America's Next Top Model: A Farewell
- Jalen Fairborne Chapman
- Dec 5, 2015
- 20 min read
Tyra Banks is the both the bane of my existence and the reason I breathe easily. Not only is she an American fashion icon, she created the best reality show on the planet: America's Next Top Model. She's made it her mission to launch the careers of hundreds of aspiring models over the past 12 years, while entertaining us at the same time. Now, I'm not saying this show needs an Emmy (maybe its earlier seasons), but anybody who truly enjoys Tyra's work has an appreciation of made up words (tooch, smize; she's pretty much a modern day Shakespeare), ridiculous reality TV antics (vertical runways, photoshoots on top of crocodiles) and someone honestly having a really good time. So join me as I take a stroll down ANTM's memory lane:
Cycle 1
Where it all began. It prominently starred the tomboy Adrienne, elitist bookworm Elyse, Bible thumpers Robin & Shannon, and comedic commentator Ebony. In re-watching, I kind of miss the low-budget feel.
Elyse loved to argue with Robin and Shannon because she was an atheist, the thought of which terrified the other two. They refused to even wear nude clothing during a photoshoot (what industry did you think you were going into?) They were also affronted by Ebony minding her business while being gay. When her girlfriend visited, they hid out in their room reading The Bible (albeit Shannon apologized later); if that isn't passive-aggression, I will never know what is. For Christ's sake they even forced a group prayer!
Tyra wasted no time getting them into the competition, mandating bikini waxes in the first few episodes, and then throwing snakes, rooftop photoshoots, and brutally honest panels at them.
When they got to Paris, the go-sees were a hot mess on every level: Kesse got distracted by being in Paris (eye roll), Robin could've gotten kidnapped after throwing money at strangers to help her navigate the streets, and Adrienne actually had to fend off a sexual assault when a man tried to put his hand up her skirt. (Source: Tumblr)
After walking in a Baby Phat Final Runway and somehow avoiding most of the drama, Adrienne emerged victorious!
Winner: Adrienne Curry
My Choice: Adrienne Curry or Elyse Sewell
Favorite Shot:
Shannon Stewart
Photo by Troy Ward
Episode: The Girl Who Gets Rushed To The Emergency Room
Cycle 2
The first episode started with the girls leaving Jenaisca at the house because she overslept! I'm over here cracking up, like nobody could help a sister out and at least poke her??
Throughout the season, we saw some of Mercedes' journey with lupus, which affected her stamina and even made some of her hair begin to fall out.
This was also the cycle where Tyra debuted her hit single (I KNOW; LEAVE ME ALONE) "Skake Ya Body". But the best part was that she had these no-rhythm girls DANCE in the official music video. I don't know how anyone got positive feedback, but then again, my Tyra is an accomplished actor (insert SHAMELESS LIFE-SIZE 2 PLUG HERE).
"Shake Ya Body"
by Tyra Banks
Source: YouTube
Camille was this cycle's mean girl, and although she didn't use a Bible and her faith to get the point across (cough Robin), everything she said had an almost startling conviction, even when she tried to tell Tyra that Yoanna had an eating disorder. One, she did not; two, yikes! This girl had zero fear, whatsoever. During a go-see challenge to test how the models reacted to harsh criticism, Camille's walk was insulted. Homegirl wasn't having any of THAT; she responded with one of the more iconic lines of the series: "This is my signature walk, and this is the walk that will make me famous" (the star reveals herself at 0:35).
(Source: YouTube)
Winner: Yoanna House
My Choice: Mercedes Scelba-Shorte
Favorite Shot:
Mercedes Scelba-Shorte
Photo by Nigel Barker
Episode: The Girl Who Overslept
Cycle 3
There are so many faves in this cycle!! We have Toccara, a full-figured model who gave fierce competition, even when some of the clothes at photo shoots didn't fit her. Her bubbly personality and strong portfolio ended up getting her numerous hosting gigs, and even landed a spread in Vogue Italia.
Toccara Jones
Photo by Steven Meisel
Vogue Italia, July 2008
Then there's Yaya (WHO SHOULD'VE WON, TYRA). Sometimes perceived as snotty, she was determined to bring both brains & beauty to the modeling world. She took some gorgeous photos but only made it to second place. She's gone on to star in films like The Kids Are All Right, Whitney, and Lee Daniels' The Butler.
