America’s Next Top Model: Jealousy, Insecurity, Immaturity Oh My!
With the number of girls dwindling the competition was getting tougher. Fortunately for some they were getting better and better making it more and more clear who was going to be on top and who was falling farther to the bottom of the Tyra tier. Who would be on top this week and who would walk away with one less picture in their portfolio. At this point being America’s Next Top model is still anyone’s game.
Cruisin’ in the biodiesel bus back home from elimination it was rough on the girls and Saleisha was just glad she made it back to the mansion for another round. We the viewing audience was then made very aware of how piggy the girls were in their million dollar plus mansion. Janet had to become the house mom and tell them to clean up. Her job clearly was to nag the nasty out of the house. I couldn’t believe the food spilled on the floor that wasn’t cleaned up. There was something very undignified and un-model like for them to live like that. Janet of course got on their nerves by telling them to clean up their sty a little bit. She also knew she wasn’t the tallest or the thinnest of the group so she had to work extra, extra hard.
Out on the patio Heather told some of the girls gathered around her what everyone’s modeling problems were and how they needed to improve including herself. Inside Ambreal sang to a few of the girls and felt confident. It was her time to shine. On the other end of the spectrum was Lisa. Lisa did not feel confident She was prone to over think everything and focused too much which actually made challenges and photo shoots worse for her. Sarah was clearly annoyed that Lisa was insecure. As usual, drama was running high at the Top Model mansion.
Tyra mail got them out of the house and Benny Ninja the posing instructor had them in the gym on trampolines learning to pose with movement. As a Top Model they might not always be on the floor but may have to leap and do other things. Uh, oh. This may be a disaster for awkward at times Heather.
As the girls got to hopping Janet was uncomfortable, Ebony was hilarious, Chantal was perfect, and Heather was just plain horrible. Ambreal was amazing because of her background in dance and Lisa held back again. That girl just needs to believe in herself!
Later that night the girls ran naked through the house and jumped into the pool to let off some stress from the day (I guess bouncing on a trampoline is stressful!). To some of the girls it reminded them of being at summer camp. An ANTM summer camp. I don’t know about anyone else but jumping naked into the pool wasn’t normal at any summer camp I knew of! Janet felt more mature than the girls and worked on her walk while everyone else played. Janet needed to loosen up a little bit. It was good she was taking things seriously but immature people don’t want you to rain on their naked romping parade! They want you to join it or they’ll be even more immature, turn on you, talk bad about you, and drive you out of the house. Oh wait, they would do that anyway!
Next it was challenge time. They had to do actual figure skating lifts on the ice while conveying an emotion and Heather didn’t like the ice and the ice certainly showcased her awkwardness big time. They arrived at the ice rink to practice with Lloyd Eisler, a two time Olympic champion. The editor in chief of Seventeen, Cycle 6 winner Dani and Benny Ninja would be their judges. What a crazy challenge. I hoped none of them would crack their head on the ice. Bianca and Chantal did great but Heather really struggled. I mean really struggled. I don’t think he even lifted her. It was incredibly painful to watch. Lisa who lacked confidence before did great. Ebony looked like a mime or a clown as she acted out sorrow. Ambreal showed too much emotion. Really these girls should have tried harder. There was a lot at stake!! The winner got an ad in Seventeen magazine and got to shoot the ad with Dani the next day! You don’t just get handed ads like that as a beginning model. After all the poses were uh, posed, the winner was…LISA!!! I’m so glad she won. She needed that boost to her confidence. But with that win came a huge target on her back from every girl in the house struggling with insecurity. She picked Ebony and Janet to join her to be in the photo shoot.
Of course the girls were catty and hated that Lisa won, especially Bianca who had already picked fights with her earlier on. Ambreal was ticked she didn’t win and Sarah thought that Lisa sucked. Sarah was getting less and less attractive to me as she kept opening her mouth. She will certainly be going home soon. Jenah didn’t think it made any sense. Obviously these young ladies were just jealous…and insecure.
The next day at the Seventeen shoot everybody worked it and Lisa looked beautiful. She really did have the complete package. Lisa’s look, her hair, her make-up, her attitude, and her confidence really shone through. She really, really came out of her shell, something she needs to keep up.
After the three girls returned to the ANTM mansion Bianca just had to hate on Lisa and ask her if her make-up was making her break out? Oh she is so immature I can’t even stand it sometimes. Then later, Saleisha told Lisa that Jenah said it would be nice if Lisa wasn’t there. I was disappointed in Jenah for saying that. She has so much potential but like a lot of the other girls they open their mouths and ruin it.
