I miss Mr Jay sorely though Yu Tsai is a poor replacement in my opinion.
I do miss Nigel too, but not as much as Mr Jay
The older seasons were definitely better in my opinion
I love Mr Jay. I want him back too. He was nurturing but gave good critique at the same time.
I met Nigel when he came to London to promote his book. He was so lovely and striking in person. He could in theory come back seeing as The Face has been axed, but I doubt he would.
The spoiler footage is laughable. I guess they don't care anymore.
I love Mr Jay. I want him back too. He was nurturing but gave good critique at the same time.
I met Nigel when he came to London to promote his book. He was so lovely and striking in person. He could in theory come back seeing as The Face has been axed, but I doubt he would.
the face has been axed in the uk, but not in the usa.
was rooting for shei, but once she left i wasnt too fussed about who won as long as it wasnt adam.
enjoyed watching the adverts they made. would have liked to have seen lenox's even though she did not make the final 3
has anyone seen that danielle is in the eminem ft sia video?
So another cycle is past, and like most of the recent ones, my interest died long before the finale. ANTM used to be my guilty pleasure but my love for the show has really fizzled out. I think the last series I stuck with was the Allstar one, but even then it was because of the novelty and wanting Alli to win...
To be honest, coming online to see the final results, I'm sort of glad that I didn't stick it out. From what I saw (maybe up till Matthew's eviction?) I didn't hate Keith, but his win was extremely obvious from Episode 1. I'd probably have predicted Will/Lenox to switch, but Adam top three was no surprise either.
To be honest, I just find ANTM a bit cringey today. I guess eventually they had to give up the pretense that they could find a legitimate Top Model, but the whole thing just seems a big joke recently. I actually think this season had quite an interesting cast, but I lost interest when the editors did everything they could to box them into simplistic roles - "the jock" "the gay guy" "the weird girl" "the bubbly girl" etc. The contestants are eliminated not on merit, but when the judges deem them surpluss to story requirements, with a convenient excuse or sudden "bad best shot" aways thrown in for justification.. I don't know, I guess I'm just a bit over this show.
And with that, I'll probably still be back next year for the first five episodes! Tata!
Before the dust settles on this cycle, I decided to rank all the cycles. I couldn't help but mention a few spoilers though so put it in spoiler tags...
1. Cycle 6
Featured so many great characters, I think almost everyone brought something interesting, some managed to be hilariously OTT aswell as rootable. It also felt incredibly competitive as there were many strong models and memorable photoshoots (bald, dolls, mermaid, elephant), with a final decision between an incredibly strong final 2. The editing was also top notch, like the show knew exactly what character traits to take advantage of but still portrayed the models as multi-faceted. I think the judging panel of Tyra, Twiggy, Miss J and Nigel is my favourite.
2. Cycle 3
The first cycle I saw and possibly the most epic cycle of all. Loads of drama and unique relationships between the models. There's alot of individual journeys to follow - Eva's redemption, Toccara representing plus-size models, Kelle's unfortunate run of pictures, Cassie and her possible eating disorder ect. The battles in the house are fiercer than the ones in judging.
3. Cycle 8
I used to think of this as a spin-off to cycle 7, possibly due to Jaslene coming back after trying out for cycle 7, but now I accept that it is actually superior. For one this feels like a much more complete cast, with a final 6 of very interesting yet flawed models. The first cycle to have 2 plus-size models yet still couldn't make either of them a winner, while Natasha's progression and Brittany's downfall are both epic. I also noticed an interesting thing about the final 3, that at one time or another they were the house outcast and ganged up on by the others - Jaslene at the start when the others relish the first time she does poorly, Renee's attitude causing her alienation from the group, while Natasha suffers it at final 4 when the others feel like they can't trust her (or are just threatened). This cycle can brag that the final has the highest ratings of any ANTM episode in history.
4. Cycle 13
The cycle for the shorties. It probably depends how much you like Nicole on how much you like this cycle, as she slowly starts dominating and barely falters. There are alot of rootable models aswell, I think perhaps they compensated for being short with their personalities and modelling ability.
5. Cycle 5
This has another great cast, though for me alot of them feel like TV personalities rather than models, also it was the first time my fave won. Twiggy makes a good addition to the show, I don't really miss Janice as a judge at all. The producers must have been loving the way the storylines developed - Cassandra's meltdown and being the first model to quit the show, Sarah's attraction to Kim, Coryn vs Lisa, Jayla vs Nik coming out of nowhere, the fall-out over the granola bar that would shape the last few episodes (I like the rumour that one of the crew probably ate it)...one incident seemed to lead on to the other so well.
6. Cycle 7
I think this cycle has a reputation of quite a few questionable eliminations and some models making it further than they probably should. I mean by the halfway point it feels like it's pretty much a head-to-head battle between CariDee and Melrose, while everyone else gradually fades away. It's known for featuring a pair of identical twins - an amusing combo of a tomboy who's a natural at modelling but doesn't have the passion, while the other really wants to model but is far too meek and self-conscious to fully embrace it. There's also probably the most unpleasant and unreasonable contestant ever in Monique, who thankfully gets what's coming to her and is gone pretty quickly. I think this is the last cycle to feature judging challenges, something that would be greatly missed from future cycles.
7. Cycle 1
I think this is what Tyra initially envisaged the show to be about - the girls living/working in very close and cramped proximity to eachother and simple straight-forward critique. But of course this was before the money started rolling in and before Tyra disappeared into Tyra-world, introducing lavish judging sets and OTT gimmicks. Even though this cycle is naturally very raw and amateurish they seriously got the casting bang-on. It takes a couple of episodes for them to warm up, while they get rid of the less significant ones, but then the models interactions and relationships with eachother really start carrying the cycle. Especially in the latter stages when it comes down to the battle of the atheists vs the Christians. Having 3 devout Christians competing leads to a few problems, particularly when Ebony's girlfriend comes to visit and when it comes time to posing nude.
8. Cycle 11
I really like this cycle, good models with interesting looks and some really complex characters. It features the first transgendered contestant, and while some of the other girls reaction to her is off-putting, the unlikeable models seem to get booted quite early on. The editors capitalize on the divide whenever they can, but apart from the odd argument the group actually seems quite harmonious with eachother. I do think the final 2 is rather disappointing though - one has a great look but an incredibly muffled personality, while the other has a lot of personality but a generic girl next door look and seems out of place making it so far.
9. Cycle 4
I think this is one of the most fun cycles, with lots of great moments and a diverse group of models. It also features probably the two most famous judgings in ANTM history - Rebecca collapsing and Tyra unleashing her angry tirade at Tiffany. This is also the cycle that fully exploits the entertainment value of judging challenges, with one happening in almost every episode, which usually leads to hilarious results.
10. Cycle 2
This cycle does take a big leap towards the show it would become and it is a fairly good cycle in its own right. There's something randomly hilarious about the girls just wandering around the streets of New York and meeting up for the first time, without any sort of casting episode. Though it seems fairly obvious who the front-runners are, the final 4 are particularly strong and very different to eachother, it basically comes down to what the judges prefer rather than someone clearly being the superior model. The 'everyone vs Camille' storyline is fairly entertaining, mainly because Camille is an absolute stone-cold diva. But most of what she does seems fairly accidental due to a complete lack of awareness, so I think some of her treatment is slightly harsh. It's also the first time a girl gets her hair cut short triggering a total meltdown, which would become a common thing in future cycles.
11. Cycle 19
The first cycle with fan-voting, which took a bit of time getting used to. I think the college theme was a bit desperate, possibly Tyra's way of proving that models can be smart, or was it really to promote the fact that she'd recently gone back to school herself to pick up a business degree? (Tyra, self-promoting? get out of here!) The cast felt like classic ANTM (if there is such a thing), with alot of memorable characters. It was also the first cycle to have a model coming back into the competition, which the judges kind of abused by pretty much eliminating a model so that she would come back and make an impact, giving the twist some relevance (something it would fail to do in later cycles). I don't think Tyra was planning on the final outcome being 'spoilt rich girl beats tough girl who battles against the odds', but it was the fan scores that made it happen and you can't ignore the fan scores can you Tyra? (Oh wait, you can.) I think an interesting lesson was learnt not to judge a book by its cover, as Kristin was loved online when the pictures were first released, only to turn out to be a nasty vindictive person who thought that being pretty meant that she was a great model (oh dear). I think it taught fans not to fully champion a model until you actually see them in action.
12. Cycle 12
I think this cycle is best remembered for the cliques in the house, bug-eyed Allison and the judging where Celia informed Tyra that Tahlia had been wanting to leave, which was a good moment to find out that the show can still spark fierce debate amongst fans. I think Aminat was given way too many chances based solely on her potential and she survives over quite a few stronger models. I get the feeling that this is when Tyra's ego was really getting out of control. There was apparently an incident after Natalie was eliminated where she basically went on a rant to the judges about what a sham the show is, but this was not broadcast. Apart from that it's a fairly standard cycle.
13. Cycle 15
Here the show really concentrated on the high fashion market in an effort to be taken more seriously, which for the most part I think it succeeded, at least temporarily. I mean they got some impressive names making appearances and some impressive prizes for the winner. It also had a certain class and authenticity to it, with the most fitting winner. But it gets a little forgettable in places, the drama is fairly meh and it feels obvious who is getting far and who are the extra bodies there to make up the numbers. Tyra quickly got bored of the high fashion theme and in a cycle or two goes on a gimmick-cycle frenzy, leading to All-Stars, US vs UK, fan voting and Guys vs Girls, so maybe this didn't quite achieve what Tyra wanted.
14. Cycle 18
The US vs UK theme brought in girls from Britain's Next Top Model. For me this kind of feels like All-Stars 2, at least in the way it's presented, but I think it managed to outshine cycle 17 in many ways. I found it interesting that the UK girls were so much more likeable here than they were on BNTM, they injected a fun spirit and sarky narration to everything, they pretty much carry the cycle. I think Tyra overplays the US vs UK thing a bit much, especially since the friendships in the house don't seem to be restricted to it, but it put a unique spin on things at least. Although the overall storyline of the US girls dominating, then the UK girls dominating, leading to a final 2 of a US girl vs a UK girl was fairly predictable. But it was never obvious who the winner would be, especially since there were a few front-runners and some are abruptly eliminated, one for getting on Tyra's bad side after refusing to wear a butt pad.
15. Cycle 10
It had the unenviable task of following on from cycle 9. I did find it hard to root for anyone as the drama didn't bring out the best in some of them, while others are just bland. Paulina as the new judge just doesn't do it for me, she has an air of superiority about the whole thing. But I think the strength of the cycle lies in the quality of the models, I feel like half the cast would have made a decent winner, but of course this cycle is significant for giving the show its first plus-size winner which the show had been getting increasingly desperate for.
16. Cycle 9
This started out with so much potential but it is probably the first example of Tyra's agenda totally ruining a cycle, leading to the most amount of questionable eliminations and weaker models making it further than they should. I think there was a number of rootable characters, but I feel like it's a negative thing when most of the viewers think that a cycle revolves around 1 person's journey. So when she is harshly eliminated at the final 5, the rest of the cycle feels underwhelming. Though the worst was yet to come with the whole Saleisha scandal (or 'Scandaleisha' as it became known), where many viewers felt Tyra had her hand-picked winner ready before the cycle even started with a girl who had attended one of Tyra's self-esteem camps and known Tyra for years. She also had modelling experience that many think should have made her ineligible to take part in the show, but despite this experience she performed relatively poorly throughout the cycle and had a bratty conceited attitude that turned viewers off. Her win did alot of damage, starting the show's decline from must-watch TV pulling in great ratings to a guilty pleasure that is still struggling to recover from this result today. I suppose at least it wasn't the horrid Bianca though.
17. Cycle 16
I'm fairly indifferent to this one, infact I think it's one of the few cycles where I was kind of bored of it within the first few weeks. There's some good models but their personalities are a major turn-off. Not to mention the 'everyone vs Alexandria' storyline goes on way too long and becomes uncomfortable, especially with Brittani's meltdown. The models who aren't acting so pathetic and childish towards eachother, they come across weak-willed and bland, but no-one's personality is that great to be honest.
18. Cycle 17
So Tyra decided to do a dreaded All-Stars season, completely ditching the 'high fashion' theme she'd been attempting to bring the show some credibility. This cycle basically turned into some sort of celebrity boot-camp, with lessons in branding and creating fragrances and music videos. It was nice to see Allison excel once again by improving on her previous weaknesses, aswell as Shannon as a mature 27 year old rather than the naive 18 year old from the first cycle....but everyone else was basically a deflated version of their former self. Added to this, the final was a complete farce, due to Angelea being the original winner, despite her questionable performance, only to be disqualified (due to her escort past as we now know) and she just vanishes from the show. This led to scenes being reshot, a confusing final and a default winner in Lisa. Now it seems like this cycle has been completely dismissed as a forgettable mess and alot of fans feel annoyed knowing that huge fan fave Allison has been denied a win not just once (cycle 12), not twice, but three times!!! Some see it as a cynical ploy by Tyra, dragging Allison along to keep people watching only to screw her over in the end.
19. Cycle 21
I think the two Guys vs Girls cycles are on level-pegging but for me this cast were alot more easy-going, the guys were more likeable and the girls not as bland, and there were quite a few strong models aswell. But the whole thing was just so poorly handled and seemed more manipulated than ever before. I suppose it's not a coincidence that since fan voting was introduced this is the first cycle where the fans top scoring model didn't win. After another girl won the first Guys vs Girls, it was obvious that we would see our first male winner this time. But any excitement felt like it had been drained away long before the final, as Tyra's attempts to boost her favourites were just way too noticeable and nauseating. Infact every judging came across as a game of numbers between the judges. Even having an all-guy final 3 should have been ground-breaking, but the way Tyra removed the fan voting for the final 4 in order to get rid of the last girl felt unfair.
20. Cycle 20
A shame that the latest couple of cycles are this low. This one seemed quite exciting at the start, as they had a diverse bunch of males and some strong female models. Sadly the cycle disintegrated into an awful high school dynamic with obnoxious laddish behaviour and a potential showmance popping up what felt like every two minutes. Even the stronger models began to grate, I think by the halfway point I disliked everybody and it was a case of rooting for Jourdan because she was the only remaining strong model to root for. It was satisfying watching the jealousy rising while she just got on with kicking their arses, but it wasn't at all fun to watch.
21. Cycle 14
For me this is an example of when the drama is just so tedious and draining that I feel alienated from the cycle and find the models unlikeable. I also struggle to remember alot of the photoshoots and challenges, and while Krista's sudden momentum overseas looks exciting, it just wasn't really. The overall mood of the cycle I find incredibly negative and the last few weeks I find flat and dull. Plus I didn't like how Miss J was booted off the judging panel. I mean Andre was a good replacement, but he gets off to a shaky start by instantly championing annoying loudmouth Alasia.
Or to put it in a non-spoilery way:
Great
1. Cycle 6
2. Cycle 3
3. Cycle 8
4. Cycle 13
I tried to make it a bit of nostalgia for those that have seen it and a guide or maybe even motivation for people who've never watched it and were curious about it.
I still feel like I left loads of interesting stuff out, which I think shows how great this show has been throughout the years.
I decided to rank the winners, but of course there's no right answer to this and I tended to waffle a bit to back up my opinions. I ended up doing it in reverse order as I couldn't fit it all in one post, which at least means it will end on a high note getting more positive as it goes along:
21 to 11...
21. Saleisha Stowers (cycle 9)
No surprise really. She's probably the only winner I would say really didn't deserve to win. Not just because it made the show look like a total rigged sham, but her performance was frustratingly poor. Knowing about her experience made her seem weak but what made it worse was her over-confident know-it-all attitude. She told the other girls that she would probably win and confidently stated that she would never be in the bottom two, the week when she hit the bottom two (lol). The line-up of strong models meant you could ignore Saleisha up to a certain point, although there was a collective groan from viewers when it was mentioned in the first episode that Saleisha had attended one of Tyra's self-esteem camps for young girls, it seemed like Tyra had got her storyline and self-promotion already set. At makeovers she was given a bob to make her appear more high fashion, which failed miserably and simply made her look like Tootie from the US TV show Facts of Life. I would have at least expected her to do well with the final 6 CoverGirl shoot, but she flopped at that too, while the high fashion girls took commercial shots with relative ease. Despite viewers being told that she apparently improved in the latter weeks, she still had an off-putting brattiness to her (refusing to share a bed when the girls went overseas and were living in cramped conditions). When the cycle wrapped up she barely had any great shots to justify her win and she's a common name brought up when talking about the worst winner.
20. Lisa D'Amato (cycle 17)
There's definitely some personal bias affecting my opinion because she's someone who I didn't really like from the start and I've had to suffer 2 cycles of her. Originally in cycle 5, I found her to be an entitled desperate attention-seeker who already looked middle-aged. She took some good pictures but she was eliminated at final 5 because the judges couldn't stand her anymore and she wasn't very presentable away from the shoots. She was very bitter and ungrateful about her first time on the show, yet was later brought back to compete on All-Stars. Like almost everyone else this cycle, she seemed much more mellow and her performance was fairly consistent, so based on that her win was fairly acceptable. But, as mentioned in the cycles ranking, she won by default after pre-determined winner Angelea was disqualified and disappeared from the final. Lisa was also up against fan favourite Allison who had performed even stronger this time around and an Allison victory seemed like the natural end to what was supposed to be the most fan-friendly cycle of all. So Lisa's win seemed even more of an anti-climax and Tyra seemed to choose her as an easy way out as Lisa is such a wannabe that she probably fits the bill of being an all-star. But the irony of it is that Allison has achieved even more success since then and seeing as Tyra has wheeled out Allison a few times to bring some 'star power' to the show I think she may be regretting her decision. Not only that but it kind of damaged Lisa's reputation, as her abrupt elimination from cycle 5 was fairly harsh (even though I enjoyed it) so alot of people felt bad for her, but now she's known as the undeserving and not even 1st choice winner of All-Stars.
19. Brittani Kline (cycle 16)
Known as the girl from the trailer park thanks to the show. It feels a shame to have her this low as she had a great look who I hoped would be someone I could root for, but she seemed pretty immature and became even more of a brat as it went on. She let Alexandria bother her so much that she started an argument with her at a shoot because Alexandria was doing well, then melted down and stormed out of the judging room because she was put on the spot about being unprofessional by the judges. While Alexandria could be difficult, I think she was fairly misunderstood and didn't deserve to be ganged up on like that. Tyra pretended that she wanted Brittani gone that week and was out-voted by the other judges, but it was obvious Brittani wasn't going anywhere and Tyra was saying she wants her gone to create an interesting storyline when Brittani wins. She had one of the best makeovers in the history of the show and predictably took great photos, but I just couldn't enjoy her win at all. I find her too unlikeable and it was neck-and-neck between her and Molly, yet Brittani still won despite falling on the final runway, but I wasn't too bothered about that since Molly could be a misery aswell.
18. Krista White (cycle 14)
She started off really weak but improved, especially overseas where she had a dominant run of first call-outs straight to victory. But since she took part in my least favourite cycle I found it hard to be gripped by her progression, especially since I think she contributed to the negative atmosphere with her poor choice in friends and coming off as mean and stirring up trouble. She did have a bubbly side but everything about her was just underwhelming, none of her pictures really lit up my world as I felt her features were too hard and weren't very versatile. I was rooting for Raina at the time, who seems to be doing fairly well now, but really there was only about 2 pictures the entire cycle that captured my imagination.
17. Teyona Anderson (cycle 12)
She had some interesting features, with her alienesque "wind in the face" look, but that kind of got lost as there was something just unbelievably ordinary about her. It didn't help that cycle 12 featured a number of quirky characters with unusual looks and that she was in the final 2 with Allison. She was a competent model, however she had a tendency to come off as self-satisfied and I think the judges overrated her way too much, receiving first call-outs and constant praise for even mediocre pictures. I could handle her winning though since it was quite fitting that it came down to the model overrated by the judges verses the model perhaps overrated by the fans. Those fans weren't happy with this result, not helped by the fact that Allison did really well in the final and Teyona did kind of average. She's now possibly the most forgotten winner of all, some people probably think the winner of cycle 12 is called either 'Not Allison' or 'Shoulda been Allison'.