Eva Pigford (now Marcille) is pretty much the first and only ANTM villain to win! She rubbed the other girls the wrong way from the first episode, insinuated that Ann was obsessed with her, and some snide comments weren't always welcomed by the others. But she did turn out one of my favorite pictures of all time even though she was mortified of her eight-legged co-star.
Winner: Eva Pigford
My Choice: Yaya DaCosta
Favorite Shot:
Eva Pigford
Photo by Bill Diodato
Episode: The Girl Who Is Panic-Stricken
Cycle 4
What a wonderful ride this cycle was. First, we met Brandy who actually compained about being on set (girl, really?). Then Michelle got a flesh-eating virus, which set the whole house in hysteria. And then Rebecca straight up PASSED OUT in the middle of panel (okay she had a medical condition, but DAMN)!
(Source: YouTube)
There was even a photoshoot in a graveyard literally HOURS after Kahlen learned that her friend from home had died. There was also a really ridiculous pillow fight photoshoot and everyone was awkwardly monitoring Keenyah's progressive weight gain. Tyra also destroyed poor Lluvy by telling her that her photo as Pisces (yes, the astrological sign) was the WORST PHOTO IN THE HISTORY OF TOP MODEL. How do you live that down???? And I would be completely remiss if I failed to talk about She-Who-We-Were-ALL-Rooting-For: Tiffany Richardson. This unsuspecting model lit the fuse that set Tyra Banks off to the point of no return, and reality TV icon status.
(Source: YouTube)
On a brighter note, who could forget about the most important model of the cycle?
(Source: Google Images)
Winner: Naima Mora
My Choice: Naima Mora or Kahlen Rondot
Favorite Shot:
Kahlen Rondot
Photo by Mathu Anderson
Episode: The Girl With The Deliciously Tacky Dance
Cycle 5
Now this had some next level nonsense. Cassandra was this pageant girl and was sure that Tyra wouldn't dream of touching her gorgeous hair during makeovers. So naturally, Tyra ordered it to be sawed off a la Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby. This girl straight up walked out of a photoshoot and eliminated herself because her hair was too short. Firsties: this is cycle 5 and ONE OF YOU IS GOING TO LOSE YOUR HAIR; and Then: you already cut your hair, so why wouldn't you at least ride the competition out? Quit before the makeover not after.
But this actually could've been a good time to dip because the photoshoot has them running on treadmills trying to look fierce. Most failed in my opinion, but I couldn't care too much because the finished product had a very special guest in the background.
Ms. J Alexander & Lisa D'Amato
Photo by Mike Rosenthal
Episode: The Girl Who Makes A Disclaimer
There was photoshoot with the cast of Wild Boyz (can you say "throwback"?), and while Bre was not having any of their nonsense, Lisa was peeing in a diaper for fun.
When they went abroad to the UK, Bre was involved in one of the biggest ANTM controversies: somebody stole her granola bars!!! This sent the future 3rd-place finalist on a warpath. She interrogated everyone in the house and when she thought she found the culprit in Nicole, she poured all her red bull down the drain. This was like watching Sherlock Holmes guest star on Barney. But Lisa came clean in 2011 and admitted that she stole them!
Winner: Nicole Linkletter
My Choice: Nik Pace
Favorite Shot:
Nik Pace
Photo by Barry Lategan
Episode: The Girl Who Retaliates
Bre Scullark
Photo by Nadia Pandolfo
Episode: The Girl Whose Boyfriend Is Cheating On Her
Cycle 6
Let's just start with who we're all waiting for: JADE COLE.
She is the one true antagonist of the Top Model franchise, and one of my all time reality TV faves. This is a woman who would say how down-to-earth she is AND spout out some textbook narcisstic mess about how she's the hottest, baddest bitch in the competition (she basically called herself the next Janice Dickinson) in the SAME BREATH. Jade is truly an icon to anyone who truly cared about Top Model. She was also a source of some of the best scenes/quotes of the show, like when she cursed in a CoverGirl commercial went back & forth with Furonda about what a "facade" was, and even created the (in?)famous "THIS IS NOT AMERICA'S NEXT TOP BEST FRIEND". You know what, just take a look for yourself:
The best villain since Tiffany "New York" Pollard
(Source: YouTube)
My queen could also take a damn good photo, which saved her from the bottom two like 4 times (#WhenWillYourFave) before her timely elimination in 3rd place. And to this day, I am bitter Tyra couldn't get my Jade on the All-Stars season (see Cycle 17).
