a couple of episodes ago. She’s elegant, and poised when she speaks. Yes, she ruffles the feathers at times. She’s also judgmental as hell. But, overall I think the has the looks and the effective communication skills needed to be the face of the competition. I honestly think that Fatima should win.
Guess we’ll see during the season finale 8 p.m. tonight on the CW.
The first required them to dress as ancient gladiators. Whitney won and received a shopping spree. She took Anya along to share in the spoils.
The second shoot was the one that really counted. Head judge Tyra Banks stepped in as the photographer for this challenge, which added extra pressure on the contestants. (I think they knew that Tyra would pick up on every little nuance and problem during the shoot and bring it up during the panel judging. They were right.)
Fatima did a phenomenal job. Dominique surprised Tyra with a great shoot. Anya was also good. Whitney's posing looked "hoochified," according to Tyra. Katarzyna simply had the weakest photos. Tyra had to coach her too much. (It's a shame too, because I think Katarzyna was one of the stronger competitors.)
Mistakes are gonna cost the contestants this far into the competition on America's Next Top Model. Lauren found out the hard way. She was absolutely dreadful last night, and it resulted in her being sent home.
The girls were in Rome, and while many of them hit the ground running, Lauren continued to work against herself by exhibiting extreme social awkwardness. First, she demonstrated her horrendous runway walk during a go-see. Surprise, surprise! Her Frankenstein walk did not impress the designer.
Anya, on the other hand, won the go-see and received a designer dress as her reward. Not too bad for the Hawaiian, who has been pretty solid.
Fatima also was wonderful. She excelled in almost every aspect of last night’s episode. The designer loved her at the go-see. Later, she delivered the best performance of the day shooting a Covergirl commercial, which required the contestants to speak Italian. She was simply amazing.
Fatima, who is not a U.S. citizen, was stressing because she lost her travel documents and was afraid that she would be eliminated from the competition when the contestants packed up and headed abroad for the remainder of the season.
The travel documents wound up being the least of Fatima’s troubles this episode. I’ll get back to that a little later.
Judge Paulina Porizkova made a quick house call and talked to the girls about the best ways to showcase themselves. This totally foreshadowed to what was going to happen a little later in the episode.
Last week’s America's Next Top Model was a complete waste of time. New programming was put on a back burner and the dreaded recap episode filled the void.
I learned that Marvita likes to: walk around naked, play the guitar, and give massages. Yawn!! Who cares? Marvita was kicked off the show a few episodes ago.
God, please, can we have a little more excitement this week? Tonight’s preview shows Fatima dealing with some sort of “legal” troubles. It also shows Lauren cutting her finger during a kitchen accident. (I was most disturbed by Lauren’s storyline. A model should not be in the kitchen trying to eat any food! What was she thinking? It’s criminal!)
'America's Next Top Model': Early fave Claire gets cut
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
Claire’s departure this week on America’s Next Top Model proves fast the mighty fall. After winning numerous challenges this season, Claire was kicked to the curb. We’ll get back to her in a minute …
This week, the girls went on Go-Sees, which are where models meet with designers for the equivalent of an interview. The models show off their portfolios, show off their signature runway walks, and model some clothes.
This year the models split into two teams for their Go-Sees. Claire, Dominique, Stacy-Ann and Whitney were on Team 1. Anya, Fatima, Lauren, and Katarzyna were on Team 2.
The show gave a huge plug to Sprint when they provided each team with a Sprint GPS phone. (How many models does it take to operate a GPS phone? A whole heck of a lot, I'd say, after watching this episode. Some of these girls were having some serious difficulties navigating their way through NYC.)
Anywho, the teams went on their Go-Sees, and Team 1 excelled.
In the past two weeks we’ve learned that: It was time for both Marvita and Amy to go home; Fatima does not shave her underarms (a definite no-no); Claire has a mean streak; Dominique and Whitney are drama queens; and there is not a clear-cut favorite.
This is truly the first season of Top Model that has left me without a “wow factor” contestant.
Claire had been taking great photos until last week’s photo shoot. (She was really bad; and her personality appeared to change for the worst.)
Katarzyna does not seem like she is capable of shaking lose the cheap, trashy look that the judges keep commenting about.
Stacy-Ann has demonstrated that she only possesses a couple of poses.
Anya has been good. The judges love her – especially Tyra. But, I predict that she will struggle when it comes down to the spokesmodel challenges. (I can barely understand half the things she says.)
Keep catwalking!
P.S. Check out this clip of Dominique, Claire, Lauren and Whitney getting into a verbal jab fest:
'America's Next Top Model': bad walks and meat garments, oh my
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
On this week's Top Model, the girls went to a fire station for a little runway training with “Miss J.” The runway coach and show judge encouraged the gals to sashay up and down the runway with confidence. And he wasn’t afraid to join them to critique their bad technique. Gotta love Miss J and his/her ability to remain “fierce” and “fabulous” even in a room full of testosterone-filled firefighters.
