America’s Next Top Model’s Cycle 9: The Season Premiere and Cattiness, Drama, and Potential are Rearing their Entertaining Heads
Tyra’s back and it couldn’t have come soon enough. They should do America’s Next Top Model during the summer too. I can never get enough. Tyra loves to defy as she picks the unconventional beauties for her show which makes it all the more endearing.
Already Tyra has upped her anty for this season as she calls those who auditioned and tells them over the phone personally that they made the first cut. Not only that but the semi-finalists are going to the Caribbean!! Tyra, I love you!! The 33 lovelies arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first leg of their adventure. As they all packed onto the bus they were blindfolded and led to their first destination. Miss J was there to great them and revealed their home for the next week. A cruise ship! No way! Miss J, their cruise director helped them aboard, showed them the amenities and then warned them that this was not a party cruise, this was a competition!
Already the girl’s attitudes were coming out as Chantal spoke highly of herself and how she was created to model. She certainly wasn’t worried; she had something that the other girls didn’t have. Hmmmm. She’ll probably be in the house for sure.
Meeting the safety director on the top deck they put on life jackets and Miss J strutted his stuff out and informed them that sometimes as a Top Model you have to work whatever you are wearing. So clad in their life jackets they did their very first fashion show.
Several girls took to the “runway” and did just fine. Then there was Spontaniouse. As Spontaniouse took the cruise ship runway she had the wiggle going on in her backside and Miss J took the opportunity to show them what not to do. That girl has got some name. I wonder if it’s her given name or her chosen name. Heather too gets picked out of the crowd for her poor runway (which almost reduced her to tears). She is a computer nerd and has no clue what she is doing and never has thought that she is beautiful. But we, the viewing audience know that she really has some potential. Hopefully her quiet geekiness won’t hold her back. Ebony is beautiful but talks about how great she is on the catwalk even though she has no experience in modeling and Sabrina is all about bringing the fierce.
Let the cattiness begin! I can tell Ebony is going to be all about herself as the other girls talk about Heather; the geek who the other girls think has potential. Ebony has to put in her 2 cents to the camera that Heather has insecurity problems and that she personally calls her hunch back. Ebony doesn’t see Heather doing well as America’s Next Top Model. Oh girl, you for sure are making it into the house with that kind of attitude! I already can’t stand her!
At breakfast the next morning Sarah talked about how much thinner everyone was than her but she had great confidence in her maybe size 8 body. Oh my gosh. She’s the plus sized girl? It almost made me laugh. Almost. I like her already. She is extremely secure in who she is.
Drum roll please….Tyra!! It’s Tyra! Dressed in a cruise ship costume she sang to the girls at breakfast. I love her red feather hat and hot cabin boys dancing around her. What an entrance! The next phase for the girls was interviews with Tyra, Mr. Jay, and Miss J and they needed to bring it all to the table.
The first girl was Ambreal from Dallas, Texas. She came in with a burst of energy, runway walked with Tyra, and maybe was a little over the top for the judges. Jay thought she was too choreographed and Tyra thought that if she took some of the hoochie out of her ghetto walk she would be Naomi Campbell. Ambreal was hilarious. She was not afraid of anything. She did an African walk off the stage.
Chantal was next and seemed a tiny bit flat at first but then really impressed. She knew her fashion, she looked fashion, and she was pretty natural. She has a great fresh face. But when she’s not in front of the judges (where she seems fresh and light) she kind of morphs into a “I’m so great look at me” girl. Yuck. Well, that means she’ll be in the house for sure.
Sylvia was quirky to me and not in a good way. I’d much rather Heather the computer geek make it over her. Thankfully Heather was next. She came in all hunched over. She shared that she was diagnosed at age 13 with Aspergers Syndrome. Basically a mild form of autism. She struggles in social situations. I think she is beautiful and I really hope they giver her a shot because once again, she has so much potential. Miss J liked her 1950’s look but Jay pointed out that she can’t walk well. Tyra wasn’t afraid of that. Go Tyra! You stick up for my girl Heather!
The next gal was Saleisha and she is so beautiful. Tyra actually knows her from her T-Zone camp years ago so she said she was going to be hard on her. She is simply striking and she too has a lot of potential.
Victoria, the nerd from Yale nervously faced the judges and shared that she should win because she is smart and strong. For her it started as a joke to apply but now she’s in it to compete. Janet who is darling from a small town in Georgia does bikini waxing for a living so she gave Tyra a simulated demonstration. Oh my is all I can say about that. She’ll probably make it on the show just for that!
At breakfast the next morning Ebony got her “ugly” on. That girl was all up in herself. She did not like to be told what to do. She wanted to play a game to see who had an eating disorder. The other girls were like “what, why would you say something like that?” Ebony gave her a nasty little look and said “because I wanted to”. UGGGHHH. Marvita, one of my other favorites got all up into her face and asked her when her last meal was because she looked anorexic and then confessed to the camera later that she didn’t want to fight her, just slap her.