On less entertaining news, this was also the season that a go-go dancer with a pastor father made it to second place, someone being called J. Lo was an insult (how) and that poor house phone was put through so much drama because Nnenna kept hogging it to call her boyfriend that she was ALWAYS fighting with.
Winner: Danielle Evans
My Choice: Danielle Evans
Favorite Shot (okay this was terrible but it's too good to pass):
Jade Cole
Scene by Mike Rosenthal
Episode: The Girl With Two Bad Takes
Cycle 7
This was a particularly fun cycle because Melrose had been designated as the villain from early on, and she just ran with it. Like, this girl barely got along with ANYONE. Personally, I though she should've won, but there was no way the "mean girl" was going to be victorious. And after the twins (Amanda & Michelle) performances fell apart, the only viable option was Caridee, who narrowly escaped elimination even after telling Nigel he had a stick up his ass. But the shining moment of Cycle 7 was the Final Runway; it was horror/dead-runaway bride themed, and a gift from above (the fun starts at 3:40).
(Source: YouTube)
Caridee acctually stepped on Melrose's dress and ripped it, which just added more fuel to the distressed soon-to-be runner up.
Winner: Caridee English
My Choice: Melrose Bickerstaff
Favorite Shot:
Eugena Washington
Photo by Nigel Barker
Episode: The Girl Who Sticks Her Foot In Her Mouth
Cycle 8
Brittany had the BIGGEST melt-down after returning late from a go-see challenge, thus disqualifying her. My fave, Natasha, had been disqualified as well, but fell with grace. She calmly reminded the screaming infant that "some people have war in their countries".
(Source: YouTube)
They randomly had Benny Ninja teach them how to vogue, and there was this ridiculous cocktail party in which the girls had to come up with new names to mingle with some pretty impressive people like 50 Cent and Nicole Richie (okay, it was 2007-impressive). Jael bothered 50 and then he literally threw her into the pool, which was not cool.
Jaslene, another fave, was not one to mess with in this competition. She had four best photos, and never touched the bottom two.
Winner: Jaslene Gonzalez
My Choice: Jaslene Gozalez or Natasha Galinka
Favorite Shot:
Jaslene Gonzalez
Photo by Nigel Barket
Episode: The Girl Who Won't Stop Talking
Cycle 9
Despite being a pretty uneventful season, Saleisha winning is by far one of the most debated outcomes in ANTM-history. First there was some bias against Saleisha because she had some previous modeling experience, and was viewed as inconsistent by many fans. Chantal had more best photos and was clearly more editorial. But it was probably her poor recovery from knocking over a stilts-walker in the Final Runway that cost her the title.
Okay but this was hilarious
(Source: YouTube)
This cycle also featured Heather Kuzmich, the first contestant ever with Asperger's Syndrome. The show featured her well, and she was a very strong competitor before her elimination in fifth place. Bianca was the designated bully, who received the best makeover by having her hair shaved off. But she also showed the most improvement out of anyone, in my opinion, landing her a strong fourth place finish.
Winner: Saleisha Stowers
My Choice: Chantal Jones
Favorite Shots:
Chantal Jones
Photo by Matthew Jordan Smith
Episode: The Girls Go Rock Climbing
Saleisha Stowers
Photo by Tyra Banks
Episode: The Girls Go To The Great Wall
Cycle 10
To be completely honest, I wasn't really enthralled with this season. The photoshoot as Renaissance women was really pretty, but I spent the majority of the time baffled that Tyra made these poor girls wear outfits of raw meat all in the name of fashion. I was also thrown by Anya Kop losing, despite never touching the bottom two until the finale AND getting best photo five times! I get that she wasn't as personable as the other girls but COME ON.
This year's villain, Dominique, did her job and left everyone perpetually agitated. She berated Claire and tried to insult her marriage (to which Claire responded "At least I have a man!"), and even called the future winner a racist with zero facts, examples, instances, or rationale. Dominique was on some other type of mess. And she was always eating. Like, at all times of the day.