Stacy-Ann, Katarzyna, Claire, and Dominique demonstrated very strong walks. Lauren was completely hopeless. And Fatima walked like a Clydesdale, according to Miss J.
Later, the contestants participated in a fashion show where they modeled Tuleh. Before taking the catwalk, the girls received a surprise pep-talk from Jaslene, the winner of Cycle 8. The girls learned that the best model during the fashion show would receive a photo shoot with Jaslene in Seventeen magazine.
Most of the contestants did a pretty good job, but there were a few pitfalls ...
While many of ya’ll were no doubt watching Project Runway last week, I was watching the other spectrum of the fashion industry — the models.
It was makeover madness on Top Model. And, I must admit that I was a little apprehensive when I heard that the models were heading to Wal-Mart for the makeovers. (Not exactly high fashion.) I was pleasantly surprised, when I learned that the models were only going to the mega-chain to complete a Covergirl makeup challenge. (Claire won that one.)
The makeup challenge was only a tuneup for the makeovers, which were done at a local salon.
It wouldn’t be the makeover episode if a model was not displeased with her new look. (Remember Cassandra from Cycle 5, Jaeda from Cycle 7 and most recently Bianca from last season?) This year that distinction went to Fatima, who cried from the pain of her new long silky weave. I think the pain was worth it. The girl looks stunning. Can you say the next coming of Iman?
You know who else got a great makeover? Marvita. With the addition of a super long weave in the back, she went from semi-macho to glam.
Claire’s hair was dyed blond and buzzed along the sides for a cute alterna-chick look. Removing all that additional hair really draws attention to her face, which is a great thing. She has such an unusual look. Is she Russian? Is she of Asian descent? All that guessing is good. She’s memorable. She’ll go far.
I didn’t like Anya’s makeover. Her long platinum weave just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe it will take a few episodes to get used to it. Hope she stays around long enough to prove me right. After the makeovers, the contestants got on a yacht for a photo shoot. This week, the hopefuls modeled lingerie from a clothing line by the legendary Elle McPherson.
I suppose the girls did decent for the most part.
Poor Whitney – the plus-sized model – was thrown into this God-awful outfit that completely covered up a good majority of her body. Her thinner counterparts on the other hand were dressed in traditional lingerie (Totally not fair; and Tyra made mention of this during the judging period).
Katarzyna looked a little cheap during her photo shoot. Judge Paulina Porizkova later said that Katarzyna looked like a Russian mail-order bride. (That ain’t good, folks.)
Allison – the Alyssa Milano look-alike from Waunakee, Wis. – bragged the entire episode that she had so much modeling experience. When it came down to the photo shoot, she was over-posing and a mess.
Dominique was quite possibly the worse of the bunch. She was so stiff and nervous. Her totally lost the swagger she had shown up until that point. It wasn’t good.
Dominique’s saving grace was Tyra, who was not a fan of Dominique’s new shoulder-length hair style. It was the wrong color, Tyra said during the elimination round.
In the end Allison was sent packing. Her attitude totally stunk. She also made some racially charged jokes about black women to Fatima. (Can you say stupid?) She was also cocky as the dickens. She didn’t even say thank you to Tyra when she gave her a compliment. It was time for her to go.
America’s Next Top Model was trucking along with the expectable blips of excitement that fans of the show have come to expect. Then, bam! The ending completely knocked me off my seat.
I’ll get to that a little later …
The girls completed their first fashion show. Some contestants – Marvita especially – were dreadful. There was the obligatory catfight, where Fatima hit Marvita in the face. Was it an accident? Fatima says it was; Marvita wanted to open up a can of whoop….
After the girls' first runway challenge – it was held in Time Square -- they went to Elite Model Management and got a taste of Paulina Porizkova.
The Dancing With the Stars alum wasted no time speaking her mind. She said: Amis (used to be Amy) has bad skin; Dominique looks like a transvestite; and Marvita has a scrunched face. Basically, she was fabulous!
“You are going to be critiqued like crazy in this job,” Paulina told the hopefuls. “It’s not only going to be truthful, it will be hurtful. You might as well get used to it right now.”
I was going into last night’s episode hopeful that I would not be forced to watch: Tyra and the two “J’s” pretended to drink breast milk; Claire admitting to drinking her own breast milk; and Shalynda and Shaya (they’re both gone) attempting to fight Fatima.
I was pleasantly pleased by the appearance of Paulina, who is a welcome replacement for that timid Twiggy. Paulina’s sass is exactly what Top Model needs. The show’s judging has been hurting since Janice Dickinson departed for the “greener pastures” of the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.