16. Keith Carlos (cycle 21)
The only male winner, if only I felt more excited about him. The way the cycle was handled made it obvious he'd win and Tyra cheapened it by constantly thirsting for his manaconda and slobbering over him like a piece of meat. He did have just one basic look, which was basically a clone of Tyson Beckford, and was a fairly simple-minded man concerned about looking hot to impress the ladies, but he did improve and had a decent run of pictures towards the end so his win was okay with me. I do wonder if Tyra was feeling conscious that the first male winner should be someone that can sell and relate to other men, so perhaps dancing Will who liked wearing high heels didn't quite fit that criteria.
15. Jourdan Miller (cycle 20)
She certainly deserved to win her cycle given who she was up against, but it's funny that the girl who denied the first Guys vs Girls cycle a male winner was such a standard-looking model. However her performance was almost always strong, with the highest overall fan scores for her pictures, and she practically left everyone else in the dust. She mentioned being married and divorced by 18 countless times and came off as slightly superior, but I think I would aswell with some of the obnoxious guys and girls she competed with. When Jeremy was lusting after her thinking she'd happily reciprocate it, she coldly dismissed him as she didn't have any time for that nonsense. Some viewers thought it was pretty heartless but I thought it was great since there didn't need to be any more sickly showmances around. At final 3 the eliminated models returned and joined the team of the finalist they were backing to win, causing Jourdan some humiliation with just 1 person (which later became 2) on her team, while the others stuck with their cliques/friends. But Jourdan's win continued to send out the message that on ANTM it really doesn't matter what the others think of you, just keep working hard for yourself and they can't do anything to stop you.
14. Yoanna House (cycle 2)
Might be a bit harsh having her this low, since it was a very competitive final 4 and I can see why the judges were enamoured with her stunning face and in-depth fashion knowledge. Also being a babysitter and formerly being fat, I think Tyra knew how to sell her win to the viewers. Despite this though, when we got to the last few girls, Yoanna was easily the one I was least excited about. She completely lacked rhythm and, when compared to Mercedes and Shandi, she was a bit bland. I can understand a diva like Camille driving someone up the wall, but I think Yoanna took that rivalry way too personally and acted quite petty at times. At the final 5 Yoanna and Camille attempted to be friends, only for Camille to add to the rumours about Yoanna possibly having an eating disorder, so I could understand her annoyance then. But when Camille had gone, Yoanna seemed to take pleasure making fun of April and her lack of emotions, so I felt like Yoanna always had a childish side to her.
13. Laura James (cycle 19)
She began impressing people before the cycle even started when voting was open for the pictures. She had a tall statuesque frame, a diverse portfolio and many had immediately pegged her as the winner. Some found her personality to be a bit spoilt and coming from a rich family she did have a slight case of 'poor little rich girl' syndrome. She'd happily gossip about others but when she was criticized she'd suddenly feel attacked because people have been saying the same sort of things about her since high school bla bla bla. I was fairly pleased with her win as she was the top scorer when it came to the fans, plus at least it wasn't the nasty Kristin (whose pics were also loved) and Tyra was intent on dragging Kiara to the final despite her weak portfolio. I think most people were rooting for Leila by that point, but she ended up making a total mess of the final runway, tripping over twice. Sadly I think the judges would have been happy to crown Leila the winner until then, being the 'comeback girl' it would make a great storyline. But I think Laura was a worthy winner, she did have a couple of lows along with her amazing highs, but she had the ability to transform infront of the camera, delivering shots that easily overshadowed the other girls.
12. McKey Sullivan (cycle 11)
Based on her striking blue eyes and big-ass lips I was looking forward to seeing her in action hoping she'd have an interesting personality to match, but sadly I found her to be a disappointment and very flat and monotone. They tried to give her a redemption style journey by showing how stiff and lost she was on the first photoshoot, but most people had her pegged as the winner before the cycle even started. She somehow managed to drift through with barely any storyline or memorable moment, the edit tried a couple of times to portray her as a quirky weirdo who does boxing and exercises all the time, but there was barely any footage to be able to convey it so she just disappeared most of the time. One thing I never understood was why the judges never pulled her up on it. They had a go at Lauren Brie and Elina for their personalities, but McKey would lumber around like Lurch from the Addams Family and mumble out of the side of her mouth and nothing was said about it. It was acknowledged once during commercials at final 7, but Tyra put that down to a bad commercial, not seeming to have noticed that McKey's like that 24/7. In terms of modelling she steadily improved from her first shoot and looked great in pictures, but in terms of impact on the show she was just a mumbling bore with very little to say for herself amongst a bunch of much more memorable characters.
11. Naima Mora (cycle 4)
Despite a fairly low-key personality and moderate performance, her edgy look and challenge wins made the viewers aware she had something special. Being in the final 2 against Kahlen, who had a superior portfolio and runway walk, meant that she really had to pull something out of the bag, which she did. She managed to demonstrate confidence and power while Kahlen fumbled around with her usual insecurities, allowing Naima to snatch the win from her. Infact I don't think a girl has ever played the 'ANTM game' as ruthlessly before - she smartly kept out of drama allowing others to psyche eachother out, she approached every challenge logically taking everything in her stride, she knew exactly when was the time to really shine and fake her confidence infront of the judges, she knew when to push her sob story so that the judges would talk about how far she'd come ect. There's been some negativity attached to her win though - despite Naima being a fan favourite many fans still use Kahlen as an example of a model being robbed, while neither Mr Jay nor Miss J were apparently happy with her win, complaining of a total lack of personality. Plus, since the show there's a few tales about her becoming this huge diva, which is believable when noticing certain things like her somewhat obnoxious reaction to winning over Kahlen. Since she always had her game face on while she was on the show, maybe she adopted another game face in her every day life.
In the top 10 - Adrianne (cycle 1), Eva (cycle 3), Nicole L (cycle 5), Danielle (cycle 6), CariDee (cycle 7), Jaslene (cycle 8), Whitney (cycle 10), Nicole F (cycle 13), Ann (cycle 15) and Sophie (cycle 18)
10. Whitney Thompson (cycle 10)
A very marmite winner whose win divided opinion between "Wow a plus-size model finally won" and "She only won because she's plus-sized". She wasn't always the strongest, but even the stronger models of the cycle had huge flaws of their own, so I think it came down to who would do the most with their win. One interesting thing about Whitney was that the judges were especially hard on her at times, she was told she was not taking the competition seriously simply for doing splits in a posing challenge and she was repeatedly called fake in her commercials. She landed in the bottom two a massive 4 times, more than any other winner, but I think on at least 2 occasions the criticisms were overly harsh. The excitement of a plus-sized winner had been building for a long time and people would still be crying out for one if it didn't happen. Whitney's biggest asset was her determination and strength of character, everytime she was knocked down she'd fight back harder. So finally the show had a plus-size model who had the confidence and ability to hold it together and was willing to represent the show exactly how a plus-sized winner should.
9. Adrianne Curry (cycle 1)
I suppose she was a typical 'first winner' based on her consistent performance and the way she was portrayed as the down-to-earth girl from a poor background. But it's funny that the first model chosen to represent Tyra's show was a tough rebellious tomboy who was a former drug addict and talked with gritted-teeth. After the show she had a falling out with Tyra, which has been heavily documented, and Tyra even attempts to erase her from history whenever there's a look back at the ANTM winners. But there's no doubt that she had a good positive attitude on the show and managed to refine herself to become a strong choice of winner and set the standard for everyone to follow.
8. Nicole Linkletter (cycle 5)
This was the first time my fave from the start won, but I can see why some weren't so thrilled or felt that Nik should have won. There were girls with bigger personalities but I feel like the true model in them never quite materialized. Meanwhile Nik seemed like the obvious winner but I could understand if the judges thought she was just too passive and not showing enough passion, compared to the more unpredictable Nicole whose desire was much clearer. She could be a bit of a whiner but I actually enjoyed her random adolescent behaviour and I felt like she was at that stage where she was a girl growing into a woman and I think winning was just the thing to help her do it. Her performance was up-and-down as she sometimes struggled getting out of the trap of just looking pretty, but when she really got into her stride she would produce the most striking photos. I remember actually printing some off and sticking them to my college folder (wtf) and she's had a good career after the show. I remember Twiggy being a fan of her which made me appreciate Twiggy as a judge even more.
7. Ann Ward (cycle 15)
She has the highest call-out average of any girl, due to her being the only model to have a run of 5 first call-outs at the start of the cycle. So while her eventual win felt predictable, she was also fairly unusual due to her looking about 8 feet tall, being naturally stick thin and speaking with a deep manly voice, making her the perfect winner of the high fashion cycle. Her dominant run of 5 first call-outs may have been annoying to some, but it also built up the interest of 'who will break the streak?' When the streak was broken, Ann didn't crash immediately to the bottom two, but due to her constant insecurities it was obvious she'd end up there eventually. She'd pretty much go to pieces whenever she was required to speak or there was alot of pressure on her, sometimes I'd be thinking "Just get a grip, girl" wishing she'd show more confidence. However, even times when she was a mess, she'd still create magic and she was a rare find for the show. Her final 2 CoverGirl shot is probably the most high fashion CoverGirl shot I've ever seen.
6. Jaslene Gonzalez (cycle 8)
Some thought she was Tyra's pet project, after failing to make it on cycle 7 and promising to come back. But apparently Tyra didn't even vote for her to win as she opted for Natasha's amazing improvement over Jaslene's consistency. I genuinely think that if Natasha hadn't gotten the flu and performed so badly at final 4 then she could have earned at least one more vote from the judges and pulled off victory. Tyra says it was her and Twiggy voting for Natasha while Nigel, Miss J and Mr Jay went with Jaslene. I think Jaslene deserved it though. The judges complained she lacked the same fire she had shown when she tried out for cycle 7, which is kind of hypocritical since they made fun of her for being so over-the-top and there must have been a reason she didn't make it that time. So for cycle 8 she obviously wanted to appear more professional and she did start off as the front-runner, until other girls started making their mark aswell. She got a little forgettable mid-cycle but she picked up speed again towards the end, where it ended up as a battle of the accents (Jaslene from Puerto Rico, Natasha from Russia), in the most watched episode in ANTM history, and she remains one of the stand-out winners whose success teaches people that they should never give up.
5. Sophie Sumner (cycle 18)
I found her obnoxious on Britain's Next Top Model, infact she was probably my least fave BNTM girl that was brought in for this US vs UK thing. However she came across much better this time, still quite acerbic but way more fun and tongue-in-cheek. She was strong from the start, but it felt like the attention was on other front-runners who would gradually fall by the wayside. I liked her friendship with Laura and when they were the final 2 I think Laura had the better portfolio, but I think Sophie had the edge when it came to personality and adaptability. Overall I think she was the girl this cycle that most successfully combined being a great model with being a likeable presence onscreen. Plus she's now the first non-US person to win ANTM.
4. Eva Pigford (cycle 3)
One of the most memorable and successful winners. Not my fave from this cycle, but she probably has the most entertaining winner journey. She started out in casting as the abrasive bi-atch who made a poor impression on everyone, but Tyra managed to break her down and got her to open up to find out why she had developed this attitude. She was the last to be called to compete in the house and that was only the beginning of the epic struggle between so many other combustible personalities. She kept her loudmouth sassiness but it became more toned down and she managed to do a decent job while gradually winning viewers over. Her intense up-and-down friendship with Ann took its toll on her and she became quite misunderstood when they fell out and the other girls enjoyed watching Eva take a verbal bashing. She's not much of a high fashion model, but she has such clear star quality that she made it to the final 2 against Yaya where, despite hating eachother all cycle, they managed to put their differences aside and actually got on. I think it's nice when the final 2 are friends and the runner-up is genuinely pleased for the winner, rather than being bitter and sour about it. I think cycles 1,3,6 and 18 are the best examples of this.
3. CariDee English (cycle 7)
The personality issue is brought up so many times on the show, but CariDee had the unique critique where she was told she had to reel in her big personality rather than push it. Fortunately her wackiness paid off most of the time, as she proved she could take a great picture and wasn't afraid to take risks. But a couple of times she lost focus and made a mess of things, like the commercials at final 6 where she could barely get her words out and the photoshoot at final 4 in the swimming pool where she had to stop as she couldn't stand the cold water any longer. But possibly her most careless moment was joking with judge Nigel that a stick he was holding had been removed from his arse from the last judging, and of course Nigel hammed it up and acted really offended and CariDee had to offer a grovelling apology at judging. But by the final he was clearly pushing for her to win, which I guess speaks volumes about the charm of CariDee that she could insult a judge and still have them fighting for her. She certainly had the majority of the viewers backing her and in the end the judges decided that this 'x-factor' could be her greatest selling point and they chose her over the clinical perfectionist Melrose, her biggest and possibly only threat for the majority of the cycle.
2. Nicole Fox (cycle 13)
The shy awkward girls are often really popular with fans but usually come up short on ANTM due to the judges complaining about their lack of personality. Nicole was odd and awkward but she had no fear infront of the camera and the way she performed on-set certainly tickled Tyra's fancy. She instantly stood-out in the casting episode, which usually features alot of screaming and crying, but when her name was called that she'd made it into the house she just stood there and there's a few seconds of silence. Tyra's like "Erm...?" and Nicole finally walked forward with a pained expression with Tyra looking rather confused at her. That would pretty much sum up all of Nicole's interactions during the cycle, coming across totally out of step with everyone else, but almost every single time she'd manage to turn it around and work it to her advantage. Of course the other models grew more resentful that the girl they had initially mocked was constantly outshining them and could do no wrong. I mean she even won the go-sees challenge, which included a casting for a commercial. She's generally thought of as the most dominant model in the history of the show, as she never fell anywhere near the bottom two and barely made a mistake all cycle.
1. Danielle Evans (cycle 6)
I suppose it's fitting to have my favourite winner be from my favourite cycle. I'm still impressed how a girl could be so likeable and charming but still have such inner confidence. She was a front-runner throughout but she was also hugely rootable, especially when she sprained her ankle after taking a tumble in huge heels during a runway challenge and later on when the judges started getting on at her about the gap in her teeth and her strong accent. She was still delivering great pictures though so Tyra couldn't be too hard on her. At final 5 she collapsed due to exhaustion, dehydration and food poisoning, but she still trekked into the middle of the jungle on an elephant determined to do the week's shoot. Tyra still brings up this incident when she thinks a model is lacking motivation or the ability to push through when they are ill (as the fashion industry doesn't care about excuses). The choice of winner was a close one between her and Joanie, who had her own dental issues and whose pictures had been getting better and better, but they felt that Danielle was stronger in personality and presence and didn't want to miss crowning a winner with the total package. I've seen Danielle voted as people's favourite ANTM winner and their favourite ANTM model, so it's good knowing I'm not alone in my high praise of her. She seems to encapsulate everything this show is about.
Condensed version with picture reference (lol) the shot that basically sums up their performance for me:
Looking back on this ^
Correcting a few mistakes:
- Lisa made final 6 in cycle 5, not final 5.
- Danielle sprained her "baby toe" not her ankle.
and I'd actually forgotten about Adrianne having food poisoning during cycle 1, obviously it's a lucky illness to have during the show. But her's doesn't have the same wow factor as Danielle's, especially once you throw in the elephant.
I was thinking of ranking the runners-up as there's something amusing about explaining why someone doesn't win rather than why they do. But I don't want to go ranking mad.
So I ranked the runners-up, as it's never usually done and offers a great contrast to the winner ranking.
In two parts again:
21 to 11....
21. Marvin Cortes (cycle 20)
The only runner-up I dislike. I was excited that male models were taking part for the first time, but Marvin showed a number of traits that have put me off, especially how he'd play up to being a sleazy lothario chatting up every girl in sight. For the most part he was treated as a joke in this regard, becoming known as Starvin' Marvin and getting constantly knocked back, but sadly one of the girls eventually succumb to his charms and we had to put up with a cringeworthy showmance for the last few weeks. Apart from that the competition really brought out the worst in him, he would be as rude and as antagonistic as possible to house outcast Chris H., then he'd be crying because his 'friends' were being eliminated. I think he only got so far based on his potential, his jawline and the fact he was Tyra's fave. He had a few good pictures, but overall he was just incredibly average at everything. I think there were several models that would have made a much better runner-up. In the final, he put down Jourdan's modelling ability based on the fact that he didn't want to sleep with her, and for me it became just as much about rooting against Marvin as rooting for Jourdan. So it was win-win in the end. He was so weak that Tyra couldn't even rig him the win, despite removing the fan scores for the final result.
20. Kiara Belen (cycle 19)
A harsh placing, as she became much more likeable towards the end. But a confident attitude, a few challenge wins and a couple of decent last-minute pictures does not make you a great runner-up. From the start she was the bossy mother-like character in the house and Tyra obviously fangirled over her 'poor background' sob-story, but for the first 8 weeks or so I'd say she had one of the worst pictures each week (not just of the models remaining, but all 13 pics). I thought it was interesting that the first picture of her's I liked was the first (and only) time she hit the bottom two, almost like the judges knew they could be hard on her because other models fan scores would be worse, giving her a good safety net so as not to be eliminated. She became rootable since she bothered Kristin so much and wasn't afraid to put her in her place, but it just felt wrong for her to make the final, despite improving overseas. Getting beaten by 'rich girl' Laura felt like the unavoidable result as Leila flopped into 3rd after doing so poorly at final runway and Kiara did poorly at the last shoot.
19. Chantal Jones (cycle 9)
She seems to be quite funny on her twitter now, and still watches the show, which makes me wonder if she was screwed by the edit or has simply developed a personality since then. It doesn't say much about her since people believe she was in the final 2 to make Saleisha look good. A more high fashion version of Barbie, she didn't make much of an impression on people as she was a bit bland and snotty. She openly planned to do well all cycle but she was very up-and-down, and at the 3rd shoot she threw a tantrum like a spoilt little princess because she was getting two sets of instructions from the photographer and the director. To give her some credit, I thought she was the most striking when I first saw the models and she did perform consistently towards the end. Though alot of people remember her joining in the Jenah-bashing during the final, saying to the judges that she wouldn't want Jenah as a role model for her niece/cousin/something?, before Jenah was unfairly eliminated in 3rd in what I think is probably the worst elimination ever.
18. Chelsey Hersley (cycle 15)
I was conflicted which order to put her and Chantal as they were quite similar, two rather forgettable blondes with an air of superiority about them. But I think Chelsey was much stronger and deserved to reach her final. She usually had good pictures and seemed to know what she was doing, although she's 1 of the 2 runners-up who made the final without ever having a first call-out. Not a great statistic as it means that while you were good you never really stood-out, which does accurately represent her rather cold clinical performance throughout. But I guess there was a slight chance that she could have beaten Ann as she had the confidence and consistency that Ann lacked and the edit gradually built up tension between them, pretty much all from Chelsey's end.
17. Samantha Potter (cycle 11)
She had a fun spirit about her and could deliver a stunning picture every now and then, but she came across really naive, inexperienced and had a tendency to act first and think later. She had a very plain basic look so never really felt like a real contender, despite surviving 3 bottom two appearances. When it came to the final 2, I wasn't really excited about McKey, so it would have been good to have stiffer competition for her, not to have the result be so blatantly obvious after such a competitive cycle.
16. Laura Kirkpatrick (cycle 13)
Portrayed as the 'ultimate sweetheart' brought up on a farm. She's the other runner-up who never received a first call-out, though admittedly if it wasn't for the twist at the 5th judging where the first call-out was for the combined group shot then she would have got it then. But apart from a couple of occasions she never really did that amazing, she tended to get by on her personality. Plus, I got a sense of entitlement from her, especially after she lost to Nicole and continued to give her rather begrudging praise and resentful half-insults afterwards. At the reunion on Tyra's talkshow she bragged that she had by far the most votes in a fan poll to give one of the models some prizes, though apparently they had to remove Nicole from the voting because she was winning it and already had her prizes from her victory. I notice on her twitter she calls herself 'the real ANTM all star', I mean she did take part in the All Star cycle but she only came 4th on that, so she sounds pretty full of herself. She should be lucky with what she got, based on performance during her original cycle I feel like she should have come 5th not runner-up.