Eat your heart out, Lady Gaga
Model: Claire Unabia
Photo by Trevor O'Shana
Episode: Where's The Beef?
But even though I didn't agree with who won (especially since she was on the bottom two on four separate occasions), it was pretty cool to see a full-figured woman win the competition!
Winner: Whitney Thompson
My Choice: Fatima Siad
Favorite Shots:
Fatima Siad
Photo by Tyra Banks
Episode: We are Spartans!
Anya Kop
Photo by Mike Rosenthal
Episode: If You Can't Make It Here, You Can't Make It Anywhere
Cycle 11
Tyra opened this cycle with the corniest space/sci-fi opening: She stepped out of some tube made out of aluminum foil or something and then "disappeared" with the producers prodding the poor models to act amazed.
With that out of the way, we got to meet the first transgender contestant on Top Model: Isis King! She didn't go far but she used the show and All-Stars to launch her career, working with American Apparel and guest starring on The Bold And The Beautiful.
This season was a bit boring because the frontrunners were SO OBVIOUS from the beginning of the competition. All I cared about was Sheena, the one Asian girl since Cycle 6's Gina. But unlike the meek target of JAde Cole, Sheena had personality for days! She was dippin' and doin' it like the world was her dancefloor. Homegirl barely made it abroad, which is where my focus plummeted until McKey inevitably won.
Winner: McKey Sullivan
My Choice: Sheena Sakai or Analeigh Tipton
Favorite Shots:
Sheena Sakai
Photo by Nigel Barker
Episode: Fierce Eyes
Analeigh Tipton
Photo by Barrie Hulliege
Episode: Good Times and Windmills
Cycle 12
Cycle 12 was one of mixed feelings for me; I cycled between joy, rage, and confusion. Felicia "Fo" Porter was adorable and took stunning pictures, even as the shortest girl there. She was eliminated prematurely after some weird beach photo shoot by a girl who couldn't get even get a mediocre photo by herself.
Allison Harvard is an all-time fave of antm watchers. She has these haunting huge eyes and managed to stay in her lane not only the entire cycle, but when she was on All-Stars too (losing in 2nd place for a second time)! She did have this little obsession with blood, which freaked everyone out, but she took a great picture! She probably would've won, too, if Teyona's weave hadn't fallen out on the Final Runway (Teyona proceeded to swing it around).
Cycle 12 was also the birthplace of another savage panel moment. Talia at one point felt that she didn't make a wise career move in coming on the show, which irritated Celia. The latter decided to take matters into her own hands and inform Tyra after that week's elimination. What happened after, well.....
Get rekt, sweetie (:
(Source: YouTube)
Winner: Teyona Anderson
My Choice: Fo Porter or Teyona Anderson
Favorite Shot:
Fo Porter
Photo by Keith Major
Episode: Here's Your Test
Cycle 13
This one went out to all the vertically-challenged girls who couldn't get signed because they were too short; Tyra even had a 5'7" cut off. But just because the models were travel-sized doesn't mean mean their drama wasn't party-sized. One girl got eliminated in the middle of a challenge because she couldn't sing and dance on command in the middle of a go-see challenge (I really love this show).
This cycle also focused on Erin being unapproachable by most of the girls and Jennifer's lazy eyelid. Tyra still managed to have some fun by literally having the girls race through Wal-Mart, where Erin (of course) was throwing down and stole the picture of another girl (that they had to collect during the race).
Now, every cycle, the viewers are always excited to see which "fashion capital of the world" the Top 6 will go to. This year was.......HAWAII!! Nothing against the Aloha State, but after going to Paris, Spain, and Australia, Hawaii seemed a bit...low budget. To make "abroad" worse, Tyra got a bunch of backlash when a photoshoot tried to celebrate the combination of races & cultures, but it came off kinda blackface-y.
Winner: Nicole Fox
My Choice: Jennifer An
Favorite Shots (both by Baldomero Fernandez during "The Early Bird Gets The Makeover"):
Rae Weisz
Jennifer An
Cycle 14
Now this cycle was particularly fun because of the sheer amount of drama. As I sit reminiscing, the majoritiy of my memories involve clique-y behaviour and Angelea being robbed of her crown the first time (see Cycle 17). Like, everyone was fighting: Raina & Angelea, Jessica & Angelea, Brenda & Angelea...okay so it was pretty much everyone against Angelea, but Alasia criticized Anslee's parenting!!