The girls' first photo shoot had a homeless youth theme. Marvita and Fatima both revealed that they had been homeless at one point in their lives. The two kind of patched things up after that. (We’ll see how long that lasts.)
During the judging we learned that Anya is one of Tyra’s favorites; she took a great photo. Claire did a fantastic job! Katarzyna is a force to be reckoned with. Whitney did her thing. Fatima was strong. Dominique also did pretty well.
And then model mayhem. Kimberly pulled an Ebony and asked to be removed from the show! She said she wasn’t a fan of high fashion. (Gasp!) In addition, she didn’t think that it was right for people to pay $2,000 for an outfit.
Tyra, and the rest of the judges were none too pleased. (Miss J ripped up Kimberly’s photograph; Tyra eventually used the ripped picture to fan herself.) Some of the contestants looked on in disbelief.
To be honest, I didn’t think the Reese Witherspoon – I totally think Reese is prettier -- lookalike had much of a chance. (You can read my rant about Ebony’s abrupt departure last year to get a sense of how I feel about contestants who ask to leave the show early. I won’t devote any additional keystrokes to Kimberly. )
Tyra then announced that there was still going to be an elimination.
Atalya, the 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, was given the boot. This really wasn’t all that surprising. Most of the judges had hinted that they didn’t care too much for her.
In the season premiere, Tyra said: “Her audition photo: wrong.”
Enough said about Atalya.
Who are you’re favorites this season? Share yours, and I’ll respond in the comments section.
Enthusiasts are objecting over the fact that Saleisha – the Ciara-double -- has appeared in a Wendy’s commercial and has modeled on Tyra’s talk show.
Some seem to think that these are clear violations of the show’s rules that dictate that contestants cannot have professional modeling experience.
I’m pretty sure that neither a Wendy’s spot or a catwalk on Tyra’s talk show qualifies as “professional.” But after my Dec. 13 post about the "accomplishments" of Top Model alumni, maybe these prior experiences should have disqualified Saleisha. It seems that all past winners have been doing is appearing in future seasons of Top Model and showing up in scant ads for companies that are anything other than top couture.
In all seriousness, while these reports have raised my eyebrows a bit, I can’t say that I am in an uproar.
All you have to do is watch the final runway showdown. There is no way that Chantal should have won after the "great fall."
Chantal stumbles; Saleisha sashays to 'Top Model' title
Guest blogger John-John Williams reports on the America's Next Top Model finale:
I swear I don’t have a crystal ball and I’m not a psychic, but I did accurately predict the exact placement of our top three models this week. (Check out the comment section of my Dec. 10 entry.)
I’m not going to brag—too much. I told you so! I told you so!
Now that that is out of the way….
After Jenah was eliminated – thank goodness – Saleisha and Chantal battled it out during a Qi Gang (a top Chinese designer) fashion show. Chantal held her own until the “great crash.”
I thought the Caridee/Melrose collision in Cycle 7 was pretty bad, but Chantal definitely takes the top spot. Poor thing was walking down that long runway when the train of her dress got caught underneath one of the performers standing on stilts. The performer collapsed to the ground; Chantal slipped, gasped, and looked back in horror. I think that sealed the deal.
Although Chantal -- a pretty girl with an adequate catwalk – was strong through most of the season, she was no match for Saleisha, who has gotten stronger and stronger in recent weeks. Saleisha simply tore it up from the beginning to end of the fashion show.
“I’m going to bring it,” Saleisha said right before she walked the seemingly endless runway, which was staged near the Forbidden City in China.
'America's Next Top Model': Jenah should have gotten the boot
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
We all knew that Chantal and Saleisha were safe because most of last night's episode focused on Bianca and Jenah.
Jenah should have been sent home! Yes, she has taken great photos. But she has been struggling of late. She has been sarcastic with judges, and she has expressed an overall desire to go home. I believe in granting wishes …
Bianca, on the other hand, really seemed to want this thing. Yes, she acted extremely immature and catty on the show. But, I truly think she is immature, and catty in real life. At least she was being true to herself. Jenah kept saying that she was trying to find herself. What the heck did she mean by that?
Saleisha and Chantal appeared to have found their groove. Their pictures have been strong. And Saleisha in particular looks like she has got this thing wrapped up. She keeps on getting better and better.
I’ll let you watch this YouTube clip for more info from the episode. I want to use the rest of my keystrokes to: give Jaslene some props, scold CoverGirl, and share news about the show.
After two weeks of bashing Jaslene’s management, I want to give them some props.
During her latest CoverGirl commercial, Jaslene finally did something to make us a little envious: she made the cover of Latina magazine.
No, it’s not Vogue, Elle, or Vanity Fair, but it is also a vast improvement over appearances at Wal-Mart and at an Orioles game.