15. Molly O'Connell (cycle 16)
Probably one of the most miserable contestants of all time. It was understandable and rather funny initially, especially after she was given a makeover that looked like a bag of wool had exploded on her head, leaving her grumbling face dwarfed by a mass of blonde hair. But she'd continue to look fed-up long after her makeover was corrected and even lost challenges due to the negative vibes she'd give off. She delivered some strong pictures though, but it was obvious that Brittani would have to have a complete nightmare of a final not to win. Though it wasn't a case of supporting Molly out of spite towards Brittani, because while Brittani was having her meltdown and being a brat, Molly would be there as her back-up excusing every little thing she did claiming that it's all Alexandria's fault. While Brittani was yelling at Alexandria across the room, Molly would be there adding her little comments aswell, which to some viewers made her seem sneaky and actually worse than Brittani. After the show I think Molly claimed that things weren't really that bad in the house, which I suppose is probably right but it's hard to imagine with all the cattiness and resentment going on.
14. Will Jardell (cycle 21)
I think he would have made a much more memorable and significant first male winner than Keith. He had some striking features and one of the strongest portfolios, being gay he was able to portray both masculine and feminine characteristics. But at times I did find his insecurities and his whole agenda way too overwhelming and I was disappointed that he didn't stand tall (especially for a 6ft 5in man who wears high heels) against Denzel's small-minded viewpoint on what a man should be like. Instead he ran away crying, allowing his girl friends to do the fighting for him, then later got the judges to tell Denzel off. Some of the more cynical fans were relieved that they were spared the huge production that would have taken place had he won, although maybe the final would have at least been more entertaining. It wouldn't have been as bad if Keith had beaten Will and Lenox straight-up, but the way Lenox was quickly dispatched at final 4 and Adam dragged along to the final 3, it just made the end result seem incredibly manipulated.
13. Anya Kopp (cycle 10)
She was some much-needed light relief and was a very consistent strong performer. She didn't get involved in the drama and was friendly and supportive of pretty much everyone, but I think in the end her niceness kind of did her in as she lacked any kind of edge or power. A few times she also came across a bit dim, usually an endearing trait, but since the judges were looking for someone to represent the show I think they wanted someone a bit fiercer. Whitney was sometimes a little too harsh when it came to her interactions with the other forceful characters, but she seemed to be good friends with Anya and when she was around her she was fun and at ease.
12. Raina Hein (cycle 14)
For me she was the stand-out right from the start, due to her strong features and powerful body frame. She was also a source of light relief in a cycle full of drama and I appreciated her constant positive spirit despite having to deal with horrors such as Angelea and Alasia. In the 2nd shoot, where the girls got blasted with water, she delivered one of the strongest pictures in the history of the show, which sadly would be her peak as the rest of the time she would just do an okay job at everything. In a house divided mainly between the cliques of aggressive Angelea, gossipy Krista and mopey Alexandra against the paranoid Brenda, sarky Jessica and happy Raina, she was easily the most likeable one. But a constant sunny disposition doesn't really do it for me, although it allowed her to just laugh at the absurdity of Angelea trying to start another fight and meant that she didn't break down when it was just her left with 3 girls who didn't like her. I was relieved she was chosen for the final 2, especially over Angelea, but she didn't really own it enough to pull off victory. So the final result was a let-down but understandable, but it was obvious she would do well anyway, while, away from the judges rose-tinted glasses, Krista was nothing special.
11. Kahlen Rondot (cycle 4)
She started off as the girl who had never watched the show but could immediately take a great picture and command the runway. She remained very likeable but her lack of confidence always proved a problem. She's possibly best known for being the girl that found out a friend back home had died the same week the photoshoot would take place in a graveyard. Managing to take a great shot that week helped established her as the front-runner, but in the last few weeks the pressure really took its toll as she was getting clumsier on-set and started lucking into her shots. She took it to heart when Naima won a challenge and gave the prize of extra frames for the next shoot to other girls and not her, even though they were friends. Sadly I don't think Kahlen would have even considered such competitive tactics. She was probably lucky to make the final 2 based on her past performance, but there was a cruel sense of irony that the time she finally thought she had rocked something was after the final runway, just before she was about to lose the whole thing to Naima. After the show she gave up modelling, possibly due to looking alarmingly similar to Carmen Kass, and now has a bunch of tattoos and owns a bar.
In the top 10 - Shannon (cycle 1), Mercedes (cycle 2), Yaya (cycle 3), Nik (cycle 5), Joanie (cycle 6), Melrose (cycle 7), Natasha (cycle 8), Allison (cycle 12), Allison again (cycle 17) and Laura (cycle 18).
Yikes, I thought the winner ranking would be biased towards older cycles but that is slightly embarrassing.
10. Melrose Bickerstaff (cycle 7)
An absolute perfectionist who has to be the best at everything doesn't sound too thrilling but fortunately Melrose did it in a ridiculously over-dramatic way. She started off winning the first challenge and won the prize of being a 'diva for the day' at the first shoot, getting massaged and pampered, but she took the 'diva' title a bit too literally by coming to set late and giving off an attitude. This being Melrose, she panicked about it during the shoot and had a meltdown afterwards. After emotionally surviving the first bottom two of the cycle, she was determined to get things together. But she still had Monique to content with, who pinpointed Melrose as the girl she disliked most and lashed out at her any childish way she could. But then Monique got sick, didn't bother to do a shoot and was eliminated. So Melrose could relax, which basically meant being incredibly desperate to be better than everyone else and melting down when she wasn't, much to the annoyance of the other girls. I think a low moment came when the usually insecure Anchal discovered she was very flexible in a posing lesson, which later caused Melrose to lead a gossiping session with a few other girls to reassure herself that Anchal wasn't all that. Anchal overheard them and Melrose gained another enemy. Melrose's attitude didn't win her many friends but it helped her win challenges and take great pictures. At final 3 she over-practiced for her commercial and made a mess of it all, but she made final 2 based on past performance. She got it together for the final runway, despite having a strop because CariDee stood on her dress. But the judges had a slightly romantic outlook when it came to modelling, so Melrose's over-technical 'win at all costs' style turned them off in comparison to CariDee's more brazen approach. Not winning was the perfect conclusion for Melrose, as she was unbelievably draining, but I had a touch of sympathy watching her realize that she'd lost and could do nothing about it.
9. Nik Pace (cycle 5)
The definition of 'the silent threat'. It was incredibly difficult to dislike Nik as she was very composed and professional, infact she was more rootable when she wasn't doing well. When Jayla (accidentally?) stole one of her lines while shooting commercials at final 8, it totally threw Nik off her game and Jayla was ready for the fall-out. But Nik wasn't the confrontational type, which sent Jayla on an angry tirade against her simply because Nik had no time for drama. Infact Nik showed complete indifference to any sort of gossiping, arguing or childish behaviour, which seems to be majorly frustrating to an enemy who just wants to have it out with you. Despite being fierce in her pictures, she was a little too poised and mature in-person and the judges felt that fresh-faced Nicole had more of a spark to her.
8. Mercedes Scelba-Shorte (cycle 2)
She was in the background for the first few weeks, until she was thrust into the spotlight when we were told she had lupus and from then we would follow her coping with it in the competition. She was planning on keeping it to herself to avoid sympathy, until an interview challenge with Janice Dickinson gave her the perfect chance to reveal it, which she did to the adoration of Janice, the other girls and the viewers. Then she became the 'loveable sweetheart' of the cycle, although she could be pretty tough aswell. Towards the end her story changed to her struggling to come across edgy and high fashion in her pictures, which she triumphed at a few times, especially at her final 3 shot that really put her to the test. Despite a stronger runway performance than the rather clumsy Yoanna, it wasn't enough to pull off victory.
7. Shannon Stewart (cycle 1)
There were 3 Christians this cycle - Kesse the down-to-earth one, Robin the over-bearing one and Shannon the innocent 18-year-old. She survived the first ever bottom two as the judges were already concerned that she was too tanned, too smiley and just too commercial, but after that she started taking strong pictures. The edit played up her whole virgin thing, especially when she revealed she had a crush on a male model, who ended up featuring in their next shoot (apparently not set up at all *cough*) and she went out on a date with him, but with no funny business of course. After both refusing to do the final 4 nude shoot, she and Robin were in the bottom two where she was spared and Robin sent home. Meaning Shannon was free of Robin and embraced the chance to have fun with the rebellious Elyse and Adrianne. I thought her chances of winning were pretty much gone, but she certainly gave it a good effort. She advanced to the final 2, much to her surprise, where she then commanded the final runway, even having Tyra tell her that she owned it over Adrianne. She also earned Janice's vote to win (starting off Janice's 4-out-of-4 100% record of never voting for the winner). She sounded really pleased for Adrianne and it was nice to see her blossom throughout the cycle. She returned for the All-Stars cycle 9 years older, where she once again stood by her morals, refusing to pose nude and getting eliminated for it this time.
6. Laura LaFrate (cycle 18)
For the first few weeks I was considering Laura to be one of my fave models ever on the show, she had the wild rocker personality and didn't seem fazed by anything. She was very opinionated though, and she started to get moodier and held grudges against other girls who didn't really warrant it. If anything she was a bit too fearless in being true to herself. Usually though the girls with 'alternative' personalities start feeling embarrassed being on the show, but Laura kept a level-head when she was on-set and only showed signs of cracking up towards the end. It's good that she liked Sophie, because I think if she had lost to someone she didn't respect then she would have been quite vengeful about it. Some say it wasn't really fair having girls that had appeared on the British version competing against newbie Americans, but I suppose the two shows are fairly different to eachother. BNTM is quite drab in comparison to the theatrics of ANTM.
5. Allison Harvard (cycle 12)
She was already slightly well-known on the internet as the 'Creepy Chan' girl, so her casting created some new interest in the show and she acquired a load more fans herself due to her striking features and unusual personality. I suppose the bad thing about looking and acting weird is that when you make a mistake it somehow stands out more and the judges didn't avoid putting her in the bottom two when she was too awkward-looking in her picture or commercial. She may have appeared shy but she was no pushover and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I liked her friendship with Celia, at a push I'd say Celia is my fave from this cycle, just ahead of Allison. During the last few weeks she gathered alot of momentum, with the first call-outs going back and forth between her and judges fave Teyona. Despite outshining Teyona in the final, both at the CoverGirl commercial and on the runway, the judges decided to go for the more reliable Teyona. I wasn't too bummed out like alot of other people, but I was disappointed that it was a bit of a flat ending at a time when the show really needed a kick to it.
4. Natasha Galkina (cycle 8)
She was the type of contestant that is just a pleasure to watch and she had an infectious cheerfulness about her. She started off pretty bad at modelling, but it was clear that the judges loved her offbeat personality and were pleading for her to do well. She worked hard and after a few weeks she really started emerging as a contender, especially at the gender-swap shoot where the girls played the man and drag queens played the woman in each shot, which really allowed her to embrace her fun personality to the amusement of everyone on-set. For the next several weeks she never left the top 2 in the call-out order. She had a few troubles getting on with the other girls, like when they started questioning why she was so much younger than her husband. But one of her toughest tests was at final 4 when she got the flu, did an awful job at the shoot and the judges weren't keen on her excuses. At that judging all the girls were asked who had the most/least potential and the others saw the chance to badmouth Natasha to the judges. She ended up surviving and reached the final but, despite her positive spirit and major improvement, it did put into question her overall ability and I think it may have cost her victory against the more dependable Jaslene.
3. Allison Harvard (cycle 17)
I actually like this version of Allison slightly more than her original run, since this cycle she improved on her previous weaknesses and excelled at things you'd expect her to struggle with. Despite her usual awkwardness, she ended up producing some memorable results, such as the viral music video (with her's generating far more interest than anyone elses), her 'Honey Blood' fragrance and she even won an interview challenge. She started to stumble a bit towards the end but the final result proved just how limited the judges views can be and I think Allison was just too odd and unpredictable for them and once again went for the lazy choice instead. What could have been if the show had to advertise Allison's 'Honey Blood' rather than Lisa's cliched 'Dream Come True', which should have been called 'Dream Come True After Bitching And Moaning Things Didn't Go Your Way The First Time'. The judges should have just embraced the bizarre rather than the desperate.
2. Joanie Dodds (cycle 6)
She was my favourite in the casting episode as she was quite striking and had the back-story of being a rebellious preacher's daughter. Though she didn't really make an impact in the competition until a few weeks in when the judges started paying attention to her increasingly dynamic pictures and competent ability. She was quite strong-willed, but remained very down-to-earth aswell, watching her felt like watching a friend taking part in the show. This was especially the case at final 7, where Joanie's crooked teeth that she had long been suffering with would be fixed at the dentist, leading to many hours of pain and discomfort. She battled on like a trooper and powered through to the final, with her and Danielle as probably the most likeable and well-rounded final 2 ever. In the end the judges decided that Joanie lacked some of the charm of Danielle, but Joanie took coming in 2nd on the chin, remaining dignified like she had been all cycle. Plus she earned Twiggy's vote to win, as Twiggy would get stuck with the 'Janice' curse, never voting for the winner again until she left the show.
1. Yaya DaCosta (cycle 3)
I think she had the biggest rollercoaster and most complex journey, starting off as the unassuming intelligent girl who still suffered acne break-outs. Which caused the other girls to not consider her as a threat, which is quite hilarious given what happens. She nailed the first shoot and remained very strong, producing some of my fave pictures of all time. Gradually though the competition started testing her patience and she had to keep her sanity together, I don't know if a girl has ever had to deal with so many criticisms from the judges before. Her skin improved, but being a dancer, the judges started to criticize her dancer-like poses, then telling her off when she removed her dancer poses completely. Her style of clothing was then brought into question, on how much she should embrace her African style, she was told it was either too overwhelming or she wasn't embracing it enough and was therefore dulling her shine. Next was her most difficult challenge, one that many 'smart' people on reality shows suffer, the accusations that they come across snobby and superior. Sometimes she put her foot in it, either getting defensive when being critiqued or during a commercial challenge when she spat out some food she was supposed to eat, landing her in the bottom two for her only time. She had a tense relationship with a few girls in the house, but her run of 5 challenge wins (the most wins in any cycle) for things such as go-sees, acting and endurance, ensured her place as a front-runner and probably helped intensify the rivalries. But I think she showed alot of maturity when she and Eva were the final 2 and looked happy for Eva when she won. She's had alot of success since the show and is still getting film/TV roles even now.
Picture reference:
Hopefully it will remain a link just to the shot and not go to the site like Ann's did. Grrrr!
Usually I pick a shot that compliments their strengths, other times I picked one to compare their ability to the winner's.
I decided not to be mean by picking one that highlights their weaknesses, like I did with Krista and Saleisha last time.
So much blonde. lol
I think one of the silliest conspiracy theories is that blondes are not allowed to win. A big deal was made about CariDee being the first natural blonde to win.
Not sure of the reasons why someone would go to the trouble to stop a blonde winning. I just think it's a bit of bad luck, that the blondes that made the final perhaps were more conventionally pretty and lacked a model edge compared to the other finalist.
I enjoy doing rankings but I think this is it for now.
To round off this rankathon , since I'm approaching my 30,000th post it seemed appropriate to rank the 3rd placers as they are some of the most memorable models and it would round off all the finalists of each cycle.
It got a bit complicated since cycles 13-15 eliminated two girls at final 4, meaning they had two 3rd/4th placers. But then I thought it would be funny to rank those models together, plus I realized their individual placings wouldn't differ that much from eachother anyway.
So here goes:
21-11....
21. Alexandra Underwood/Angelea Preston (cycle 14)
Seriously the most (or only) memorable thing Alexandra did all cycle was this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSTrIsZrG0, aswell as steal Krista away from Angelea as her new BFF. None of her pictures were particularly memorable and in a stronger cycle she would have been eliminated halfway through for being forgettable and a bit of a drip. Angelea did stand out but mainly for the wrong reasons. Some say she told things how they were, but I just found her rude and petty. She'd go looking for trouble and could never let an argument rest if she still had something to say, sadly she was never satisfied that she had made her point so would just keep dragging it on and on. She did surprisingly well a few times, but then she'd spoil it by bragging about it to those she didn't like. She got weaker towards the end and was rightly dispatched in the double elimination in favour of one of the girls she disliked.
20. Adam Smith (cycle 21)
He's only this high (lol 2nd to last) due to not being as bad as he was expected to be. There were stories of homophobia before the cycle even started, which, along with being a frat meat-head, made people fear the worst. But he proved to be quite level-headed and even kept his cool when getting riled up by Romeo. He had a good look but the show ignored the fact he was lacking quite a few inches in height and his modelling was very one-dimensional, once we got past final 7 it felt like a joke that he was still there. Cracks started appearing in his incredibly controlled edit as he started drinking more and becoming over-confident at something before failing at it. Despite a couple of last-minute forgettable first call-outs to reach the final 3, he predictably fell short of the other 2 guys and plonked into 3rd place.
19. Angelea Preston (cycle 17)
Technically the 3rd placer of this cycle even though she was never properly eliminated. There's not much more to say about this situation that hasn't already been said. She was more likeable here (hence her placing above her previous self) although still very defensive, but the fact she was apparently going to win despite her shaky performance means I have little sympathy for the show messing up their All-Stars final like they did. She survived 4 bottom two's but surviving over Dominique at final 5 felt like one of the most unfair eliminations ever, as there seemed to be no justification in saving Angelea or getting rid of Dominique. After all that, for her to just vanish from the final and then sue the show afterwards (not sure how that case is going), it's all a bit of a mess really. She does have one interesting statistic to her name, that technically she's the only girl to take part in 3 different cycles, as she first appeared in the casting episode of cycle 12. During which she got into a feud with another girl (of course) but didn't make it into the house and had to wait until cycle 14 to audition again (since cycle 13 was for girls 5'7" and under).
18. Aminat Ayinde (cycle 12)
During cycle 12 I read an accurate description of Aminat that said she started off as the girl you'd want to be friends with but ended up as the girl you couldn't get rid of. Initially she was the straight-talker who put unreasonable people in their place who you couldn't help but root for, but she gradually became more confrontational, getting involved in a number of unnecessary arguments where she'd end up purposely trying to antagonize the other person. Meanwhile, her modelling kept stuttering, despite having an amazing body she continuously had a dead face in her pictures and survived 3 bottom two's. I could understand saving her over London and probably Natalie too, but there was no real reason to save her over Celia aswell. At the final 3 CoverGirl shoot, Allison gave the best shot while Aminat gave the best commercial, which left the judges stuck with having to save Teyona at Aminat's expense. Meaning that Aminat was got rid of just before the final runway, which was probably the only reason to keep her around that long.
17. Cory Hindorff (cycle 20)
Despite an interesting sexually ambiguous look, it's surprising just how forgettable his portfolio was. He had some good pictures but he tended to either be stuck with one look or just sink into the background. His personality was also fairly standard and he served the purpose of nothing more than a harmless narrator and gossip. He was harshly eliminated when the final 3 were getting ready for the final runway, much to the sadness of all the girls that had chosen to be on the team of their 'gay best friend'. Unfortunately this swift elimination perfectly summed up the lack of impact he made on the competition.
16. Hannah Jones (cycle 16)
She did seem a bit out-of-place in a cycle full of drama and especially a final 4 including Alexandria, Brittani and Molly. She took some stand-out pictures and was the first girl to get a 2nd first call-out, but her personality was so fragile and she majorly lacked presence, which was a criticism that she really took to heart. I was surprised when she was saved over Alexandria, as a final 3 of girls at war with eachother seemed to be where it was heading, but I think they wanted to get rid of Alexandria so that people forgot about the negativity associated with Brittani and Molly. It was obvious it was merely sparing Hannah until next time, although she ended up doing really well at the final 3 shoot, but the judges got rid of her anyway.
15. Eugena Washington (cycle 7)
A girl who started off really weak and took a long time to get going. Quite a few eliminations this cycle were based on a girl not wanting it enough or at least not showing she wanted it, which was a criticism Eugena regularly faced. She could probably have been eliminated about 3 or 4 times due to looking dead in her pictures, I think what saved her was her potential and her challenge wins. She got better when they went overseas to Spain, learning how to show more passion to the judges, and at final 5 she surprised alot of people by taking one of the best pictures of the cycle. At final 3 she did an okay job at the CoverGirl shoot and the judges even considered keeping her over Melrose, but not showing enough fire in person would haunt her yet again and they decided her late improvement wasn't strong enough to deserve a final 2 spot. She seems to have had a decent career after the show, so maybe the judges were right to keep her around so long.