Next it was more interviews and Jennifer from Boston wowed Tyra with her strong Bostonian accent. I love it too. She’s blind in her right eye and was teased all the way through school. Marvita entered the room next and just cried when she saw the judges. A side fo her we did not know existed. She shared her past and how she was passed off to different family members a lot and always had to adapt. A lot of people had done a lot of bad things to her such as molestation and rape (which I can’t believe Tyra urged her to confess on national television). She shared that God has given her strength and He has helped her. Marvita is one strong chick. They better cast her!
Oh my goodness, the next girl was just too much for me. Mila. Mila was out of control. She was just one happy perky pretty something. She loves to celebrate everything. For goodness sakes she celebrates a new nail polish color. She thinks crying is a waste of time. I can’t stand her. I think I even prefer Ebony over her and that is saying a lot.
Christie the Adrianna Lima look-a-like seemed kind of beauty pageant. Tyra made her dance and pretty much everyone else too. Then there was Sabrina. The one who told us in the beginning that she was going to bring her fierce. Her walk into the room was out of control! I was afraid she was going to topple over in her platform shoes as she exaggerated her walk all the way to the front. Not good Sabrina.
Next up was Jenah who was hated in high school for her beauty. She said she was smart but said “like” ten million times according to Jay so he wasn’t all that impressed with her. Sarah, the “plus-sized” gal pulled an accordion paper out of her nose and at first grossed out the judges but then her confidence spoke volumes. Tyra told her she could be a plus size model but she was a little to skinny for that. Sarah told her that people have got to work what they’ve got and if it’s a lot, that’s cool. I love her. Attitude and confidence will get you everywhere!
Lisa came before the judges with a picture of how she wasn’t cute in the past. I like Lisa. She has a great positive energy about her. She was in foster care for 6 years and has seen every kind of hurt. She’s an exotic dancer, not naked or topless, but still a bikini dancer. Next, Bianca made a big entrance by saying that “the champ was here” and revealed to the judges that Ebony was trouble. Kimberly came after Bianca and brought Tyra a horse statue as a gift and Miss J wore it on his head. She was funny and shared how she could freak out sometimes. Jay loved her and so did I.
Oh my, it was finally Ebony’s turn. She told Tyra to quit looking because she had already found her top model in her. Tyra told her that a lot of the girls didn’t like her already. Ebony pointed out that it was because she is fierce and they are just jealous. Strange how Ebony literally talks through her teeth. You know, for a pretty girl when you are full of yourself and think you are all great it really diminishes the beauty since the light from within fails to shine through. But Tyra gets through to the real story and asked her who has walked all over Ebony. She revealed her first boyfriend treated her bad and her mom was a crack addict and her grandmother raised her. A silent tear fell down her face and I felt my hardness toward this woman melt a little because really, everybody has a story. A lot of time that tough front hides some real pain. Ebony may still have a chance if she would quit being so hard and so mean.
After interviews they headed to the beach for their first photo shoot where Jaslene, last cycle’s winner was there to encourage them. Of course the girls were catty, especially Chantal who keeps tooting her own horn about how she was created to be a model and nitpicked at the other models. I still can’t get over how gorgeous awkward nerdy Heather is on film and in person and I think she may be my favorite of the bunch. Victoria, the other nerd did awesome also as Chantal in the background said she wasn’t really worried about her. Oh honey, you better be because the nerds have got it going on!
After their photo shoot it was time to cut 13 girls. The other 20 girls would be leaving on the cruise ship. Mostly girls we never saw got cut but Sabrina, the fierce one didn’t get a “passport” to continue on and was heartbroken. I can’t believe Mila made it. She is terribly annoying. Maybe that’s why they gave her another shot.
In true “Top Model” form the 20 girls climbed onto their cruise ship and waved down at the 13 girls that got cut as they sailed off into the sunset leaving them behind. It wasn’t long though before the drama picked up again as Tyra appeared during their dinner to tell them she was going to go deliberate with the other judges and they all needed to stand up and tell her why they should be a “Top Model”.
After each model gave their reasons for staying it was at last time for final deliberations. Tyra, Miss J, and Jay reviewed everyone’s pictures and interviews and within what seemed like no time they had made their decision. The first name Tyra called was Mila. Ahhhhhhhhh. My least favorite girl! Oh well. Bianca, Jenah, Chantal, Ambriel, Victoria, Sarah, Saleisha, Kimberly, Ebony, Janet, Heather, and finally Lisa all got a place in the coveted model mansion. I do feel bad for Boston’s Jennifer and Marvita the tough girl from Anchorage who wanted to slap Ebony. I really liked them. I liked them better than Mila that is for sure but Tyra knows best! I’m definitely feeling the love for Victoria, Sarah, Heather, and Lisa. I hope Heather that shy, beautiful, geek with a socially awkward condition takes it all the way to the finals and makes Chantal eat her words quickly. I think Chantal will soon find out that Heather will be her fiercest competition.
© Copyright 2007 Blindigo Magazine | Article written by Niki Tschirgi