Not so fast CoverGirl, ya’ll have some explaining to do!
How is it possible that Heather – the model that was booted off the show last week – was this week’s CoverGirl model of the week? She isn’t even in the competition anymore. I think that this CoverGirl competition is seriously flawed. I also think that Heather has been getting a sympathy vote because she has a form of autism.
On to the juicy news: Twiggy won’t be returning as a judge next cycle! See ya!
Supermodel and Dancing With the Stars alum Paulina Porizkova will replace her. (And it couldn’t come at a better time!)
Twiggy is leaving the show due to “scheduling conflicts,” according to several reports. Read more here.
Personally, I don’t think the show will be hurting by the loss of Twiggy. She has been very blah at times. She has never added the same spice that Janice Dickinson brought to the show.
I don’t know much about Paulina’s personality, but I hope that she is a true diva. The show is in need of a Simon Cowell-type. Hopefully Paulina will last longer than she did on Dancing With the Stars. (She was voted off during the first round of the fourth season.)
America’s Next Top Model can’t rely on contestants to have piss-poor attitudes. (Sorry Bianca!) A true iconic fixture – a judge – will add a little somethin’ somthin’ to the show. Hopefully Paulina will be that missing ingredient to spice up the fashion gumbo that we call America’s Next Top Model. Twiggy was a little to bland for my taste.
Keep catwalking!!! See you next week for the finale!
Down to four as Heather's out on 'America's Next Top Model'
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
Heather was finally given the boot on America’s Next Top Model. She totally screwed up on this week’s challenge — a Go See.
For all you Top Model newcomers and fashion beginners, a Go See is where models meet with designers for the equivalent of an interview. The models show off their portfolios, show off their signature runway walks, and model some clothes.
Heather only made it to one Go See in a six hour period. She then missed the deadline for the challenge, which disqualified her.
In the end, Heather’s amazing photos couldn’t save her, and the judges sent her back to the states. (The girls are still in China.)
We’re down to four models, and I’m feeling kind of blah.
In past years I have looked at the girls and said “Now that’s a Top Model!” This year, I’m not so sure. Chantal seems a bit inexperienced and unsure of herself. Jenah is lucky that she survived this week’s episode. She managed to sass judge Nigel Barker, and get disqualified from the challenge. In addition, she didn’t make much of an impression on the designers during her Go See. (Several were turned off by her personality.)
Bianca is stunning -- at times, but she has a piss-poor attitude. And Saleisha is pretty, but I’m not sure that she has that “model” look.
There are only a couple of episodes left – Dec. 12 is the season finale -- and I feel that the girls are much further behind past cycles at this stage of the competition.
Has the model well run dry? Or am I being too tough on the contestants? Lemme know.
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention Jaslene’s latest CoverGirl commercial that appeared amid the episode. In this week’s commercial, it shows Jaslene throwing out a pitch at an Orioles game at Camden Yards. Excuse me! When was Jaslene in Baltimore? How did I miss her? And why was she throwing out a pitch during an Orioles game? Couldn’t she have picked a town with a better team?
First, a Wal-Mart appearance; now an Orioles game. What’s next? A high school fashion show during the Jerry Springer Show or in the infield at Preakness? Jaslene, it’s time to get better management…
Lisa latest catwalk casualty in 'America’s Next Top Model '
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
While chillin’ in the comforts of my mother’s home in Syracuse I got a chance to watch the most recent episode of Top Model. I also watched two past seasons of Top Model (Darn MTV and their ANTM marathons! )
I’ll cut to the chase. Lisa – the towering, slender beauty from New Jersey – was the first to pack her bags during the girl’s trip to China.
She never seemed to be able to build up her confidence, and it was to her detriment.
Even though she showed flashes of brilliance throughout the competitions, (remember the Enrique Iglesias music video challenge?) she bombed badly in past episodes. Her public speaking skills were a real problem for her.
While we’re talking about public speaking, lets talk about Heather. Oh my God!!!!! She is absolutely dreadful in this department. Granted, she has a mild form of autism, but that still should not be used as an excuse to keep her in the competition. Don’t get me wrong, the girl takes gorgeous photos. But, her spokeswomanship was horrendous. She flubbed almost everything, and had to be fed lines during a recent commercial. It was really, really bad.
I admit that I have no idea who is going to win this thing. Lisa was one of my favorites. The judges really seemed to like her. Heather takes strong photos.
I think this thing should be between Jenah and Saleisha. Saleisha has that girl-next-door look that is so hot in modeling right now. Jenah takes amazing photos. But listen to the way the judges rip into her. Ouch!:
Chantal is also very pretty, but that may be her downfall. Some judges believe that she is too pretty to be considered a high-fa