14. Fatima Siad (cycle 10)
One of the most stunning girls that has ever been on the show, she could pretty much wear anything and still look like a superstar. But there was something off-putting about her personality, it was very cold and condescending, which in a cycle with other strong personalities only led to trouble. Her modelling was criticized for being too mechanical and not fluid enough, but she managed to loosen up and started taking better pictures. She clashed alot with other girls and had a few other troubles along the way, especially at final 7 when the girls were gearing up to go overseas and she didn't have the right travel documents (since she's originally from Somalia). Therefore she had to miss the week's shoot to get it sorted, landing her in the bottom two and being saved over Stacy Ann, who took part in the shoot but who the judges saw as being a weaker model. Overall she survived the bottom two 3 times, until the final 3 where the judges weren't impressed with her CoverGirl commercial and she hit the bottom two again and eliminated. It was obvious she'd have a good career afterwards but she really didn't shine on the show like she probably should have.
13. Jane Randall/Kayla Ferrel (cycle 15)
Like the previous double eliminees, these two were pretty much the opposite of eachother. Jane had great features but lacked personality and struggled to shine in her pictures. Although she learnt how to demonstrate her strengths infront of the camera, the judges weren't excited by her enough to put her in the final 2. Meanwhile Kayla had a fairly strong personality and got alot of attention based on her being a lesbian, but she struggled to look edgy enough for high fashion. She took some good pictures and had the most interesting makeover, but at final 4 the girls took part in an editorial motion feature and Kayla struggled the most with her angles and elongating her limbs, instead looking more like she was in a music video. If it wasn't a high fashion cycle she would possibly have made the final 2, but she proved memorable enough to be brought back for All-Stars where she fell victim to another double elimination but this time about halfway through the cycle.
12. Jenah Doucette (cycle 9)
I wasn't a huge Jenah fan, for me the other frontrunners Heather and Lisa were far more interesting and likeable, but she certainly took some great pictures. I could detect a slight immaturity to her but it was ridiculous the way the judges tried to make a big issue out of her personality when you still had Saleisha, Chantal and Bianca there. Once Heather was eliminated at final 5, like the competition hadn't become bad enough, the remaining two episodes were about breaking 18-year-old Jenah down, despite her being by far the most talented model left. She made it to the final 3, where the girls were asked at judging who had the most/least potential, which became a 'lets tear Jenah down' session. She was put in the bottom two with Saleisha where, despite Tyra admitting that Jenah had done far better than Saleisha throughout the competition despite Saleisha having experience and Jenah having none, Jenah was eliminated for no real reason. I think that was the main problem with cycle 9, the best models were given very few chances, while the average models were given far too many chances.
11. Renee Alway (cycle 8)
She certainly had a difficult time, though she did bring most of it on herself. It was confusing how exactly she wanted to portray herself, either the ruthless competitor who deserved it more than anyone else or the misunderstood underdog who just wanted to get along with everyone. She had a strange friendship with Jael, where they started as close friends, but then Renee wanted to distance herself from wild Jael as much as possible and they ended up having various verbal wars. After a few weeks of gossiping and stirring, Renee had managed to turn every other girl against her and Tyra found herself playing mediator in an attempt to help Renee get back into the group, which seemed to work. She didn't hit the bottom two until the final 3 where she was harshly eliminated after being told she did the best in the CoverGirl commercial but looked old in her pictures. I think she went at the right time because, while she usually did a good job, she lacked the spark of the other 2 girls. But I wish they had given her something more constructive, as it seemed like such a cheap reason to eliminate her at that point in the competition.
10. Keenyah Hill (cycle 4)
I was going to put her much lower but then I remembered about the epic transformation she had, not in appearance but in her attitude. Despite ticking the judges off for complaining about her makeover before the girls had even done a photoshoot, they actually warned her for coming across boring. They couldn't fault her modelling though, infact I think her first 4 pictures were pretty spectacular. Gradually though, as bigger personalities were eliminated, she became a dominating force as her desire to win went into overdrive. Just about keeping her confidence in check was her inability to resist comfort foods and she developed a slightly bulging stomach that had to be photoshopped out of her pictures. Despite irking the other girls on several occasions while they were in South Africa (like crying when they visited Nelson Mandela's cell despite knowing nothing about him and not bringing money when they ate out), she made it to the final where she hoped she would breeze through the CoverGirl commercial and into the final 2. Sadly for her, the judges found her to be too rehearsed and predictable, and instead chose Kahlen's superior portfolio to join Naima in the final 2. Some viewers were happy seeing her put in her place like that, especially against 2 girls that she never rated highly, but I thought it was quite sweet the way she joked about her weight in her final words, showing that she was still human.
9. Erin Wagner/Jennifer An (cycle 13)
Both very strong models. Erin was one of the frontrunners from the start, but she could be a bit of a brat. She was over-competitive in challenges, even attempting to sabotage other girls to throw them off their game, which they certainly took her to task over. She got rather cocky going into commercials at final 7 and had a total meltdown on-set when she couldn't get it together, which started her run of surviving the bottom two 3 times in a row. Tyra was especially frustrated with her for losing the spark she had in the first half of the cycle. At the final 4 shoot she redeemed herself, but to the judges it was a case of being too little too late. Jennifer started off pretty good, looking like a real contender to be the show's first Asian winner. She got even stronger in the latter weeks, with the first call-outs being shared between her and Nicole, and she seemed destined for the final 2 where I think she would have been the toughest competition for Nicole. But she did so poorly at the final 4 shoot that the judges instantly lost faith in her and they were totally split on who to put through so they went for the most fan-friendly choice (first time for everything).
8. Leila Goldkuhl (cycle 19)
The most high fashion girl of the cycle, who would be used to test-run the new comeback twist. She started off friends with Laura, sharing her reward with her after getting first call-out, but when Laura didn't return the favour and chose Kristin instead, Leila was quietly seething. Thanks to some stirring from Kristin, it got around that Leila was obsessed with Laura, which Leila was not happy about and threw it back in Laura's face, accusing her of being obsessed with herself. This was leading up to Leila getting eliminated that episode, despite being one of the frontrunners, for doing a duck face and looking slightly squinty in a shoot where the girls were hurled up in the air as cheerleaders. It all just reeked of manipulation, but it set up a nice story for the comeback twist with Leila coming back looking for vengeance against Kristin and Laura. She came back and delivered some good pictures, getting to celebrate with Kiara while Kristin freaked out at them for rubbing it in that they were doing well and she wasn't, just before Kristin was eliminated. It would have made an epic end to the cycle if she could pull off victory, as the judges were salivating over her final 3 shot, but they were majorly disappointed with her final runway performance and she dropped down into 3rd place. But there's no point having too much sympathy for her as she doesn't seem to be struggling to find work now.
7. Annaliese Dayes (cycle 18)
She was the only UK girl (besides Sophie of course) to improve her placing from BNTM. I think every cycle needs someone super friendly and engaging but still opinionated, especially if they're going to do youtube recaps of each episode after it's aired. The judges, especially Kelly Cutrone, really had it in for her about not being high fashion or edgy enough, but she fended off the criticisms by producing some pretty good pictures and avoided the bottom two until the final 3. She was going to have a tough time getting past Sophie or Laura but then when she struggled at the shoot she was pretty much toast. She embraced the fact that she's more of a presenter/spokesmodel than an actual model, but on the show her personality showed that it could open up a number of opportunities to her.
6. Analeigh Tipton (cycle 11)
She's actually pretty similar to Annaliese (even in name), as she was a sweet bubbly girl struggling to look high fashion, plus the judges thought she had the skills of an actress rather than a model. She was a former iceskater but disappointed Tyra as her poses were rather wishy-washy, but she gradually got better and for 5 weeks straight didn't leave the top 2 in the call-out order. At final 7 Tyra said she gave the best commercial in ANTM history and at final 4 she gave what I think is the best shot of the cycle. She had an intimate friendship with Marjorie, causing people to wonder just how close they were. At final 3 she made a mess of her lines and looked too 'actressy' in her shot and was eliminated. I think she would have showed up both McKey and Samantha on the final runway, but admittedly she did have a face like a small woodland creature that was quite difficult to capture in a picture. Since the show she seems to be following the actress route.
5. Jade Cole (cycle 6)
One of the most divisive models in the show's history. Proclaiming herself to be the undiscovered supermodel, I managed to enjoy her most of the time as she was far less aggressive than the usual antagonists. Her self-importance was, for the most part, delightfully eccentric and spiritual. Her confidence helped her win challenges and take strong pictures, but she found it difficult to win over the judges as they found her too over-the-top and she tended to photograph harsh. I didn't like how she felt the need to pick at Gina to prove her own inner-strength and, as her attitude got on the nerves of some of the other girls, it did start to feel like she was kept around simply for drama. She landed in the bottom two a massive 5 times, but at final 3 the judges finally gave up hope of her changing and there was a sense of relief when she was finally eliminated. The interesting thing about cycle 6 is that the reaction to it wasn't totally positive at the time, which I think Jade's continued presence is partly to blame for. It does feel like opinion has warmed a great deal towards Jade since then and when the All-Stars cycle was announced she was one of the first names that people wanted to see, although she turned it down due to not being happy with the way she was portrayed in cycle 6.
4. Amanda Swafford (cycle 3)
It looked like she was set to have the ultimate positive edit, as she revealed that she was legally blind and being the oldest she'd likely be the 'mama' of the house, but like most of them from cycle 3 she'd prove to be much more complex than that. She came off as untrustworthy to a few girls when Cassie confided in her that she was bulimic, which then instantly became known by everyone. Amanda did seem regretful though and I felt sorry for her the times she panicked when she had to do something in poor lighting and the other girls speculated that she was putting it on to get special treatment. She got on with everyone for the most part but Eva certainly rubbed her the wrong way, leading to a situation where she had lost her crystals and assumed that Eva had stolen them out of spite. This led to a huge fall-out involving a few girls who all aired their ongoing grievances about eachother, only for Amanda to later find her crystals after remembering she had purposely hidden them so she wouldn't lose them (whoops). She had incredible porcelain doll-like features and was never in any real danger of being eliminated until final 3 where she, Eva and Yaya all aced their CoverGirl shots and it was a case of someone having to go. The judges had never really found the spark in Amanda's personality and she ended up taking the fall, some would say she was majorly robbed but any decision would have been questionable at that point. It was interesting the way that both Amanda and Yaya's edits started off totally positive but gradually introduced more negative aspects, while Eva's started off totally negative and gradually improved. I saw in some ANTM reunion show, Amanda and Eva greeted eachother like old friends which was nice to see.
3. Bre Scullark (cycle 5)
She was all about being true to herself and genuine with others, and expected the same from other people. This kind of level-headed wisdom made her easy to warm to, but it also meant she was very analytical and self-conscious, concerning the judges that she was too sensitive for the modelling industry. So she was very much the underdog for the first half of the cycle, but then she went on a rather unexpected change when the girls went to England. Feeling the stress of the competition, Bre found one of her granola bars had been stolen and with no evidence assumed Nicole had taken it as she had been getting increasingly irritated by her. She retaliated by pouring Nicole's red bull cans down the drain, but Kim caught Bre in the act and later informed Nicole about it. Having scolded Kim in the past for her gossiping, Bre lost it with her and refused to show any remorse when confronted by Nicole. The tension carried on through the shoot and into judging, where Bre was reprimanded by the judges and then lashed out at Kim again while the girls were waiting behind the scenes. Bre was put in the bottom two with Kim, where the judges decided that Kim was the girl that most allowed the drama to affect her performance and eliminated her, much to Nicole's frustration. The following episode Bre and Nicole were forced to spend the day together (ironically because Nik and Jayla wanted to sort out their own tension), where they made friends and Bre seemed to be back to her old self and offered to pay for the drinks. It was hard not to have sympathy for her as she then got ill and had to fight her drowsiness during the shoot and hit the bottom two again. She was spared and made final 3, but her inability to always look like a model in comparison to Nik and Nicole meant she was finally eliminated in her 5th bottom two appearance. She immediately removed her high heels, which perfectly summed up Bre's struggle of trying to live up to being this 'perfect' model, but now the pressure was off she could be plain old Bre again. She returned for All Stars but never really made an impact as it felt like she had outgrown the show.
2. Shandi Sullivan (cycle 2)
She probably had the most famous makeover of all, transforming from awkward misfit to super high fashion model. She wasn't considered a threat at the start with her gawky presence, wiry brown hair and glasses, plus Tyra told her she had the worst runway walk she'd ever seen. But once she went blonde and was given contact lenses, the judges were instantly drawn to her and she always stood out from the pack. An unexpected situation happened at final 4 though when the girls hung out with some male models, Shandi got caught up in the moment and slept with one of them despite having a boyfriend back home. Watching her ring him the next day to tell him what she did must be one of the most uncomfortable moments ever witnessed on the show. This distracted her from the competition, although she didn't stop delivering good pictures and showing how much she had improved her runway walk. I think most viewers expected her to win, but at final 3 the girls were given 3 individual photoshoots to shine at and Shandi couldn't show the same desire as Mercedes and Yoanna. After the show she didn't continue modelling and didn't last long with her boyfriend, but the experience looked like it had a profound effect on her life. Although she took things a tiny bit too far, she is the ultimate 'caterpillar into a butterfly' story.
1. Elyse Sewell (cycle 1)
Frustratingly complex and absolutely razor sharp, it's funny that the best narrator of the harmless first cycle was a girl who was skeptical about everything they were doing. She was the voice of the cynical viewers that the show probably has more of now than ever before. She had a great look and was generally pretty calm and mature, but she struggled to find it mentally challenging. She's well-known for using confessionals to really let off steam whenever she felt attacked or made a fool of, like when Robin mocked her atheism or when the girls suspected she might have an eating disorder. She was labelled arrogant by the judges a couple of times, but I don't think it was arrogance as such, as she was more than willing to criticize herself in the same way. Despite the judges occasionally being concerned she was too thin, they were excited by her potential and her modelling got even better as the cycle went on, especially when they went to Paris. At final 3 the girls went on castings for the upcoming final 2 runway, where Elyse's desire was brought into question again, especially due to her falling asleep in a meeting with a client, and she was eliminated against other frontrunner Adrianne. In an ironic twist, despite promising to go to medical school, Elyse became one of the most successful models from the show and whenever Tyra tries to rewrite history, you get the feeling that Elyse is her de facto cycle 1 winner.
Talking of pictures. I think the way opinions can differ greatly on pictures is one of the most fascinating aspects of the show. Some people see things that others don't.
If I were to list my fave pics...
...they'd include some of those I've done so far:- CariDee's CoverGirl, winner Laura's prison, Yaya's spider, Natasha's gender, Raina's water, Eugena's bull and Analeigh's windmill.
Okay, that was quite alot.
Yet it feels strange not to include certain shoots, I was spoilt for choice over which one from the cycle 8 shoot where the models were all corpses after killing eachother. lol I guess you can google it since it's a pretty controversial one.
I think I've shown ANTM enough love now.
Roll on next cycle where there'll hopefully be more pictures that I can't help but try to copy in the mirror when no-one's looking.
Wow, I couldn't believe it when I just saw the news. Mirjana was such a strange one to me. She wasn't massively likeable, but she had such an amazing self-confidence that I found irresistable and appealing. I ended up really liking her a lot, even though I felt like maybe I shouldn't. She had that star quality. I can't believe this happened.
Comments
I love Mr Jay. I want him back too. He was nurturing but gave good critique at the same time.
I met Nigel when he came to London to promote his book. He was so lovely and striking in person. He could in theory come back seeing as The Face has been axed, but I doubt he would.
the face has been axed in the uk, but not in the usa.
was rooting for shei, but once she left i wasnt too fussed about who won as long as it wasnt adam.
enjoyed watching the adverts they made. would have liked to have seen lenox's even though she did not make the final 3
has anyone seen that danielle is in the eminem ft sia video?
To be honest, coming online to see the final results, I'm sort of glad that I didn't stick it out. From what I saw (maybe up till Matthew's eviction?) I didn't hate Keith, but his win was extremely obvious from Episode 1. I'd probably have predicted Will/Lenox to switch, but Adam top three was no surprise either.
To be honest, I just find ANTM a bit cringey today. I guess eventually they had to give up the pretense that they could find a legitimate Top Model, but the whole thing just seems a big joke recently. I actually think this season had quite an interesting cast, but I lost interest when the editors did everything they could to box them into simplistic roles - "the jock" "the gay guy" "the weird girl" "the bubbly girl" etc. The contestants are eliminated not on merit, but when the judges deem them surpluss to story requirements, with a convenient excuse or sudden "bad best shot" aways thrown in for justification.. I don't know, I guess I'm just a bit over this show.
And with that, I'll probably still be back next year for the first five episodes!
Featured so many great characters, I think almost everyone brought something interesting, some managed to be hilariously OTT aswell as rootable. It also felt incredibly competitive as there were many strong models and memorable photoshoots (bald, dolls, mermaid, elephant), with a final decision between an incredibly strong final 2. The editing was also top notch, like the show knew exactly what character traits to take advantage of but still portrayed the models as multi-faceted. I think the judging panel of Tyra, Twiggy, Miss J and Nigel is my favourite.
2. Cycle 3
The first cycle I saw and possibly the most epic cycle of all. Loads of drama and unique relationships between the models. There's alot of individual journeys to follow - Eva's redemption, Toccara representing plus-size models, Kelle's unfortunate run of pictures, Cassie and her possible eating disorder ect. The battles in the house are fiercer than the ones in judging.
3. Cycle 8
I used to think of this as a spin-off to cycle 7, possibly due to Jaslene coming back after trying out for cycle 7, but now I accept that it is actually superior. For one this feels like a much more complete cast, with a final 6 of very interesting yet flawed models. The first cycle to have 2 plus-size models yet still couldn't make either of them a winner, while Natasha's progression and Brittany's downfall are both epic. I also noticed an interesting thing about the final 3, that at one time or another they were the house outcast and ganged up on by the others - Jaslene at the start when the others relish the first time she does poorly, Renee's attitude causing her alienation from the group, while Natasha suffers it at final 4 when the others feel like they can't trust her (or are just threatened). This cycle can brag that the final has the highest ratings of any ANTM episode in history.
4. Cycle 13
The cycle for the shorties. It probably depends how much you like Nicole on how much you like this cycle, as she slowly starts dominating and barely falters. There are alot of rootable models aswell, I think perhaps they compensated for being short with their personalities and modelling ability.
5. Cycle 5
This has another great cast, though for me alot of them feel like TV personalities rather than models, also it was the first time my fave won. Twiggy makes a good addition to the show, I don't really miss Janice as a judge at all. The producers must have been loving the way the storylines developed - Cassandra's meltdown and being the first model to quit the show, Sarah's attraction to Kim, Coryn vs Lisa, Jayla vs Nik coming out of nowhere, the fall-out over the granola bar that would shape the last few episodes (I like the rumour that one of the crew probably ate it)...one incident seemed to lead on to the other so well.
6. Cycle 7
I think this cycle has a reputation of quite a few questionable eliminations and some models making it further than they probably should. I mean by the halfway point it feels like it's pretty much a head-to-head battle between CariDee and Melrose, while everyone else gradually fades away. It's known for featuring a pair of identical twins - an amusing combo of a tomboy who's a natural at modelling but doesn't have the passion, while the other really wants to model but is far too meek and self-conscious to fully embrace it. There's also probably the most unpleasant and unreasonable contestant ever in Monique, who thankfully gets what's coming to her and is gone pretty quickly. I think this is the last cycle to feature judging challenges, something that would be greatly missed from future cycles.
7. Cycle 1
I think this is what Tyra initially envisaged the show to be about - the girls living/working in very close and cramped proximity to eachother and simple straight-forward critique. But of course this was before the money started rolling in and before Tyra disappeared into Tyra-world, introducing lavish judging sets and OTT gimmicks. Even though this cycle is naturally very raw and amateurish they seriously got the casting bang-on. It takes a couple of episodes for them to warm up, while they get rid of the less significant ones, but then the models interactions and relationships with eachother really start carrying the cycle. Especially in the latter stages when it comes down to the battle of the atheists vs the Christians. Having 3 devout Christians competing leads to a few problems, particularly when Ebony's girlfriend comes to visit and when it comes time to posing nude.