I'll also say that I loved the shoots from this cycle. There was a great CoverGirl shoot on the NYC subway, and even one where they were dressed in nothing but hair extensions! They were beautiful!
Below: Krista White photographed by Jerry Metellus during "Big Hair Day"
And a veryyyy special shout-out to Alasia for giving us a GIF that I've used for years:
(Source: Tumblr)
Winner: Krista White
My Choice: Angelea Preston or Jessica Faherty
Favorite Shots:
Jessica Faherty
Photo by D-Nice
Episode: Smile and Pose
Angelea Preston
Photo by Mike Ruiz
Episode: New York Women!
Cycle 15
If there were ever so blatant that one girl was going to win, it was this cycle, and it was Ann. She started out insecure, kind of dorky, and wasn't opposed to marrying a 60-year-old warlock (she also doesn't mind hobos); but she took the competition by storm.
Yup.
(source: buddytv)
Ann made Top Model history by winning best photo for the first five consecutive weeks of the competition. As much as I wanted Chris to win, homegirl killed it. Ann still had some stiff competition from Kayla, Chris, and Chelsea, but the judges had already solidified their obsession with her. Some other girls included androgynous Liz who always seemed clueless, and Jane, who I forgot was there until she made it past Chris.
Winner: Ann Ward
My Choice: Chris White
Favorite Shot:
Chris White
Photo by Eddie & Moshe Brakha
Episode: Karolina Kurkova
Cycle 16
This cycle was one of some of my favorite runway challenges. On the FIRST episode, Tyra began her hazing with having the girls walk on water...while inside an inflateable plastic ball. Brittani and Dominique stood out, the latter in a more comedic sense. Tyra also made the girls literally light their hands on fire while walking down a runway (they had protective gloves, but still!). THEN the girls who did the worst in the challenge had to walk home! And I have to give a shoutout to one of the WORST makeovers ever: Molly with the weave, that eventually was removed.
So this season had another early antagonist; her name was Alexandria. She ostracized herself early on by playing the victim for everything. Like, she left some nasty chicken rotting in the fridge for who knows how long, and then was mad because she thought she was being patronized. She complained at phot shoots, basically tried to direct the professionals on the set, and when even the judges critiqued her behavior, Alexandria had the nerve
Tyra needs to stop putting weaves where they don't belong
(Source: Tumblr)
to respond with "But I'm the talent!" She was probably saved so many times because she was good drama. And Brittani almost went home when she FLIPPED OUT on Alexandria during a challenge and panel, actually inducing a semi-panic attack.
I did really enjoy that there was a good deal of competition this cycle. After watching the show for years, I kind of knew who was going to make it to the final episodes (Molly, Brittani, Alexandria), but others like the squeaky Jaclyn and "Fiercely-Real" Kasia didn't make it easy for them.
Winner: Brittani Kline
My Choice: Brittani Kline
Favorite Shots (both by Nigel Barker during "Lana Marks"):
Brittani Kline
Molly O'Connell
Cycle 17: All-Stars
My friend, Monica, and I had been BEGGING Tyra to bring back our faves for years and lo and behold, we got our beautiful troublemakers! We got Red Bull-spilling Bre, diaper-peeing Lisa, and Alexandria "The Talent". My life was honestly blessed by this season from photoshoots as Snooki & Nene Leakes. They also literally had to write songs for their own MUSIC VIDEOS about their lives, while incorporating "Pot Ledom," which is "Top Model" backwards. And poor Allison's (Cycle 12) song was about her father dying! #TactByTopModel
I just...
(Source: YouTube)
And now we have the controversy that shook my world: The true winner of All-Stars. From watching the Top 3's performances, it was obvious that Angelea was going to win (DON'T FIGHT ME ON THIS) but after the completely ridiculous final runway that included swimming, Tyra stated they had to "re-shoot the finale" but with Angelea not present. Earlier this year, Angelea filed a suit against Tyra saying she unjustly lost her prize! Because of this drama, Lisa won the crown.