Finally it was time for their photo shoot. Before hand Ambreal helped Janet with her posing. I like Ambreal. I like that she helps the other girls. Mr. Jay was there for the shoot of course and Ambreal was all hunched over and terrified with tears in her eyes and she almost didn’t make it because of her fear of heights. What did Mr. Jay have in store for them for their shoot today? Pose as high fashion gargoyles on top of the building with Mike Rosenthal as their photographer. He did their first shoot with the harmful side effects of smoking.
Okay, I couldn’t even recognize some of the girls in their make-up and clothing. Like Heather for instance. I couldn’t even tell who she was. Heather as usual did a great job and so did Jenah who I didn’t recognize either. I think it was because their hair was slicked back into a pony tail. They all kind of looked the same. Sarah was bad and Janet didn’t really get it either. She needed constant prodding. Saleisha was kind of men’s magazine. Chantal did better than last week. Bianca finally did a good shoot. Lisa thought too much at first but did much better toward the end as she just let loose. Ambreal was terrified and it showed. Ebony rocked it. Jay told her she was normally as dull as dishwater in person but consistently transformed for her shoots. Hopefully she can get more happy sudsy in person so she can stick around longer.
Then it was panel time with Benny Ninja as the guest judge. Ebony was first. What a fabulous and stunning shot. Tyra got on her about why she didn’t smile and the truth came out. Ebony thought her gums were too big. Ah ha! Tyra didn’t think they were but I bet Ebony was teased about it by classmates of siblings or some lame boyfriend told her smile was ugly somehow. Hopefully she will show her lovely smile because it really was lovely and nothing to be ashamed about. Chantal was gorgeous. Ambreal was kind of robotic and looked uncomfortable. Sarah was not gargoyle at all. It was a beautiful shot but it wasn’t what they asked for. Bianca had one of the best of the bunch. Janet had a good photo but not enough angles and way too much coaching. Lisa had a great shot. She totally brought it. She shared about the other girls not wanting her around and Tyra told her to never dull her shine for somebody else. That was great advice. I’m gonna lock that away in my memory and pull it out a time or two. Miss J. pointed out that it was just all jealousy jealousy, jealousy. Heather had a beautiful shot but she needed to break out of her comfort zone and give a straight on shot of her face. Jenah gave a beautiful shot as usual. Saleisha had a good picture and she looked more high fashion. Tyra felt the bottom 2 gave her the wake-up call that she needed. Well now, Tyra wondered which gargoyle was going to be left on the building this time.
As the judges deliberated they felt like Ebony was like two different people (great in shots, stale in person). Miss J. thought there was something in Chantal but wanted to see less sexy and he didn’t see Ambreal as a high fashion model. Sarah totally missed the point of the shoot. Bianca had a beautiful picture. Twiggy still didn’t think that Janet looked like a model. I think she has said that every week. Tyra, listen to her already! Twiggy’s favorite photo was of Lisa. With Heather they wanted to see another side of her and Jenah walked in all ratty to panel on a regular basis but her pictures told them something different. Saleisha made them happy because she gave a beautiful photo of her face.
The girls were then called back in and Lisa got her photo first. She had the strongest photo of the bunch and just needed to maintain confidence from there on out. Oh, Bianca was all mad about that. Bianca got called second though so she should have been happy since that showed marked improvement. When Ebony was called she smiled! She was taking the judges advice. I bet that made Nigel happy since he said earlier that they would not be telling her to smile again, she had to do it on her own. Sarah got called 3rd to last because she didn’t do what she was supposed to do (maybe she’ll go home next time). Now it was down to Janet or Ambreal going home. Janet needed to be coached too much and Ambreal’s poses were getting worse. How ironic Ambreal had helped Janet with her posing earlier before the shoot! Well, one of them had to go and it was Janet. Tyra finally listened to Twiggy. Ambreal would get another chance to prove herself and maybe prove Miss J. wrong about her. I’m glad that Janet at least got to be in the Seventeen photo shoot with Lisa before she left. She was a bold girl full of pizazz! Remember the simulated bikini wax on Tyra?
With one less girl now to compete against the stakes are definitely higher for the hopeful models. Ambreal has never convinced the judges that she can be a high fashion model. Sarah has changed her look by losing weight and not doing what she was supposed to do in the last photo shoot. Could Ambreal and Sarah be the next dreaded bottom 2? If Bianca doesn’t stay consistent, if Saleisha slips back into commercial girl, and if Ebony doesn’t put forth a good face in person then those two might stay out of danger! The only thing the Top Model girls can do from here on out is take the judges advice, rock their photo shoots, and not get all wrapped up in the daily drama at the mansion. Next week we will most likely see Ambreal or Sarah with one less photo in hand all alone packing their bags and leaving the Top Model mansion forever.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