8. Cycle 11
I really like this cycle, good models with interesting looks and some really complex characters. It features the first transgendered contestant, and while some of the other girls reaction to her is off-putting, the unlikeable models seem to get booted quite early on. The editors capitalize on the divide whenever they can, but apart from the odd argument the group actually seems quite harmonious with eachother. I do think the final 2 is rather disappointing though - one has a great look but an incredibly muffled personality, while the other has a lot of personality but a generic girl next door look and seems out of place making it so far.
9. Cycle 4
I think this is one of the most fun cycles, with lots of great moments and a diverse group of models. It also features probably the two most famous judgings in ANTM history - Rebecca collapsing and Tyra unleashing her angry tirade at Tiffany. This is also the cycle that fully exploits the entertainment value of judging challenges, with one happening in almost every episode, which usually leads to hilarious results.
10. Cycle 2
This cycle does take a big leap towards the show it would become and it is a fairly good cycle in its own right. There's something randomly hilarious about the girls just wandering around the streets of New York and meeting up for the first time, without any sort of casting episode. Though it seems fairly obvious who the front-runners are, the final 4 are particularly strong and very different to eachother, it basically comes down to what the judges prefer rather than someone clearly being the superior model. The 'everyone vs Camille' storyline is fairly entertaining, mainly because Camille is an absolute stone-cold diva. But most of what she does seems fairly accidental due to a complete lack of awareness, so I think some of her treatment is slightly harsh. It's also the first time a girl gets her hair cut short triggering a total meltdown, which would become a common thing in future cycles.
11. Cycle 19
The first cycle with fan-voting, which took a bit of time getting used to. I think the college theme was a bit desperate, possibly Tyra's way of proving that models can be smart, or was it really to promote the fact that she'd recently gone back to school herself to pick up a business degree? (Tyra, self-promoting? get out of here!) The cast felt like classic ANTM (if there is such a thing), with alot of memorable characters. It was also the first cycle to have a model coming back into the competition, which the judges kind of abused by pretty much eliminating a model so that she would come back and make an impact, giving the twist some relevance (something it would fail to do in later cycles). I don't think Tyra was planning on the final outcome being 'spoilt rich girl beats tough girl who battles against the odds', but it was the fan scores that made it happen and you can't ignore the fan scores can you Tyra? (Oh wait, you can.) I think an interesting lesson was learnt not to judge a book by its cover, as Kristin was loved online when the pictures were first released, only to turn out to be a nasty vindictive person who thought that being pretty meant that she was a great model (oh dear). I think it taught fans not to fully champion a model until you actually see them in action.
12. Cycle 12
I think this cycle is best remembered for the cliques in the house, bug-eyed Allison and the judging where Celia informed Tyra that Tahlia had been wanting to leave, which was a good moment to find out that the show can still spark fierce debate amongst fans. I think Aminat was given way too many chances based solely on her potential and she survives over quite a few stronger models. I get the feeling that this is when Tyra's ego was really getting out of control. There was apparently an incident after Natalie was eliminated where she basically went on a rant to the judges about what a sham the show is, but this was not broadcast. Apart from that it's a fairly standard cycle.
13. Cycle 15
Here the show really concentrated on the high fashion market in an effort to be taken more seriously, which for the most part I think it succeeded, at least temporarily. I mean they got some impressive names making appearances and some impressive prizes for the winner. It also had a certain class and authenticity to it, with the most fitting winner. But it gets a little forgettable in places, the drama is fairly meh and it feels obvious who is getting far and who are the extra bodies there to make up the numbers. Tyra quickly got bored of the high fashion theme and in a cycle or two goes on a gimmick-cycle frenzy, leading to All-Stars, US vs UK, fan voting and Guys vs Girls, so maybe this didn't quite achieve what Tyra wanted.
14. Cycle 18
The US vs UK theme brought in girls from Britain's Next Top Model. For me this kind of feels like All-Stars 2, at least in the way it's presented, but I think it managed to outshine cycle 17 in many ways. I found it interesting that the UK girls were so much more likeable here than they were on BNTM, they injected a fun spirit and sarky narration to everything, they pretty much carry the cycle. I think Tyra overplays the US vs UK thing a bit much, especially since the friendships in the house don't seem to be restricted to it, but it put a unique spin on things at least. Although the overall storyline of the US girls dominating, then the UK girls dominating, leading to a final 2 of a US girl vs a UK girl was fairly predictable. But it was never obvious who the winner would be, especially since there were a few front-runners and some are abruptly eliminated, one for getting on Tyra's bad side after refusing to wear a butt pad.
15. Cycle 10
It had the unenviable task of following on from cycle 9. I did find it hard to root for anyone as the drama didn't bring out the best in some of them, while others are just bland. Paulina as the new judge just doesn't do it for me, she has an air of superiority about the whole thing. But I think the strength of the cycle lies in the quality of the models, I feel like half the cast would have made a decent winner, but of course this cycle is significant for giving the show its first plus-size winner which the show had been getting increasingly desperate for.
16. Cycle 9
This started out with so much potential but it is probably the first example of Tyra's agenda totally ruining a cycle, leading to the most amount of questionable eliminations and weaker models making it further than they should. I think there was a number of rootable characters, but I feel like it's a negative thing when most of the viewers think that a cycle revolves around 1 person's journey. So when she is harshly eliminated at the final 5, the rest of the cycle feels underwhelming. Though the worst was yet to come with the whole Saleisha scandal (or 'Scandaleisha' as it became known), where many viewers felt Tyra had her hand-picked winner ready before the cycle even started with a girl who had attended one of Tyra's self-esteem camps and known Tyra for years. She also had modelling experience that many think should have made her ineligible to take part in the show, but despite this experience she performed relatively poorly throughout the cycle and had a bratty conceited attitude that turned viewers off. Her win did alot of damage, starting the show's decline from must-watch TV pulling in great ratings to a guilty pleasure that is still struggling to recover from this result today. I suppose at least it wasn't the horrid Bianca though.
17. Cycle 16
I'm fairly indifferent to this one, infact I think it's one of the few cycles where I was kind of bored of it within the first few weeks. There's some good models but their personalities are a major turn-off. Not to mention the 'everyone vs Alexandria' storyline goes on way too long and becomes uncomfortable, especially with Brittani's meltdown. The models who aren't acting so pathetic and childish towards eachother, they come across weak-willed and bland, but no-one's personality is that great to be honest.
18. Cycle 17
So Tyra decided to do a dreaded All-Stars season, completely ditching the 'high fashion' theme she'd been attempting to bring the show some credibility. This cycle basically turned into some sort of celebrity boot-camp, with lessons in branding and creating fragrances and music videos. It was nice to see Allison excel once again by improving on her previous weaknesses, aswell as Shannon as a mature 27 year old rather than the naive 18 year old from the first cycle....but everyone else was basically a deflated version of their former self. Added to this, the final was a complete farce, due to Angelea being the original winner, despite her questionable performance, only to be disqualified (due to her escort past as we now know) and she just vanishes from the show. This led to scenes being reshot, a confusing final and a default winner in Lisa. Now it seems like this cycle has been completely dismissed as a forgettable mess and alot of fans feel annoyed knowing that huge fan fave Allison has been denied a win not just once (cycle 12), not twice, but three times!!! Some see it as a cynical ploy by Tyra, dragging Allison along to keep people watching only to screw her over in the end.
19. Cycle 21
I think the two Guys vs Girls cycles are on level-pegging but for me this cast were alot more easy-going, the guys were more likeable and the girls not as bland, and there were quite a few strong models aswell. But the whole thing was just so poorly handled and seemed more manipulated than ever before. I suppose it's not a coincidence that since fan voting was introduced this is the first cycle where the fans top scoring model didn't win. After another girl won the first Guys vs Girls, it was obvious that we would see our first male winner this time. But any excitement felt like it had been drained away long before the final, as Tyra's attempts to boost her favourites were just way too noticeable and nauseating. Infact every judging came across as a game of numbers between the judges. Even having an all-guy final 3 should have been ground-breaking, but the way Tyra removed the fan voting for the final 4 in order to get rid of the last girl felt unfair.
20. Cycle 20
A shame that the latest couple of cycles are this low. This one seemed quite exciting at the start, as they had a diverse bunch of males and some strong female models. Sadly the cycle disintegrated into an awful high school dynamic with obnoxious laddish behaviour and a potential showmance popping up what felt like every two minutes. Even the stronger models began to grate, I think by the halfway point I disliked everybody and it was a case of rooting for Jourdan because she was the only remaining strong model to root for. It was satisfying watching the jealousy rising while she just got on with kicking their arses, but it wasn't at all fun to watch.
21. Cycle 14
For me this is an example of when the drama is just so tedious and draining that I feel alienated from the cycle and find the models unlikeable. I also struggle to remember alot of the photoshoots and challenges, and while Krista's sudden momentum overseas looks exciting, it just wasn't really. The overall mood of the cycle I find incredibly negative and the last few weeks I find flat and dull. Plus I didn't like how Miss J was booted off the judging panel. I mean Andre was a good replacement, but he gets off to a shaky start by instantly championing annoying loudmouth Alasia.
Or to put it in a non-spoilery way:
Great
1. Cycle 6
2. Cycle 3
3. Cycle 8
4. Cycle 13
Good
5. Cycle 5
6. Cycle 7
7. Cycle 1
8. Cycle 11
9. Cycle 4
10. Cycle 2
11. Cycle 19
Average
12. Cycle 12
13. Cycle 15
14. Cycle 18
15. Cycle 10
16. Cycle 9
17. Cycle 16
Poor
18. Cycle 17
19. Cycle 21
20. Cycle 20
21. Cycle 14
I actually enjoyed doing this, made me appreciate the show again. Might rank the winners aswell.
I still feel like I left loads of interesting stuff out, which I think shows how great this show has been throughout the years.
I decided to rank the winners, but of course there's no right answer to this and I tended to waffle a bit to back up my opinions. I ended up doing it in reverse order as I couldn't fit it all in one post, which at least means it will end on a high note getting more positive as it goes along:
21 to 11...
No surprise really. She's probably the only winner I would say really didn't deserve to win. Not just because it made the show look like a total rigged sham, but her performance was frustratingly poor. Knowing about her experience made her seem weak but what made it worse was her over-confident know-it-all attitude. She told the other girls that she would probably win and confidently stated that she would never be in the bottom two, the week when she hit the bottom two (lol). The line-up of strong models meant you could ignore Saleisha up to a certain point, although there was a collective groan from viewers when it was mentioned in the first episode that Saleisha had attended one of Tyra's self-esteem camps for young girls, it seemed like Tyra had got her storyline and self-promotion already set. At makeovers she was given a bob to make her appear more high fashion, which failed miserably and simply made her look like Tootie from the US TV show Facts of Life. I would have at least expected her to do well with the final 6 CoverGirl shoot, but she flopped at that too, while the high fashion girls took commercial shots with relative ease. Despite viewers being told that she apparently improved in the latter weeks, she still had an off-putting brattiness to her (refusing to share a bed when the girls went overseas and were living in cramped conditions). When the cycle wrapped up she barely had any great shots to justify her win and she's a common name brought up when talking about the worst winner.
20. Lisa D'Amato (cycle 17)
There's definitely some personal bias affecting my opinion because she's someone who I didn't really like from the start and I've had to suffer 2 cycles of her. Originally in cycle 5, I found her to be an entitled desperate attention-seeker who already looked middle-aged. She took some good pictures but she was eliminated at final 5 because the judges couldn't stand her anymore and she wasn't very presentable away from the shoots. She was very bitter and ungrateful about her first time on the show, yet was later brought back to compete on All-Stars. Like almost everyone else this cycle, she seemed much more mellow and her performance was fairly consistent, so based on that her win was fairly acceptable. But, as mentioned in the cycles ranking, she won by default after pre-determined winner Angelea was disqualified and disappeared from the final. Lisa was also up against fan favourite Allison who had performed even stronger this time around and an Allison victory seemed like the natural end to what was supposed to be the most fan-friendly cycle of all. So Lisa's win seemed even more of an anti-climax and Tyra seemed to choose her as an easy way out as Lisa is such a wannabe that she probably fits the bill of being an all-star. But the irony of it is that Allison has achieved even more success since then and seeing as Tyra has wheeled out Allison a few times to bring some 'star power' to the show I think she may be regretting her decision. Not only that but it kind of damaged Lisa's reputation, as her abrupt elimination from cycle 5 was fairly harsh (even though I enjoyed it) so alot of people felt bad for her, but now she's known as the undeserving and not even 1st choice winner of All-Stars.
19. Brittani Kline (cycle 16)
Known as the girl from the trailer park thanks to the show. It feels a shame to have her this low as she had a great look who I hoped would be someone I could root for, but she seemed pretty immature and became even more of a brat as it went on. She let Alexandria bother her so much that she started an argument with her at a shoot because Alexandria was doing well, then melted down and stormed out of the judging room because she was put on the spot about being unprofessional by the judges. While Alexandria could be difficult, I think she was fairly misunderstood and didn't deserve to be ganged up on like that. Tyra pretended that she wanted Brittani gone that week and was out-voted by the other judges, but it was obvious Brittani wasn't going anywhere and Tyra was saying she wants her gone to create an interesting storyline when Brittani wins. She had one of the best makeovers in the history of the show and predictably took great photos, but I just couldn't enjoy her win at all. I find her too unlikeable and it was neck-and-neck between her and Molly, yet Brittani still won despite falling on the final runway, but I wasn't too bothered about that since Molly could be a misery aswell.
18. Krista White (cycle 14)
She started off really weak but improved, especially overseas where she had a dominant run of first call-outs straight to victory. But since she took part in my least favourite cycle I found it hard to be gripped by her progression, especially since I think she contributed to the negative atmosphere with her poor choice in friends and coming off as mean and stirring up trouble. She did have a bubbly side but everything about her was just underwhelming, none of her pictures really lit up my world as I felt her features were too hard and weren't very versatile. I was rooting for Raina at the time, who seems to be doing fairly well now, but really there was only about 2 pictures the entire cycle that captured my imagination.
17. Teyona Anderson (cycle 12)
She had some interesting features, with her alienesque "wind in the face" look, but that kind of got lost as there was something just unbelievably ordinary about her. It didn't help that cycle 12 featured a number of quirky characters with unusual looks and that she was in the final 2 with Allison. She was a competent model, however she had a tendency to come off as self-satisfied and I think the judges overrated her way too much, receiving first call-outs and constant praise for even mediocre pictures. I could handle her winning though since it was quite fitting that it came down to the model overrated by the judges verses the model perhaps overrated by the fans. Those fans weren't happy with this result, not helped by the fact that Allison did really well in the final and Teyona did kind of average. She's now possibly the most forgotten winner of all, some people probably think the winner of cycle 12 is called either 'Not Allison' or 'Shoulda been Allison'.
16. Keith Carlos (cycle 21)
The only male winner, if only I felt more excited about him. The way the cycle was handled made it obvious he'd win and Tyra cheapened it by constantly thirsting for his manaconda and slobbering over him like a piece of meat. He did have just one basic look, which was basically a clone of Tyson Beckford, and was a fairly simple-minded man concerned about looking hot to impress the ladies, but he did improve and had a decent run of pictures towards the end so his win was okay with me. I do wonder if Tyra was feeling conscious that the first male winner should be someone that can sell and relate to other men, so perhaps dancing Will who liked wearing high heels didn't quite fit that criteria.
15. Jourdan Miller (cycle 20)
She certainly deserved to win her cycle given who she was up against, but it's funny that the girl who denied the first Guys vs Girls cycle a male winner was such a standard-looking model. However her performance was almost always strong, with the highest overall fan scores for her pictures, and she practically left everyone else in the dust. She mentioned being married and divorced by 18 countless times and came off as slightly superior, but I think I would aswell with some of the obnoxious guys and girls she competed with. When Jeremy was lusting after her thinking she'd happily reciprocate it, she coldly dismissed him as she didn't have any time for that nonsense. Some viewers thought it was pretty heartless but I thought it was great since there didn't need to be any more sickly showmances around. At final 3 the eliminated models returned and joined the team of the finalist they were backing to win, causing Jourdan some humiliation with just 1 person (which later became 2) on her team, while the others stuck with their cliques/friends. But Jourdan's win continued to send out the message that on ANTM it really doesn't matter what the others think of you, just keep working hard for yourself and they can't do anything to stop you.
14. Yoanna House (cycle 2)
Might be a bit harsh having her this low, since it was a very competitive final 4 and I can see why the judges were enamoured with her stunning face and in-depth fashion knowledge. Also being a babysitter and formerly being fat, I think Tyra knew how to sell her win to the viewers. Despite this though, when we got to the last few girls, Yoanna was easily the one I was least excited about. She completely lacked rhythm and, when compared to Mercedes and Shandi, she was a bit bland. I can understand a diva like Camille driving someone up the wall, but I think Yoanna took that rivalry way too personally and acted quite petty at times. At the final 5 Yoanna and Camille attempted to be friends, only for Camille to add to the rumours about Yoanna possibly having an eating disorder, so I could understand her annoyance then. But when Camille had gone, Yoanna seemed to take pleasure making fun of April and her lack of emotions, so I felt like Yoanna always had a childish side to her.
13. Laura James (cycle 19)
She began impressing people before the cycle even started when voting was open for the pictures. She had a tall statuesque frame, a diverse portfolio and many had immediately pegged her as the winner. Some found her personality to be a bit spoilt and coming from a rich family she did have a slight case of 'poor little rich girl' syndrome. She'd happily gossip about others but when she was criticized she'd suddenly feel attacked because people have been saying the same sort of things about her since high school bla bla bla. I was fairly pleased with her win as she was the top scorer when it came to the fans, plus at least it wasn't the nasty Kristin (whose pics were also loved) and Tyra was intent on dragging Kiara to the final despite her weak portfolio. I think most people were rooting for Leila by that point, but she ended up making a total mess of the final runway, tripping over twice. Sadly I think the judges would have been happy to crown Leila the winner until then, being the 'comeback girl' it would make a great storyline. But I think Laura was a worthy winner, she did have a couple of lows along with her amazing highs, but she had the ability to transform infront of the camera, delivering shots that easily overshadowed the other girls.
12. McKey Sullivan (cycle 11)
Based on her striking blue eyes and big-ass lips I was looking forward to seeing her in action hoping she'd have an interesting personality to match, but sadly I found her to be a disappointment and very flat and monotone. They tried to give her a redemption style journey by showing how stiff and lost she was on the first photoshoot, but most people had her pegged as the winner before the cycle even started. She somehow managed to drift through with barely any storyline or memorable moment, the edit tried a couple of times to portray her as a quirky weirdo who does boxing and exercises all the time, but there was barely any footage to be able to convey it so she just disappeared most of the time. One thing I never understood was why the judges never pulled her up on it. They had a go at Lauren Brie and Elina for their personalities, but McKey would lumber around like Lurch from the Addams Family and mumble out of the side of her mouth and nothing was said about it. It was acknowledged once during commercials at final 7, but Tyra put that down to a bad commercial, not seeming to have noticed that McKey's like that 24/7. In terms of modelling she steadily improved from her first shoot and looked great in pictures, but in terms of impact on the show she was just a mumbling bore with very little to say for herself amongst a bunch of much more memorable characters.
11. Naima Mora (cycle 4)
Despite a fairly low-key personality and moderate performance, her edgy look and challenge wins made the viewers aware she had something special. Being in the final 2 against Kahlen, who had a superior portfolio and runway walk, meant that she really had to pull something out of the bag, which she did. She managed to demonstrate confidence and power while Kahlen fumbled around with her usual insecurities, allowing Naima to snatch the win from her. Infact I don't think a girl has ever played the 'ANTM game' as ruthlessly before - she smartly kept out of drama allowing others to psyche eachother out, she approached every challenge logically taking everything in her stride, she knew exactly when was the time to really shine and fake her confidence infront of the judges, she knew when to push her sob story so that the judges would talk about how far she'd come ect. There's been some negativity attached to her win though - despite Naima being a fan favourite many fans still use Kahlen as an example of a model being robbed, while neither Mr Jay nor Miss J were apparently happy with her win, complaining of a total lack of personality. Plus, since the show there's a few tales about her becoming this huge diva, which is believable when noticing certain things like her somewhat obnoxious reaction to winning over Kahlen. Since she always had her game face on while she was on the show, maybe she adopted another game face in her every day life.
In the top 10 - Adrianne (cycle 1), Eva (cycle 3), Nicole L (cycle 5), Danielle (cycle 6), CariDee (cycle 7), Jaslene (cycle 8), Whitney (cycle 10), Nicole F (cycle 13), Ann (cycle 15) and Sophie (cycle 18)
A very marmite winner whose win divided opinion between "Wow a plus-size model finally won" and "She only won because she's plus-sized". She wasn't always the strongest, but even the stronger models of the cycle had huge flaws of their own, so I think it came down to who would do the most with their win. One interesting thing about Whitney was that the judges were especially hard on her at times, she was told she was not taking the competition seriously simply for doing splits in a posing challenge and she was repeatedly called fake in her commercials. She landed in the bottom two a massive 4 times, more than any other winner, but I think on at least 2 occasions the criticisms were overly harsh. The excitement of a plus-sized winner had been building for a long time and people would still be crying out for one if it didn't happen. Whitney's biggest asset was her determination and strength of character, everytime she was knocked down she'd fight back harder. So finally the show had a plus-size model who had the confidence and ability to hold it together and was willing to represent the show exactly how a plus-sized winner should.
9. Adrianne Curry (cycle 1)
I suppose she was a typical 'first winner' based on her consistent performance and the way she was portrayed as the down-to-earth girl from a poor background. But it's funny that the first model chosen to represent Tyra's show was a tough rebellious tomboy who was a former drug addict and talked with gritted-teeth. After the show she had a falling out with Tyra, which has been heavily documented, and Tyra even attempts to erase her from history whenever there's a look back at the ANTM winners. But there's no doubt that she had a good positive attitude on the show and managed to refine herself to become a strong choice of winner and set the standard for everyone to follow.
8. Nicole Linkletter (cycle 5)
This was the first time my fave from the start won, but I can see why some weren't so thrilled or felt that Nik should have won. There were girls with bigger personalities but I feel like the true model in them never quite materialized. Meanwhile Nik seemed like the obvious winner but I could understand if the judges thought she was just too passive and not showing enough passion, compared to the more unpredictable Nicole whose desire was much clearer. She could be a bit of a whiner but I actually enjoyed her random adolescent behaviour and I felt like she was at that stage where she was a girl growing into a woman and I think winning was just the thing to help her do it. Her performance was up-and-down as she sometimes struggled getting out of the trap of just looking pretty, but when she really got into her stride she would produce the most striking photos. I remember actually printing some off and sticking them to my college folder (wtf) and she's had a good career after the show. I remember Twiggy being a fan of her which made me appreciate Twiggy as a judge even more.
7. Ann Ward (cycle 15)
She has the highest call-out average of any girl, due to her being the only model to have a run of 5 first call-outs at the start of the cycle. So while her eventual win felt predictable, she was also fairly unusual due to her looking about 8 feet tall, being naturally stick thin and speaking with a deep manly voice, making her the perfect winner of the high fashion cycle. Her dominant run of 5 first call-outs may have been annoying to some, but it also built up the interest of 'who will break the streak?' When the streak was broken, Ann didn't crash immediately to the bottom two, but due to her constant insecurities it was obvious she'd end up there eventually. She'd pretty much go to pieces whenever she was required to speak or there was alot of pressure on her, sometimes I'd be thinking "Just get a grip, girl" wishing she'd show more confidence. However, even times when she was a mess, she'd still create magic and she was a rare find for the show. Her final 2 CoverGirl shot is probably the most high fashion CoverGirl shot I've ever seen.
6. Jaslene Gonzalez (cycle 8)
Some thought she was Tyra's pet project, after failing to make it on cycle 7 and promising to come back. But apparently Tyra didn't even vote for her to win as she opted for Natasha's amazing improvement over Jaslene's consistency. I genuinely think that if Natasha hadn't gotten the flu and performed so badly at final 4 then she could have earned at least one more vote from the judges and pulled off victory. Tyra says it was her and Twiggy voting for Natasha while Nigel, Miss J and Mr Jay went with Jaslene. I think Jaslene deserved it though. The judges complained she lacked the same fire she had shown when she tried out for cycle 7, which is kind of hypocritical since they made fun of her for being so over-the-top and there must have been a reason she didn't make it that time. So for cycle 8 she obviously wanted to appear more professional and she did start off as the front-runner, until other girls started making their mark aswell. She got a little forgettable mid-cycle but she picked up speed again towards the end, where it ended up as a battle of the accents (Jaslene from Puerto Rico, Natasha from Russia), in the most watched episode in ANTM history, and she remains one of the stand-out winners whose success teaches people that they should never give up.
5. Sophie Sumner (cycle 18)
I found her obnoxious on Britain's Next Top Model, infact she was probably my least fave BNTM girl that was brought in for this US vs UK thing. However she came across much better this time, still quite acerbic but way more fun and tongue-in-cheek. She was strong from the start, but it felt like the attention was on other front-runners who would gradually fall by the wayside. I liked her friendship with Laura and when they were the final 2 I think Laura had the better portfolio, but I think Sophie had the edge when it came to personality and adaptability. Overall I think she was the girl this cycle that most successfully combined being a great model with being a likeable presence onscreen. Plus she's now the first non-US person to win ANTM.
4. Eva Pigford (cycle 3)
One of the most memorable and successful winners. Not my fave from this cycle, but she probably has the most entertaining winner journey. She started out in casting as the abrasive bi-atch who made a poor impression on everyone, but Tyra managed to break her down and got her to open up to find out why she had developed this attitude. She was the last to be called to compete in the house and that was only the beginning of the epic struggle between so many other combustible personalities. She kept her loudmouth sassiness but it became more toned down and she managed to do a decent job while gradually winning viewers over. Her intense up-and-down friendship with Ann took its toll on her and she became quite misunderstood when they fell out and the other girls enjoyed watching Eva take a verbal bashing. She's not much of a high fashion model, but she has such clear star quality that she made it to the final 2 against Yaya where, despite hating eachother all cycle, they managed to put their differences aside and actually got on. I think it's nice when the final 2 are friends and the runner-up is genuinely pleased for the winner, rather than being bitter and sour about it. I think cycles 1,3,6 and 18 are the best examples of this.
3. CariDee English (cycle 7)
The personality issue is brought up so many times on the show, but CariDee had the unique critique where she was told she had to reel in her big personality rather than push it. Fortunately her wackiness paid off most of the time, as she proved she could take a great picture and wasn't afraid to take risks. But a couple of times she lost focus and made a mess of things, like the commercials at final 6 where she could barely get her words out and the photoshoot at final 4 in the swimming pool where she had to stop as she couldn't stand the cold water any longer. But possibly her most careless moment was joking with judge Nigel that a stick he was holding had been removed from his arse from the last judging, and of course Nigel hammed it up and acted really offended and CariDee had to offer a grovelling apology at judging. But by the final he was clearly pushing for her to win, which I guess speaks volumes about the charm of CariDee that she could insult a judge and still have them fighting for her. She certainly had the majority of the viewers backing her and in the end the judges decided that this 'x-factor' could be her greatest selling point and they chose her over the clinical perfectionist Melrose, her biggest and possibly only threat for the majority of the cycle.
2. Nicole Fox (cycle 13)
The shy awkward girls are often really popular with fans but usually come up short on ANTM due to the judges complaining about their lack of personality. Nicole was odd and awkward but she had no fear infront of the camera and the way she performed on-set certainly tickled Tyra's fancy. She instantly stood-out in the casting episode, which usually features alot of screaming and crying, but when her name was called that she'd made it into the house she just stood there and there's a few seconds of silence. Tyra's like "Erm...?" and Nicole finally walked forward with a pained expression with Tyra looking rather confused at her. That would pretty much sum up all of Nicole's interactions during the cycle, coming across totally out of step with everyone else, but almost every single time she'd manage to turn it around and work it to her advantage. Of course the other models grew more resentful that the girl they had initially mocked was constantly outshining them and could do no wrong. I mean she even won the go-sees challenge, which included a casting for a commercial. She's generally thought of as the most dominant model in the history of the show, as she never fell anywhere near the bottom two and barely made a mistake all cycle.
1. Danielle Evans (cycle 6)
I suppose it's fitting to have my favourite winner be from my favourite cycle. I'm still impressed how a girl could be so likeable and charming but still have such inner confidence. She was a front-runner throughout but she was also hugely rootable, especially when she sprained her ankle after taking a tumble in huge heels during a runway challenge and later on when the judges started getting on at her about the gap in her teeth and her strong accent. She was still delivering great pictures though so Tyra couldn't be too hard on her. At final 5 she collapsed due to exhaustion, dehydration and food poisoning, but she still trekked into the middle of the jungle on an elephant determined to do the week's shoot. Tyra still brings up this incident when she thinks a model is lacking motivation or the ability to push through when they are ill (as the fashion industry doesn't care about excuses). The choice of winner was a close one between her and Joanie, who had her own dental issues and whose pictures had been getting better and better, but they felt that Danielle was stronger in personality and presence and didn't want to miss crowning a winner with the total package. I've seen Danielle voted as people's favourite ANTM winner and their favourite ANTM model, so it's good knowing I'm not alone in my high praise of her. She seems to encapsulate everything this show is about.
Condensed version with picture reference (lol) the shot that basically sums up their performance for me:
2. Nicole Fox (cycle 13) http://www.cwtv.com/images/c/0016/cw-antm13-nicole-container_048141-48a362-500x666.jpg
3. CariDee English (cycle 7) http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-7-caridee/americas-next-top-model-7-winner-caridee.jpg
4. Eva Pigford (cycle 3) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0pcGz45BVa4/Uhgl-zQ05kI/AAAAAAAAAbA/RDF0aJb4XOQ/s1600/eva+pigford.jpg
5. Sophie Sumner (cycle 18) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h0goz8BIvqw/T7R-itZLSaI/AAAAAAAAS6A/vxeK9pTy6Jg/s1600/sophie.jpg
6. Jaslene Gonzalez (cycle 8) http://data2.whicdn.com/images/4650037/large.jpg
7. Ann Ward (cycle 15) http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/17100000/Ann-s-Covergirl-Ad-americas-next-top-model-17105704-411-500.jpg
8. Nicole Linkletter (cycle 5) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/antm_nicole08_jason_willheim.jpg
9. Adrianne Curry (cycle 1) http://www.homorazzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/antm-cycle-1-winner-adrienne.jpg
10. Whitney Thompson (cycle 10) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/antm_whitney07_russell_james.jpg?w=480&h=720
11. Naima Mora (cycle 4) http://data3.whicdn.com/images/4595516/large.jpg
12. McKey Sullivan (cycle 11) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/antm_mckey05.jpg
13. Laura James (cycle 19) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y0lPus2zzJU/T-aNr5ZXB9I/AAAAAAAAAWo/A8UuNHaIbZw/s1600/Laura.jpg
14. Yoanna House (cycle 2) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VONb9iFB3KQ/UbGD7ozC8RI/AAAAAAAAAoU/c-sxWBKmIwQ/s1600/yh.jpg
15. Jourdan Miller (cycle 20) http://media.getchute.com.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/images/303278930/original-303278930-kwwHEhwpc.jpg
16. Keith Carlos (cycle 21) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-43vZ8HswEyc/UztHPqgsTLI/AAAAAAAAndw/19lyKHMtiyw/s1600/KEITH.jpg
17. Teyona Anderson (cycle 12) http://www.lapatilla.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/antm3.jpg
18. Krista White (cycle 14) http://www.blogcdn.com/main.stylelist.com/media/2010/05/americas-next-top-model-winner-krista-white-240ls051310.jpg
19. Brittani Kline (cycle 16) http://backseatstylers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Americas-Next-Top-Model-ANTM-Cycle-16-2011-Winner-Brittani-Kline-Makeover-Episode.jpg
20. Lisa D'Amato (cycle 17) http://cdn.blogs.sheknows.com/realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2013/01/ANTM%E2%80%99s-Lisa-D%E2%80%99Amato-Suffers-Serious-Face-Injury.jpg
21. Saleisha Stowers (cycle 9) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-op4EFKFBSuw/TtGY_CZ3g4I/AAAAAAAANeg/8krmOkASR-w/s1600/SALEISHA.jpeg
And that's me done. Thanks for your time.
Correcting a few mistakes:
- Lisa made final 6 in cycle 5, not final 5.
- Danielle sprained her "baby toe" not her ankle.
and I'd actually forgotten about Adrianne having food poisoning during cycle 1, obviously it's a lucky illness to have during the show. But her's doesn't have the same wow factor as Danielle's, especially once you throw in the elephant.
I was thinking of ranking the runners-up as there's something amusing about explaining why someone doesn't win rather than why they do. But I don't want to go ranking mad.
In two parts again:
21 to 11....
The only runner-up I dislike. I was excited that male models were taking part for the first time, but Marvin showed a number of traits that have put me off, especially how he'd play up to being a sleazy lothario chatting up every girl in sight. For the most part he was treated as a joke in this regard, becoming known as Starvin' Marvin and getting constantly knocked back, but sadly one of the girls eventually succumb to his charms and we had to put up with a cringeworthy showmance for the last few weeks. Apart from that the competition really brought out the worst in him, he would be as rude and as antagonistic as possible to house outcast Chris H., then he'd be crying because his 'friends' were being eliminated. I think he only got so far based on his potential, his jawline and the fact he was Tyra's fave. He had a few good pictures, but overall he was just incredibly average at everything. I think there were several models that would have made a much better runner-up. In the final, he put down Jourdan's modelling ability based on the fact that he didn't want to sleep with her, and for me it became just as much about rooting against Marvin as rooting for Jourdan. So it was win-win in the end. He was so weak that Tyra couldn't even rig him the win, despite removing the fan scores for the final result.
20. Kiara Belen (cycle 19)
A harsh placing, as she became much more likeable towards the end. But a confident attitude, a few challenge wins and a couple of decent last-minute pictures does not make you a great runner-up. From the start she was the bossy mother-like character in the house and Tyra obviously fangirled over her 'poor background' sob-story, but for the first 8 weeks or so I'd say she had one of the worst pictures each week (not just of the models remaining, but all 13 pics). I thought it was interesting that the first picture of her's I liked was the first (and only) time she hit the bottom two, almost like the judges knew they could be hard on her because other models fan scores would be worse, giving her a good safety net so as not to be eliminated. She became rootable since she bothered Kristin so much and wasn't afraid to put her in her place, but it just felt wrong for her to make the final, despite improving overseas. Getting beaten by 'rich girl' Laura felt like the unavoidable result as Leila flopped into 3rd after doing so poorly at final runway and Kiara did poorly at the last shoot.
19. Chantal Jones (cycle 9)
She seems to be quite funny on her twitter now, and still watches the show, which makes me wonder if she was screwed by the edit or has simply developed a personality since then. It doesn't say much about her since people believe she was in the final 2 to make Saleisha look good. A more high fashion version of Barbie, she didn't make much of an impression on people as she was a bit bland and snotty. She openly planned to do well all cycle but she was very up-and-down, and at the 3rd shoot she threw a tantrum like a spoilt little princess because she was getting two sets of instructions from the photographer and the director. To give her some credit, I thought she was the most striking when I first saw the models and she did perform consistently towards the end. Though alot of people remember her joining in the Jenah-bashing during the final, saying to the judges that she wouldn't want Jenah as a role model for her niece/cousin/something?, before Jenah was unfairly eliminated in 3rd in what I think is probably the worst elimination ever.
18. Chelsey Hersley (cycle 15)
I was conflicted which order to put her and Chantal as they were quite similar, two rather forgettable blondes with an air of superiority about them. But I think Chelsey was much stronger and deserved to reach her final. She usually had good pictures and seemed to know what she was doing, although she's 1 of the 2 runners-up who made the final without ever having a first call-out. Not a great statistic as it means that while you were good you never really stood-out, which does accurately represent her rather cold clinical performance throughout. But I guess there was a slight chance that she could have beaten Ann as she had the confidence and consistency that Ann lacked and the edit gradually built up tension between them, pretty much all from Chelsey's end.
17. Samantha Potter (cycle 11)
She had a fun spirit about her and could deliver a stunning picture every now and then, but she came across really naive, inexperienced and had a tendency to act first and think later. She had a very plain basic look so never really felt like a real contender, despite surviving 3 bottom two appearances. When it came to the final 2, I wasn't really excited about McKey, so it would have been good to have stiffer competition for her, not to have the result be so blatantly obvious after such a competitive cycle.
16. Laura Kirkpatrick (cycle 13)
Portrayed as the 'ultimate sweetheart' brought up on a farm. She's the other runner-up who never received a first call-out, though admittedly if it wasn't for the twist at the 5th judging where the first call-out was for the combined group shot then she would have got it then. But apart from a couple of occasions she never really did that amazing, she tended to get by on her personality. Plus, I got a sense of entitlement from her, especially after she lost to Nicole and continued to give her rather begrudging praise and resentful half-insults afterwards. At the reunion on Tyra's talkshow she bragged that she had by far the most votes in a fan poll to give one of the models some prizes, though apparently they had to remove Nicole from the voting because she was winning it and already had her prizes from her victory. I notice on her twitter she calls herself 'the real ANTM all star', I mean she did take part in the All Star cycle but she only came 4th on that, so she sounds pretty full of herself. She should be lucky with what she got, based on performance during her original cycle I feel like she should have come 5th not runner-up.
15. Molly O'Connell (cycle 16)
Probably one of the most miserable contestants of all time. It was understandable and rather funny initially, especially after she was given a makeover that looked like a bag of wool had exploded on her head, leaving her grumbling face dwarfed by a mass of blonde hair. But she'd continue to look fed-up long after her makeover was corrected and even lost challenges due to the negative vibes she'd give off. She delivered some strong pictures though, but it was obvious that Brittani would have to have a complete nightmare of a final not to win. Though it wasn't a case of supporting Molly out of spite towards Brittani, because while Brittani was having her meltdown and being a brat, Molly would be there as her back-up excusing every little thing she did claiming that it's all Alexandria's fault. While Brittani was yelling at Alexandria across the room, Molly would be there adding her little comments aswell, which to some viewers made her seem sneaky and actually worse than Brittani. After the show I think Molly claimed that things weren't really that bad in the house, which I suppose is probably right but it's hard to imagine with all the cattiness and resentment going on.
14. Will Jardell (cycle 21)
I think he would have made a much more memorable and significant first male winner than Keith. He had some striking features and one of the strongest portfolios, being gay he was able to portray both masculine and feminine characteristics. But at times I did find his insecurities and his whole agenda way too overwhelming and I was disappointed that he didn't stand tall (especially for a 6ft 5in man who wears high heels) against Denzel's small-minded viewpoint on what a man should be like. Instead he ran away crying, allowing his girl friends to do the fighting for him, then later got the judges to tell Denzel off. Some of the more cynical fans were relieved that they were spared the huge production that would have taken place had he won, although maybe the final would have at least been more entertaining. It wouldn't have been as bad if Keith had beaten Will and Lenox straight-up, but the way Lenox was quickly dispatched at final 4 and Adam dragged along to the final 3, it just made the end result seem incredibly manipulated.
13. Anya Kopp (cycle 10)
She was some much-needed light relief and was a very consistent strong performer. She didn't get involved in the drama and was friendly and supportive of pretty much everyone, but I think in the end her niceness kind of did her in as she lacked any kind of edge or power. A few times she also came across a bit dim, usually an endearing trait, but since the judges were looking for someone to represent the show I think they wanted someone a bit fiercer. Whitney was sometimes a little too harsh when it came to her interactions with the other forceful characters, but she seemed to be good friends with Anya and when she was around her she was fun and at ease.
12. Raina Hein (cycle 14)
For me she was the stand-out right from the start, due to her strong features and powerful body frame. She was also a source of light relief in a cycle full of drama and I appreciated her constant positive spirit despite having to deal with horrors such as Angelea and Alasia. In the 2nd shoot, where the girls got blasted with water, she delivered one of the strongest pictures in the history of the show, which sadly would be her peak as the rest of the time she would just do an okay job at everything. In a house divided mainly between the cliques of aggressive Angelea, gossipy Krista and mopey Alexandra against the paranoid Brenda, sarky Jessica and happy Raina, she was easily the most likeable one. But a constant sunny disposition doesn't really do it for me, although it allowed her to just laugh at the absurdity of Angelea trying to start another fight and meant that she didn't break down when it was just her left with 3 girls who didn't like her. I was relieved she was chosen for the final 2, especially over Angelea, but she didn't really own it enough to pull off victory. So the final result was a let-down but understandable, but it was obvious she would do well anyway, while, away from the judges rose-tinted glasses, Krista was nothing special.
11. Kahlen Rondot (cycle 4)
She started off as the girl who had never watched the show but could immediately take a great picture and command the runway. She remained very likeable but her lack of confidence always proved a problem. She's possibly best known for being the girl that found out a friend back home had died the same week the photoshoot would take place in a graveyard. Managing to take a great shot that week helped established her as the front-runner, but in the last few weeks the pressure really took its toll as she was getting clumsier on-set and started lucking into her shots. She took it to heart when Naima won a challenge and gave the prize of extra frames for the next shoot to other girls and not her, even though they were friends. Sadly I don't think Kahlen would have even considered such competitive tactics. She was probably lucky to make the final 2 based on her past performance, but there was a cruel sense of irony that the time she finally thought she had rocked something was after the final runway, just before she was about to lose the whole thing to Naima. After the show she gave up modelling, possibly due to looking alarmingly similar to Carmen Kass, and now has a bunch of tattoos and owns a bar.
In the top 10 - Shannon (cycle 1), Mercedes (cycle 2), Yaya (cycle 3), Nik (cycle 5), Joanie (cycle 6), Melrose (cycle 7), Natasha (cycle 8), Allison (cycle 12), Allison again (cycle 17) and Laura (cycle 18).
Yikes, I thought the winner ranking would be biased towards older cycles but that is slightly embarrassing.
An absolute perfectionist who has to be the best at everything doesn't sound too thrilling but fortunately Melrose did it in a ridiculously over-dramatic way. She started off winning the first challenge and won the prize of being a 'diva for the day' at the first shoot, getting massaged and pampered, but she took the 'diva' title a bit too literally by coming to set late and giving off an attitude. This being Melrose, she panicked about it during the shoot and had a meltdown afterwards. After emotionally surviving the first bottom two of the cycle, she was determined to get things together. But she still had Monique to content with, who pinpointed Melrose as the girl she disliked most and lashed out at her any childish way she could. But then Monique got sick, didn't bother to do a shoot and was eliminated. So Melrose could relax, which basically meant being incredibly desperate to be better than everyone else and melting down when she wasn't, much to the annoyance of the other girls. I think a low moment came when the usually insecure Anchal discovered she was very flexible in a posing lesson, which later caused Melrose to lead a gossiping session with a few other girls to reassure herself that Anchal wasn't all that. Anchal overheard them and Melrose gained another enemy. Melrose's attitude didn't win her many friends but it helped her win challenges and take great pictures. At final 3 she over-practiced for her commercial and made a mess of it all, but she made final 2 based on past performance. She got it together for the final runway, despite having a strop because CariDee stood on her dress. But the judges had a slightly romantic outlook when it came to modelling, so Melrose's over-technical 'win at all costs' style turned them off in comparison to CariDee's more brazen approach. Not winning was the perfect conclusion for Melrose, as she was unbelievably draining, but I had a touch of sympathy watching her realize that she'd lost and could do nothing about it.
9. Nik Pace (cycle 5)
The definition of 'the silent threat'. It was incredibly difficult to dislike Nik as she was very composed and professional, infact she was more rootable when she wasn't doing well. When Jayla (accidentally?) stole one of her lines while shooting commercials at final 8, it totally threw Nik off her game and Jayla was ready for the fall-out. But Nik wasn't the confrontational type, which sent Jayla on an angry tirade against her simply because Nik had no time for drama. Infact Nik showed complete indifference to any sort of gossiping, arguing or childish behaviour, which seems to be majorly frustrating to an enemy who just wants to have it out with you. Despite being fierce in her pictures, she was a little too poised and mature in-person and the judges felt that fresh-faced Nicole had more of a spark to her.
8. Mercedes Scelba-Shorte (cycle 2)
She was in the background for the first few weeks, until she was thrust into the spotlight when we were told she had lupus and from then we would follow her coping with it in the competition. She was planning on keeping it to herself to avoid sympathy, until an interview challenge with Janice Dickinson gave her the perfect chance to reveal it, which she did to the adoration of Janice, the other girls and the viewers. Then she became the 'loveable sweetheart' of the cycle, although she could be pretty tough aswell. Towards the end her story changed to her struggling to come across edgy and high fashion in her pictures, which she triumphed at a few times, especially at her final 3 shot that really put her to the test. Despite a stronger runway performance than the rather clumsy Yoanna, it wasn't enough to pull off victory.
7. Shannon Stewart (cycle 1)
There were 3 Christians this cycle - Kesse the down-to-earth one, Robin the over-bearing one and Shannon the innocent 18-year-old. She survived the first ever bottom two as the judges were already concerned that she was too tanned, too smiley and just too commercial, but after that she started taking strong pictures. The edit played up her whole virgin thing, especially when she revealed she had a crush on a male model, who ended up featuring in their next shoot (apparently not set up at all *cough*) and she went out on a date with him, but with no funny business of course. After both refusing to do the final 4 nude shoot, she and Robin were in the bottom two where she was spared and Robin sent home. Meaning Shannon was free of Robin and embraced the chance to have fun with the rebellious Elyse and Adrianne. I thought her chances of winning were pretty much gone, but she certainly gave it a good effort. She advanced to the final 2, much to her surprise, where she then commanded the final runway, even having Tyra tell her that she owned it over Adrianne. She also earned Janice's vote to win (starting off Janice's 4-out-of-4 100% record of never voting for the winner). She sounded really pleased for Adrianne and it was nice to see her blossom throughout the cycle. She returned for the All-Stars cycle 9 years older, where she once again stood by her morals, refusing to pose nude and getting eliminated for it this time.
6. Laura LaFrate (cycle 18)
For the first few weeks I was considering Laura to be one of my fave models ever on the show, she had the wild rocker personality and didn't seem fazed by anything. She was very opinionated though, and she started to get moodier and held grudges against other girls who didn't really warrant it. If anything she was a bit too fearless in being true to herself. Usually though the girls with 'alternative' personalities start feeling embarrassed being on the show, but Laura kept a level-head when she was on-set and only showed signs of cracking up towards the end. It's good that she liked Sophie, because I think if she had lost to someone she didn't respect then she would have been quite vengeful about it. Some say it wasn't really fair having girls that had appeared on the British version competing against newbie Americans, but I suppose the two shows are fairly different to eachother. BNTM is quite drab in comparison to the theatrics of ANTM.
5. Allison Harvard (cycle 12)
She was already slightly well-known on the internet as the 'Creepy Chan' girl, so her casting created some new interest in the show and she acquired a load more fans herself due to her striking features and unusual personality. I suppose the bad thing about looking and acting weird is that when you make a mistake it somehow stands out more and the judges didn't avoid putting her in the bottom two when she was too awkward-looking in her picture or commercial. She may have appeared shy but she was no pushover and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I liked her friendship with Celia, at a push I'd say Celia is my fave from this cycle, just ahead of Allison. During the last few weeks she gathered alot of momentum, with the first call-outs going back and forth between her and judges fave Teyona. Despite outshining Teyona in the final, both at the CoverGirl commercial and on the runway, the judges decided to go for the more reliable Teyona. I wasn't too bummed out like alot of other people, but I was disappointed that it was a bit of a flat ending at a time when the show really needed a kick to it.
4. Natasha Galkina (cycle 8)
She was the type of contestant that is just a pleasure to watch and she had an infectious cheerfulness about her. She started off pretty bad at modelling, but it was clear that the judges loved her offbeat personality and were pleading for her to do well. She worked hard and after a few weeks she really started emerging as a contender, especially at the gender-swap shoot where the girls played the man and drag queens played the woman in each shot, which really allowed her to embrace her fun personality to the amusement of everyone on-set. For the next several weeks she never left the top 2 in the call-out order. She had a few troubles getting on with the other girls, like when they started questioning why she was so much younger than her husband. But one of her toughest tests was at final 4 when she got the flu, did an awful job at the shoot and the judges weren't keen on her excuses. At that judging all the girls were asked who had the most/least potential and the others saw the chance to badmouth Natasha to the judges. She ended up surviving and reached the final but, despite her positive spirit and major improvement, it did put into question her overall ability and I think it may have cost her victory against the more dependable Jaslene.
3. Allison Harvard (cycle 17)
I actually like this version of Allison slightly more than her original run, since this cycle she improved on her previous weaknesses and excelled at things you'd expect her to struggle with. Despite her usual awkwardness, she ended up producing some memorable results, such as the viral music video (with her's generating far more interest than anyone elses), her 'Honey Blood' fragrance and she even won an interview challenge. She started to stumble a bit towards the end but the final result proved just how limited the judges views can be and I think Allison was just too odd and unpredictable for them and once again went for the lazy choice instead. What could have been if the show had to advertise Allison's 'Honey Blood' rather than Lisa's cliched 'Dream Come True', which should have been called 'Dream Come True After Bitching And Moaning Things Didn't Go Your Way The First Time'. The judges should have just embraced the bizarre rather than the desperate.
2. Joanie Dodds (cycle 6)
She was my favourite in the casting episode as she was quite striking and had the back-story of being a rebellious preacher's daughter. Though she didn't really make an impact in the competition until a few weeks in when the judges started paying attention to her increasingly dynamic pictures and competent ability. She was quite strong-willed, but remained very down-to-earth aswell, watching her felt like watching a friend taking part in the show. This was especially the case at final 7, where Joanie's crooked teeth that she had long been suffering with would be fixed at the dentist, leading to many hours of pain and discomfort. She battled on like a trooper and powered through to the final, with her and Danielle as probably the most likeable and well-rounded final 2 ever. In the end the judges decided that Joanie lacked some of the charm of Danielle, but Joanie took coming in 2nd on the chin, remaining dignified like she had been all cycle. Plus she earned Twiggy's vote to win, as Twiggy would get stuck with the 'Janice' curse, never voting for the winner again until she left the show.
1. Yaya DaCosta (cycle 3)
I think she had the biggest rollercoaster and most complex journey, starting off as the unassuming intelligent girl who still suffered acne break-outs. Which caused the other girls to not consider her as a threat, which is quite hilarious given what happens. She nailed the first shoot and remained very strong, producing some of my fave pictures of all time. Gradually though the competition started testing her patience and she had to keep her sanity together, I don't know if a girl has ever had to deal with so many criticisms from the judges before. Her skin improved, but being a dancer, the judges started to criticize her dancer-like poses, then telling her off when she removed her dancer poses completely. Her style of clothing was then brought into question, on how much she should embrace her African style, she was told it was either too overwhelming or she wasn't embracing it enough and was therefore dulling her shine. Next was her most difficult challenge, one that many 'smart' people on reality shows suffer, the accusations that they come across snobby and superior. Sometimes she put her foot in it, either getting defensive when being critiqued or during a commercial challenge when she spat out some food she was supposed to eat, landing her in the bottom two for her only time. She had a tense relationship with a few girls in the house, but her run of 5 challenge wins (the most wins in any cycle) for things such as go-sees, acting and endurance, ensured her place as a front-runner and probably helped intensify the rivalries. But I think she showed alot of maturity when she and Eva were the final 2 and looked happy for Eva when she won. She's had alot of success since the show and is still getting film/TV roles even now.
Picture reference:
Usually I pick a shot that compliments their strengths, other times I picked one to compare their ability to the winner's.
I decided not to be mean by picking one that highlights their weaknesses, like I did with Krista and Saleisha last time.
1. Yaya DaCosta (cycle 3) http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-3-eva/yaya-americas-next-top-model-season-3-yaya-spider.jpg (my fave shot ever on ANTM)
2. Joanie Dodds (cycle 6) http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/antm_krumping/antm-krumping14.jpg
3. Allison Harvard (cycle 17) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq8bxiN90ho (music vid featuring Tyra doing her best to ruin it)
4. Natasha Galkina (cycle 8) http://img.poptower.com/pic-1449/natasha-galkina.jpg?d=600 (gender swap)
5. Allison Harvard (cycle 12) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/antm_allison07_keith_major.jpg
6. Laura LaFrate (cycle 18) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-34zDx7vUoRE/T2FSgU2TtrI/AAAAAAAAQ1s/2x61g5wL42E/s1600/Laura.jpg
7. Shannon Stewart (cycle 1) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/antm_shannon06michel_haddi1.jpg (on-set with the male model)
8. Mercedes Scelba-Shorte (cycle 2) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MbtV2lBD4gM/UhfjC4bYdkI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/SAz4AZiAoGc/s1600/mercedes+scelba-shorte.jpg (final 3 shot)
9. Nik Pace (cycle 5) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/antm_nik05_craig_de_cristo.jpg
10. Melrose Bickerstaff (cycle 7) http://i50.tinypic.com/k19s2h.jpg
11. Kahlen Rondot (cycle 4) http://emlyric.weebly.com/uploads/9/6/9/5/9695612/4944780.jpg (graveyard 'wrath' shot)
12. Raina Hein (cycle 14) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xn5K6TX2CDI/TNUhfBH_CsI/AAAAAAAAADE/K1Xr05g2Hck/s1600/raina-hein-antm-top-model.jpg (wet shot *fans self*)
13. Anya Kop, not 'Kopp' (cycle 10) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/antm_anya04_george_holz.jpg?w=480&h=640
14. Will Jardell (cycle 21) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fRupscUuo44/UztHRrLzsNI/AAAAAAAAneg/xAv7XREns7o/s1600/WILL.jpg
15. Molly O'Connell (cycle 16) https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5176/5523159366_2bcfc46345_z.jpg (the dreaded makeover)
16. Laura Kirkpatrick (cycle 13) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p7F7l2ZSNg0/UDnP2l2jsJI/AAAAAAAAHg8/4ae9NXudWRE/s1600/ModelClicker+ANTM+America
17. Samantha Potter (cycle 11) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/samantha07_brian_edwards1.jpg
18. Chelsey Hersley (cycle 15) http://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/5bantm5d_chelsey11.jpg
19. Chantal Jones (cycle 9) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XVJjh6IT0Dc/Uh4O_-zoC_I/AAAAAAAABe0/HLWT-YNYvAY/s1600/chantal+jones.jpg
20. Kiara Belen (cycle 19) https://mrsimpsonsmad22.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dcea6-antmcycle19252ccapitulo10252ckiara.jpg (her only 'amazing' shot)
21. Marvin Cortes (cycle 20) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YQsnJHroFVY/UjSZKRMjnqI/AAAAAAAAwKs/6mpFmGjZQU8/s1600/antm+cycle+20%252C+capitulo+8%252C+Marvin.jpg
So much blonde. lol
I think one of the silliest conspiracy theories is that blondes are not allowed to win. A big deal was made about CariDee being the first natural blonde to win.
Not sure of the reasons why someone would go to the trouble to stop a blonde winning. I just think it's a bit of bad luck, that the blondes that made the final perhaps were more conventionally pretty and lacked a model edge compared to the other finalist.
I enjoy doing rankings but I think this is it for now.
It got a bit complicated since cycles 13-15 eliminated two girls at final 4, meaning they had two 3rd/4th placers. But then I thought it would be funny to rank those models together, plus I realized their individual placings wouldn't differ that much from eachother anyway.
So here goes:
21-11....
Seriously the most (or only) memorable thing Alexandra did all cycle was this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSTrIsZrG0, aswell as steal Krista away from Angelea as her new BFF. None of her pictures were particularly memorable and in a stronger cycle she would have been eliminated halfway through for being forgettable and a bit of a drip. Angelea did stand out but mainly for the wrong reasons. Some say she told things how they were, but I just found her rude and petty. She'd go looking for trouble and could never let an argument rest if she still had something to say, sadly she was never satisfied that she had made her point so would just keep dragging it on and on. She did surprisingly well a few times, but then she'd spoil it by bragging about it to those she didn't like. She got weaker towards the end and was rightly dispatched in the double elimination in favour of one of the girls she disliked.
20. Adam Smith (cycle 21)
He's only this high (lol 2nd to last) due to not being as bad as he was expected to be. There were stories of homophobia before the cycle even started, which, along with being a frat meat-head, made people fear the worst. But he proved to be quite level-headed and even kept his cool when getting riled up by Romeo. He had a good look but the show ignored the fact he was lacking quite a few inches in height and his modelling was very one-dimensional, once we got past final 7 it felt like a joke that he was still there. Cracks started appearing in his incredibly controlled edit as he started drinking more and becoming over-confident at something before failing at it. Despite a couple of last-minute forgettable first call-outs to reach the final 3, he predictably fell short of the other 2 guys and plonked into 3rd place.
19. Angelea Preston (cycle 17)
Technically the 3rd placer of this cycle even though she was never properly eliminated. There's not much more to say about this situation that hasn't already been said. She was more likeable here (hence her placing above her previous self) although still very defensive, but the fact she was apparently going to win despite her shaky performance means I have little sympathy for the show messing up their All-Stars final like they did. She survived 4 bottom two's but surviving over Dominique at final 5 felt like one of the most unfair eliminations ever, as there seemed to be no justification in saving Angelea or getting rid of Dominique. After all that, for her to just vanish from the final and then sue the show afterwards (not sure how that case is going), it's all a bit of a mess really. She does have one interesting statistic to her name, that technically she's the only girl to take part in 3 different cycles, as she first appeared in the casting episode of cycle 12. During which she got into a feud with another girl (of course) but didn't make it into the house and had to wait until cycle 14 to audition again (since cycle 13 was for girls 5'7" and under).
18. Aminat Ayinde (cycle 12)
During cycle 12 I read an accurate description of Aminat that said she started off as the girl you'd want to be friends with but ended up as the girl you couldn't get rid of. Initially she was the straight-talker who put unreasonable people in their place who you couldn't help but root for, but she gradually became more confrontational, getting involved in a number of unnecessary arguments where she'd end up purposely trying to antagonize the other person. Meanwhile, her modelling kept stuttering, despite having an amazing body she continuously had a dead face in her pictures and survived 3 bottom two's. I could understand saving her over London and probably Natalie too, but there was no real reason to save her over Celia aswell. At the final 3 CoverGirl shoot, Allison gave the best shot while Aminat gave the best commercial, which left the judges stuck with having to save Teyona at Aminat's expense. Meaning that Aminat was got rid of just before the final runway, which was probably the only reason to keep her around that long.
17. Cory Hindorff (cycle 20)
Despite an interesting sexually ambiguous look, it's surprising just how forgettable his portfolio was. He had some good pictures but he tended to either be stuck with one look or just sink into the background. His personality was also fairly standard and he served the purpose of nothing more than a harmless narrator and gossip. He was harshly eliminated when the final 3 were getting ready for the final runway, much to the sadness of all the girls that had chosen to be on the team of their 'gay best friend'. Unfortunately this swift elimination perfectly summed up the lack of impact he made on the competition.
16. Hannah Jones (cycle 16)
She did seem a bit out-of-place in a cycle full of drama and especially a final 4 including Alexandria, Brittani and Molly. She took some stand-out pictures and was the first girl to get a 2nd first call-out, but her personality was so fragile and she majorly lacked presence, which was a criticism that she really took to heart. I was surprised when she was saved over Alexandria, as a final 3 of girls at war with eachother seemed to be where it was heading, but I think they wanted to get rid of Alexandria so that people forgot about the negativity associated with Brittani and Molly. It was obvious it was merely sparing Hannah until next time, although she ended up doing really well at the final 3 shoot, but the judges got rid of her anyway.
15. Eugena Washington (cycle 7)
A girl who started off really weak and took a long time to get going. Quite a few eliminations this cycle were based on a girl not wanting it enough or at least not showing she wanted it, which was a criticism Eugena regularly faced. She could probably have been eliminated about 3 or 4 times due to looking dead in her pictures, I think what saved her was her potential and her challenge wins. She got better when they went overseas to Spain, learning how to show more passion to the judges, and at final 5 she surprised alot of people by taking one of the best pictures of the cycle. At final 3 she did an okay job at the CoverGirl shoot and the judges even considered keeping her over Melrose, but not showing enough fire in person would haunt her yet again and they decided her late improvement wasn't strong enough to deserve a final 2 spot. She seems to have had a decent career after the show, so maybe the judges were right to keep her around so long.
14. Fatima Siad (cycle 10)
One of the most stunning girls that has ever been on the show, she could pretty much wear anything and still look like a superstar. But there was something off-putting about her personality, it was very cold and condescending, which in a cycle with other strong personalities only led to trouble. Her modelling was criticized for being too mechanical and not fluid enough, but she managed to loosen up and started taking better pictures. She clashed alot with other girls and had a few other troubles along the way, especially at final 7 when the girls were gearing up to go overseas and she didn't have the right travel documents (since she's originally from Somalia). Therefore she had to miss the week's shoot to get it sorted, landing her in the bottom two and being saved over Stacy Ann, who took part in the shoot but who the judges saw as being a weaker model. Overall she survived the bottom two 3 times, until the final 3 where the judges weren't impressed with her CoverGirl commercial and she hit the bottom two again and eliminated. It was obvious she'd have a good career afterwards but she really didn't shine on the show like she probably should have.
13. Jane Randall/Kayla Ferrel (cycle 15)
Like the previous double eliminees, these two were pretty much the opposite of eachother. Jane had great features but lacked personality and struggled to shine in her pictures. Although she learnt how to demonstrate her strengths infront of the camera, the judges weren't excited by her enough to put her in the final 2. Meanwhile Kayla had a fairly strong personality and got alot of attention based on her being a lesbian, but she struggled to look edgy enough for high fashion. She took some good pictures and had the most interesting makeover, but at final 4 the girls took part in an editorial motion feature and Kayla struggled the most with her angles and elongating her limbs, instead looking more like she was in a music video. If it wasn't a high fashion cycle she would possibly have made the final 2, but she proved memorable enough to be brought back for All-Stars where she fell victim to another double elimination but this time about halfway through the cycle.
12. Jenah Doucette (cycle 9)
I wasn't a huge Jenah fan, for me the other frontrunners Heather and Lisa were far more interesting and likeable, but she certainly took some great pictures. I could detect a slight immaturity to her but it was ridiculous the way the judges tried to make a big issue out of her personality when you still had Saleisha, Chantal and Bianca there. Once Heather was eliminated at final 5, like the competition hadn't become bad enough, the remaining two episodes were about breaking 18-year-old Jenah down, despite her being by far the most talented model left. She made it to the final 3, where the girls were asked at judging who had the most/least potential, which became a 'lets tear Jenah down' session. She was put in the bottom two with Saleisha where, despite Tyra admitting that Jenah had done far better than Saleisha throughout the competition despite Saleisha having experience and Jenah having none, Jenah was eliminated for no real reason. I think that was the main problem with cycle 9, the best models were given very few chances, while the average models were given far too many chances.
11. Renee Alway (cycle 8)
She certainly had a difficult time, though she did bring most of it on herself. It was confusing how exactly she wanted to portray herself, either the ruthless competitor who deserved it more than anyone else or the misunderstood underdog who just wanted to get along with everyone. She had a strange friendship with Jael, where they started as close friends, but then Renee wanted to distance herself from wild Jael as much as possible and they ended up having various verbal wars. After a few weeks of gossiping and stirring, Renee had managed to turn every other girl against her and Tyra found herself playing mediator in an attempt to help Renee get back into the group, which seemed to work. She didn't hit the bottom two until the final 3 where she was harshly eliminated after being told she did the best in the CoverGirl commercial but looked old in her pictures. I think she went at the right time because, while she usually did a good job, she lacked the spark of the other 2 girls. But I wish they had given her something more constructive, as it seemed like such a cheap reason to eliminate her at that point in the competition.
Top 10 - Elyse (cycle 1), Shandi (cycle 2), Amanda (cycle 3), Keenyah (cycle 4), Bre (cycle 5), Jade (cycle 6), Analeigh (cycle 11), Erin/Jennifer (cycle 13), Annaliese (cycle 18) and Leila (cycle 19)
Picture reference (breaking it up this time to avoid a huge mass of links together)
12. Jenah Doucette (cycle 9) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ld_rMl1D7U/Uh4PDrHjygI/AAAAAAAABe8/SBptixII3bo/s1600/jenah+doucette.jpg
13. Jane Randall https://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb3foh12Sd1qgwufqo1_400.jpg
Kayla Ferrel (cycle 15) https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/72/f1/30/72f13092c35c5ac0f365019e3d7f5f2f.jpg
14. Fatima Siad (cycle 10) http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/gen-gallery-antm10-models/8/images/c/0003/cw-antm10-fatima-container_010643-812977-500x320.jpg
15. Eugena Washington (cycle 7) http://i.imgur.com/kkRq3.jpg
16. Hannah Jones (cycle 16) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-enkKINumy_o/TcBFC4BlY1I/AAAAAAAAAB8/XyXXlz4Tzok/s1600/TM160205HAN1jpg92fe6547t3.jpg
17. Cory Hindorff (cycle 20) http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/lanalyn_del_roe/63148133/388131/388131_original.jpg
18. Aminat Ayinde (cycle 12) http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5900000/Aminat-Swimsuit-americas-next-top-model-5921942-1024-768.jpg
19. Angelea Preston (cycle 17) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LpPc_XcStM8/To33AvWe3EI/AAAAAAAAFv0/wjhYTg3USSM/s1600/6195224937_1495d0d6a6_o.jpg
20. Adam Smith (cycle 21) https://christoricolado.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/antm_2111_adam_0206_v1_mt-c62920cc.jpeg
21. Alexandra Underwood https://zachiepoo.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/4518373432_a7edbccf4e_o.jpg
Angelea Preston (cycle 14) https://zachiepoo.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/4518373596_3753589bc2_o.jpg
I was going to put her much lower but then I remembered about the epic transformation she had, not in appearance but in her attitude. Despite ticking the judges off for complaining about her makeover before the girls had even done a photoshoot, they actually warned her for coming across boring. They couldn't fault her modelling though, infact I think her first 4 pictures were pretty spectacular. Gradually though, as bigger personalities were eliminated, she became a dominating force as her desire to win went into overdrive. Just about keeping her confidence in check was her inability to resist comfort foods and she developed a slightly bulging stomach that had to be photoshopped out of her pictures. Despite irking the other girls on several occasions while they were in South Africa (like crying when they visited Nelson Mandela's cell despite knowing nothing about him and not bringing money when they ate out), she made it to the final where she hoped she would breeze through the CoverGirl commercial and into the final 2. Sadly for her, the judges found her to be too rehearsed and predictable, and instead chose Kahlen's superior portfolio to join Naima in the final 2. Some viewers were happy seeing her put in her place like that, especially against 2 girls that she never rated highly, but I thought it was quite sweet the way she joked about her weight in her final words, showing that she was still human.
9. Erin Wagner/Jennifer An (cycle 13)
Both very strong models. Erin was one of the frontrunners from the start, but she could be a bit of a brat. She was over-competitive in challenges, even attempting to sabotage other girls to throw them off their game, which they certainly took her to task over. She got rather cocky going into commercials at final 7 and had a total meltdown on-set when she couldn't get it together, which started her run of surviving the bottom two 3 times in a row. Tyra was especially frustrated with her for losing the spark she had in the first half of the cycle. At the final 4 shoot she redeemed herself, but to the judges it was a case of being too little too late. Jennifer started off pretty good, looking like a real contender to be the show's first Asian winner. She got even stronger in the latter weeks, with the first call-outs being shared between her and Nicole, and she seemed destined for the final 2 where I think she would have been the toughest competition for Nicole. But she did so poorly at the final 4 shoot that the judges instantly lost faith in her and they were totally split on who to put through so they went for the most fan-friendly choice (first time for everything).
8. Leila Goldkuhl (cycle 19)
The most high fashion girl of the cycle, who would be used to test-run the new comeback twist. She started off friends with Laura, sharing her reward with her after getting first call-out, but when Laura didn't return the favour and chose Kristin instead, Leila was quietly seething. Thanks to some stirring from Kristin, it got around that Leila was obsessed with Laura, which Leila was not happy about and threw it back in Laura's face, accusing her of being obsessed with herself. This was leading up to Leila getting eliminated that episode, despite being one of the frontrunners, for doing a duck face and looking slightly squinty in a shoot where the girls were hurled up in the air as cheerleaders. It all just reeked of manipulation, but it set up a nice story for the comeback twist with Leila coming back looking for vengeance against Kristin and Laura. She came back and delivered some good pictures, getting to celebrate with Kiara while Kristin freaked out at them for rubbing it in that they were doing well and she wasn't, just before Kristin was eliminated. It would have made an epic end to the cycle if she could pull off victory, as the judges were salivating over her final 3 shot, but they were majorly disappointed with her final runway performance and she dropped down into 3rd place. But there's no point having too much sympathy for her as she doesn't seem to be struggling to find work now.
7. Annaliese Dayes (cycle 18)
She was the only UK girl (besides Sophie of course) to improve her placing from BNTM. I think every cycle needs someone super friendly and engaging but still opinionated, especially if they're going to do youtube recaps of each episode after it's aired. The judges, especially Kelly Cutrone, really had it in for her about not being high fashion or edgy enough, but she fended off the criticisms by producing some pretty good pictures and avoided the bottom two until the final 3. She was going to have a tough time getting past Sophie or Laura but then when she struggled at the shoot she was pretty much toast. She embraced the fact that she's more of a presenter/spokesmodel than an actual model, but on the show her personality showed that it could open up a number of opportunities to her.
6. Analeigh Tipton (cycle 11)
She's actually pretty similar to Annaliese (even in name), as she was a sweet bubbly girl struggling to look high fashion, plus the judges thought she had the skills of an actress rather than a model. She was a former iceskater but disappointed Tyra as her poses were rather wishy-washy, but she gradually got better and for 5 weeks straight didn't leave the top 2 in the call-out order. At final 7 Tyra said she gave the best commercial in ANTM history and at final 4 she gave what I think is the best shot of the cycle. She had an intimate friendship with Marjorie, causing people to wonder just how close they were. At final 3 she made a mess of her lines and looked too 'actressy' in her shot and was eliminated. I think she would have showed up both McKey and Samantha on the final runway, but admittedly she did have a face like a small woodland creature that was quite difficult to capture in a picture. Since the show she seems to be following the actress route.
5. Jade Cole (cycle 6)
One of the most divisive models in the show's history. Proclaiming herself to be the undiscovered supermodel, I managed to enjoy her most of the time as she was far less aggressive than the usual antagonists. Her self-importance was, for the most part, delightfully eccentric and spiritual. Her confidence helped her win challenges and take strong pictures, but she found it difficult to win over the judges as they found her too over-the-top and she tended to photograph harsh. I didn't like how she felt the need to pick at Gina to prove her own inner-strength and, as her attitude got on the nerves of some of the other girls, it did start to feel like she was kept around simply for drama. She landed in the bottom two a massive 5 times, but at final 3 the judges finally gave up hope of her changing and there was a sense of relief when she was finally eliminated. The interesting thing about cycle 6 is that the reaction to it wasn't totally positive at the time, which I think Jade's continued presence is partly to blame for. It does feel like opinion has warmed a great deal towards Jade since then and when the All-Stars cycle was announced she was one of the first names that people wanted to see, although she turned it down due to not being happy with the way she was portrayed in cycle 6.
4. Amanda Swafford (cycle 3)
It looked like she was set to have the ultimate positive edit, as she revealed that she was legally blind and being the oldest she'd likely be the 'mama' of the house, but like most of them from cycle 3 she'd prove to be much more complex than that. She came off as untrustworthy to a few girls when Cassie confided in her that she was bulimic, which then instantly became known by everyone. Amanda did seem regretful though and I felt sorry for her the times she panicked when she had to do something in poor lighting and the other girls speculated that she was putting it on to get special treatment. She got on with everyone for the most part but Eva certainly rubbed her the wrong way, leading to a situation where she had lost her crystals and assumed that Eva had stolen them out of spite. This led to a huge fall-out involving a few girls who all aired their ongoing grievances about eachother, only for Amanda to later find her crystals after remembering she had purposely hidden them so she wouldn't lose them (whoops). She had incredible porcelain doll-like features and was never in any real danger of being eliminated until final 3 where she, Eva and Yaya all aced their CoverGirl shots and it was a case of someone having to go. The judges had never really found the spark in Amanda's personality and she ended up taking the fall, some would say she was majorly robbed but any decision would have been questionable at that point. It was interesting the way that both Amanda and Yaya's edits started off totally positive but gradually introduced more negative aspects, while Eva's started off totally negative and gradually improved. I saw in some ANTM reunion show, Amanda and Eva greeted eachother like old friends which was nice to see.
3. Bre Scullark (cycle 5)
She was all about being true to herself and genuine with others, and expected the same from other people. This kind of level-headed wisdom made her easy to warm to, but it also meant she was very analytical and self-conscious, concerning the judges that she was too sensitive for the modelling industry. So she was very much the underdog for the first half of the cycle, but then she went on a rather unexpected change when the girls went to England. Feeling the stress of the competition, Bre found one of her granola bars had been stolen and with no evidence assumed Nicole had taken it as she had been getting increasingly irritated by her. She retaliated by pouring Nicole's red bull cans down the drain, but Kim caught Bre in the act and later informed Nicole about it. Having scolded Kim in the past for her gossiping, Bre lost it with her and refused to show any remorse when confronted by Nicole. The tension carried on through the shoot and into judging, where Bre was reprimanded by the judges and then lashed out at Kim again while the girls were waiting behind the scenes. Bre was put in the bottom two with Kim, where the judges decided that Kim was the girl that most allowed the drama to affect her performance and eliminated her, much to Nicole's frustration. The following episode Bre and Nicole were forced to spend the day together (ironically because Nik and Jayla wanted to sort out their own tension), where they made friends and Bre seemed to be back to her old self and offered to pay for the drinks. It was hard not to have sympathy for her as she then got ill and had to fight her drowsiness during the shoot and hit the bottom two again. She was spared and made final 3, but her inability to always look like a model in comparison to Nik and Nicole meant she was finally eliminated in her 5th bottom two appearance. She immediately removed her high heels, which perfectly summed up Bre's struggle of trying to live up to being this 'perfect' model, but now the pressure was off she could be plain old Bre again. She returned for All Stars but never really made an impact as it felt like she had outgrown the show.
2. Shandi Sullivan (cycle 2)
She probably had the most famous makeover of all, transforming from awkward misfit to super high fashion model. She wasn't considered a threat at the start with her gawky presence, wiry brown hair and glasses, plus Tyra told her she had the worst runway walk she'd ever seen. But once she went blonde and was given contact lenses, the judges were instantly drawn to her and she always stood out from the pack. An unexpected situation happened at final 4 though when the girls hung out with some male models, Shandi got caught up in the moment and slept with one of them despite having a boyfriend back home. Watching her ring him the next day to tell him what she did must be one of the most uncomfortable moments ever witnessed on the show. This distracted her from the competition, although she didn't stop delivering good pictures and showing how much she had improved her runway walk. I think most viewers expected her to win, but at final 3 the girls were given 3 individual photoshoots to shine at and Shandi couldn't show the same desire as Mercedes and Yoanna. After the show she didn't continue modelling and didn't last long with her boyfriend, but the experience looked like it had a profound effect on her life. Although she took things a tiny bit too far, she is the ultimate 'caterpillar into a butterfly' story.
1. Elyse Sewell (cycle 1)
Frustratingly complex and absolutely razor sharp, it's funny that the best narrator of the harmless first cycle was a girl who was skeptical about everything they were doing. She was the voice of the cynical viewers that the show probably has more of now than ever before. She had a great look and was generally pretty calm and mature, but she struggled to find it mentally challenging. She's well-known for using confessionals to really let off steam whenever she felt attacked or made a fool of, like when Robin mocked her atheism or when the girls suspected she might have an eating disorder. She was labelled arrogant by the judges a couple of times, but I don't think it was arrogance as such, as she was more than willing to criticize herself in the same way. Despite the judges occasionally being concerned she was too thin, they were excited by her potential and her modelling got even better as the cycle went on, especially when they went to Paris. At final 3 the girls went on castings for the upcoming final 2 runway, where Elyse's desire was brought into question again, especially due to her falling asleep in a meeting with a client, and she was eliminated against other frontrunner Adrianne. In an ironic twist, despite promising to go to medical school, Elyse became one of the most successful models from the show and whenever Tyra tries to rewrite history, you get the feeling that Elyse is her de facto cycle 1 winner.
Condensed version:
2. Shandi Sullivan (cycle 2) http://data2.whicdn.com/images/6407868/original.jpg
3. Bre Scullark (cycle 5) http://data1.whicdn.com/images/4615246/large.jpg
4. Amanda Swafford (cycle 3) http://images.buddytv.com/articles/americas-next-top-model/images/cycle-3/amanda-1.jpg
5. Jade Cole (cycle 6) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2jh1YI1Wtro/TS3gkA7IhcI/AAAAAAAAAgo/EfOJ7l7nuxs/s1600/antm_jade10_pascal_demeester.jpg
6. Analeigh Tipton (cycle 11) http://i2.listal.com/image/657558/936full-analeigh-tipton.jpg
7. Annaliese Dayes (cycle 18) http://i2.cdnds.net/12/19/618x928/realitytv_antm_brit_invasion_ep_10_2.jpg
8. Leila Goldkuhl (cycle 19) http://img.poptower.com/pic-98984/americas-next-top-model.jpg?d=600
9. Erin Wagner https://antm411.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/firooz-zahedi3.jpg
Jennifer An (cycle 13) https://antmuniverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/cw-antm13-jennifer-container_049511-d75146-500x376.jpg
10. Keenyah Hill (cycle 4) http://i.imgur.com/MWhp0.jpg
If I were to list my fave pics...
I love a shot when I feel like the model is so in the moment that they aren't even thinking about it. Representing their personality or a side to them that people didn't expect.
Others would be:-
cycle 2 - Shandi's temple http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/shandi-america-27s-next-top-model-49051_300_450.jpg
cycle 4 - Keenyah's got milk while changing nationalities http://top-model.fan-sites.org/gallery/season4/ps/milk/004.jpg
cycle 5 - Nicole's b/w http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=5602951
cycle 6 - Joanie & Danielle's dolls https://ewpopwatch.files.wordpress.com/2006/04/92544__model_l_1.jpg
cycle 7 - CariDee's scary http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Az5ObtGpKT0/TSm28RWv1MI/AAAAAAAAAKo/lYLppfKHbTc/s1600/7.jpg
AJ's cannibal http://i.imgur.com/BXJeF.jpg
cycle 9 - Heather's CoverGirl http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QfrGPLFjM_Q/R1NQjaAS81I/AAAAAAAAAFg/rDhFY5FO4Ms/s1600-R/cw-antm09-heather-container_008885-816ed0-375x500.jpg
Lisa's gargoyle http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-9-ANTM-saleisha/ANTM-9-lisa-gargoyle.jpg
cycle 10 - Lauren's meat http://www.cwtv.com/images/c/0003/cw-antm10-lauren-container_010751-a004d1-500x334.jpg
Fatima's silhouette http://i.imgur.com/fxzX0.jpg
cycle 11 - Elina's bikini http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-11-ANTM-cycle-ten-mckey/america-next-top-model-antm-season-11-elina.jpg
Lauren Brie's swans http://i.imgur.com/bceNx.jpg
Marjorie's toilet http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-11-ANTM-cycle-ten-mckey/america-next-top-model-antm-season-11-marjorie-awards.jpg
cycle 13 - Nicole's underwater http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/americas-next-top-model/antm-americas-next-top-model-13/americas-next-top-model-season-13-nicole-underwater.jpg
cycle 14 - Jessica's anime bag http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_M2uPf1vNYLY/S_tLSRWMyKI/AAAAAAAAAlc/e6kmtFvX1xM/s1600/5+Faux+Fashion-Jess.jpg
cycle 21 - Lenox's hair http://image-cdn.zap2it.com/images/antm-lenox-the-girl-who-got-five-frames.jpg
Okay, that was quite alot.
Yet it feels strange not to include certain shoots, I was spoilt for choice over which one from the cycle 8 shoot where the models were all corpses after killing eachother. lol I guess you can google it since it's a pretty controversial one.
I think I've shown ANTM enough love now.
Roll on next cycle where there'll hopefully be more pictures that I can't help but try to copy in the mirror when no-one's looking.
She was a really beautiful model. RIP