Winner: Lisa D'Amato
My Choice: Angelea Preston
Favorite Shot:
Dominique Reighard
Photo by Alvaro Goveia
Episode: Anthony Zuiker
Cycle 18: British Invasion
This cycle was aptly titled "British Invasion" due to Tyra bringing som of the past contestants from Britain's Next Top Model to compete with newbies from the US. We came in hot with Louise (a Brit) FLIPPING OUT on Kelly Cutrone, thus eliminating herself. We also had prizes for the country that won best phot each week, deepening the long-held blood feud between the United States & Britain since the Revolutionary War (I think that's what she was going for). We met AzMarie, who lost the whole game because she got complacent, but now she's on Empire as Hakeem's entourage. And not to be boring, Tyra had them record not one, but TWO music videos!
What...a joke
(source: YouTube)
And not only were there two videos, they were based off of some corney super-powers Tyra gave them. Best photo went to Alisha who had "Legs For Days". And to keep with the kitschy nature of the cycle, Brit contestant Sophie beat out US newbie Laura for the crown.
Winner: Sophie Sumner
My Choice: Annaliese Dayes
Favorite Shot: Annaliese Dayes
Annaliese Dayes
Photo by Ann He
Episode: Georgina Chapman
Cycle 19: College Edition
Now this is where things got really shaky for me (LOL only 18 seasons later) because Tyra included social media scores from the untrained pedestrian eye, and with it came Bryanboy. The models' fates became quantitative instead of qualitative, which was so annoying. Like one girl who sucked all cycle could potentially get one mediocre photo and then take out a front runner who had a slip up for ONE day. They even scored the challenges, which unthought were supposed to be mini lessons. And the judge who read social media comments was, in the words of Kenya Moore, "so nasty and so rude", regularly rubbing the viewed and some of the models the wrong way.
Our main cast includes Leila, a girl made for high fashion and seemed semi-obsessed with Laura; Kristin, the girl who likes nobody; Laura, some daughter of a Dynasty actor; and Kiara, a student athlete who made it way too far because of this ridiculous grading system she had one good shot the whole cycle. Leila shocked everybody by getting cut early despite her obvious potential but made a comeback when Tyra allowed an eliminated model with the highest overall social media score to return. She made it to third place, and the crown ultimately went to my girl Laura.
Winner: Laura James
My Choice: Laura James or Nastasia Scott
Favorite Shots (both of Laura James):
(From left: by Mike Ruiz "The Girl Who Gets Pwn'd", and Jez Smith "The Girl Who Becomes America's Next Top Model")
Cycle 20
This cycle wasn't exciting solely because Bryanboy left, but because Tyra gave us what we needed: MALE MODELS. Not only was there added eye candy, but now we got the drama of people trying to date in this frat house (HA), Rob Evans as a judge, and then NEW MAKEOVER IDEAS. She literally gave Phil a weave to look like a white Jesus!
(I wish I was funny enough to make this stuff up.)
Phil Sullivan
Photo by Franco Lacosta
Episode: The Girl Who is Scared of Clowns
Marvin and Renee (she was in a Beyoncé video!) were flirting the whole cycle even though she refused to admit it. Phil tried his hardest to get with Gianna but actually ended up being the one to send her home.
Cory, a fan fave, wasn't flirting with anyone because nobody else was gay, so he was a useful omnipresent narrator of the bs that went down. Speaking of bs, Tyra subjected the viewers to listening to JOURDAN (the eventual winner) talk about how she was married and divorced at 18 ad nauseum. It had to be twice an episode. She took great photos, but how do you give the crown to someone who had never seen a Hispanic person before and thought it was cute?? Nina, Chris (the antagonist), and Renee did their best to take her out, but to no avail.
But the most important contestant was Don. Not one person didn't like looking at him. His photos were upper-middle of the pack, and we all knew he wasn't going to win, but it didn't mean that we were any less devastated when he got eliminated (he had to lose with a giant snake and Johnny Wujek literally told him to "manage" the exotic animal). The collective anguish was reminiscent of Chris Brown dying 3 minutes into Stomp The Yard.
Winner: Jourdan Miller
My Choice: Don Benjamin, Nina Burns or Cory Hindorff
Favorite Shots (All by Matthew Jordan Smith and from "The Girl Who's Walk Was Too Good"):
Nina Burns
Don Benjamin
Renee Bhagwandeen
Cycle 21
The roller coaster of 21 kept me glued to the screen. First things first, Tyra gave Denzel a beard weave for his makeover.
If you hadn't thought Tyra was getting bored yet, this had to be the point. While we're on Denzel, despite him being physically jacked, his masculinity was so dreadfully fragile he made a declaration that he just ~couldn't lose~ antm to a guy who wears heels. (He was referring to Will, who was the runner up while he was out in like 6th place). Denzel was also messing with Mirjana, who had a boyfriend, and they both teased Matt (who is sexually fluid) for kissing Will.
Cycle 21 also brought us the first elimination due to violence! Romeo, a Wiccan that spent his stay arguing and trying to place curses on the competition, head butted Adam (my boyfriend for this cycle) after her got too drunk and thought he was special. His recklessness saved Lenox from elimination; despite her taking some of the best photos, she pissed Tyra off because she refused to step out of her comfort zone.
I also fell in love with Adam, the FRATTIEST man I've ever seen, and I went to school in the South. It also could be interpreted to say he had a drinking problem, even having Tyra SMELL HIS BREATH IN PANEL. I would be MORTIFIED. He was the darkest horse of the cycle, but he got better every shoot. By some divine intervention, he made it to the finale where he ended in 3rd place.
(Source: Google Images)
Cycle 21 was also the platform that put Winnie Harlow (known as Chantelle on the show), a Black model with vitiligo. Vitiligo is a medical condition where the pigment is lost from areas of the skin, causing whitish patches. Now I know she's gone on to do big things like expanding society's narrow view of what beauty is, and I applaud that, but she was not nice on the show. Everyone pretty much thanked God when she was eliminated, and then thanked Tyra after she got cut again after the comeback.
Chantelle Young
For Look Magazine
September 29, 2014
Isn't God good?
Model: Adam Smith
(Source: The CW)
This season ended with its first male winner, Keith Carlos, who made Tyra scream with some ridiculous shimmy that caught on to every other male model in the house. Also, shoutout to the first photoshoot where everyone was in a wet T shirt contest or something.
Winner: Keith Carlos
My Choice: Adam Smith (I KNOW HE WASN'T GOING TO WIN, OKAY) or Raelia Lewis
Favorite Shots:
Raelia Lewis & Will Jardell
Photographer: Erik Asla
Episode: The Guy Who Wows Betsey Johnson
Adam Smith
Photographer: Erik Asla
Episode: The Guy With Moves Like Elvis
Cycle 22: America's Last Top Model
Last night, the final winner of America's Next Top Model was crowned. I don't even know where to begin, partially because Tyra had the nerve, gall, and audacity to announce that she was ending the franchise IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CYCLE. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased with her sudden decision (see right).
I don't even know how to digest the cast of characters for the final cycle. But I guess I could start with Ava getting a "fashion mullet". That's right, ladies & gents, Tyra Banks' final makeover masterpiece was to give an unsuspecting Ava a MULLET, only to be eliminated a few weeks later. Devin had this thing with his eyebrow that would make him look crazy. Mamé and Justin (AKA J-Smooth) got cuddly, and Mikey hit on anything with a pulse besides Courtney.
We also met the comepletely loveable Nyle DiMarco. He is the competition's first deaf contestant, and actually became the first deaf winner! He was nice to everyone, didn't stir the pot, was veryyyyy easy on the eyes, and took some incredibly stunning photos. He's pretty much the perfect contestant. I was only mildly disappointed that Mamé came in second because I wanted the show to end with a Black girl winning, but she made it to second place! And Nyle is using his platform to spread awareness about the deaf community.
Winner: Nyle DiMarco
My Choice: Nyle DiMarco or Mamé Adjei
Favorite Shots:
Nyle DiMarco
Photo by Yu Tsai
Episode: The Guy or Girl Who Came Back
Mamé Adjei
Photo by Erik Asla
Episode: The Girl Who Took A Shot In The Dark
Mikey Heverly
Photo by Carolyn London
Episode: They Guy Who Was A Momma's Boy
But as this iconic (yes it is and I dare you to fight me on it) franchise comes to a close, I can't do anything but express my gratitude to Tyra Banks for keeping me entertained for all these years. She kept a show going for over a decade, changed careers, and left us with some ridiculous and memorable moments. I can't be mad. I genuinely can't wait for her next endeavor.
Peace, Love, and Blue Ivy Carter
Jalen Fairborne Chapman
