Kim Kardashian is the Guest Judge on Top Model

KIM KARDASHIAN APPEARS AS A GUEST JUDGE

The girls put their interviewing skills to the test as they interview “90210’s” Jessica Lowndes on the set of “The Insider.” The ladies are surprised to learn they must write their own scripts for their CoverGirl commercials. Kim Kardashian is this week’s guest judge.

Meet the Newest Contestants Of America’s Next Top Model

The 13the Cylce of America’s Next Top Model Will Feature Women Under 5′7”

The CW’s hit series AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL breaks the mold for cycle 13 by offering women 5′7″ and under (below the industry height standard) the chance to become America’s Next Top Model. Fourteen hopefuls from across the country are given the chance to prove they have what it takes when the competition kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Wednesday, September 9 (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET), with encore performances on Fridays (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET).

“AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL” CYCLE 13 PARTICIPANTS:

Name: ASHLEY

Age: 22

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois (currently Brooklyn, New York)

Occupation: Artist

Height: 5′6″

Name: BIANCA

Age: 21

Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina (currently Washington, D.C.)

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′7″

Name: BRITTANY

Age: 21

Hometown: Livermore, California (currently Santa Clara, California)

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′5″

Name: COURTNEY

Age: 22

Hometown: Plantation, Florida (currently Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

Occupation: Cheer Instructor

Height: 5′4″

Name: ERIN

Age: 18

Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin (currently Spring Grove, Illinois)

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′6″

Name: JENNIFER

Age: 23

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (currently New York, New York)

Occupation: Model

Height: 5′5″

Name: KARA

Age: 19

Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana (currently Chicago, Illinois)

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′7″

Name: LAURA

Age: 19

Hometown: Stanford, Kentucky

Occupation: Waitress

Height: 5′6″

Name: LISA

Age: 19

Hometown: Queens, New York

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′5″

Name: LULU

Age: 19

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′7″

Name: NICOLE

Age: 18

Hometown: Louisville, Colorado

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′7″

Name: RACHEL

Age: 18

Hometown: Woodland, California

Occupation: Customer Service

Height: 5′5″

Name: RAE

Age: 21

Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota

Occupation: Homemaker/Mother

Height: 5′6″

Name: SUNDAI

Age: 18

Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Occupation: Student

Height: 5′3″

Banks leads the panel of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL judges, comprised of leading fashion industry experts. The panel consists of photographer Nigel Barker, runway expert J. Alexander and guest judges including Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian who closely evaluate the progress of the models to narrow the field each week.

The winner of The CW’s AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL will be managed by Wilhelmina Models, receive a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant CoverGirl and appear on the cover and in a six-page fashion spread of Seventeen magazine.

Man charged with stalking Tyra has his day in court

The man accused of stalking America’s Next Top Model host Tyra Banks last year will go on trial today in New York City.

Brady Green of Dublin, GA  spent much of his spare time last winter phoning Tyra’s studio, sending her letters, flowers and following her from coast to coast. On March 18, 2008 he was arrested in Manhattan for showing up at the studio where her daytime talk show, The Tyra Banks Show is taped. 

The 36 year old Green has entered a plea of not guilty of stalking and harassment. He was just working his crazy-creep mojo that drives the ladies wild.

If convicted he could face 90 days in prison.

Poorly planned audition for America’s Next Top Model ends in stampede

An audition for the reality show, America’s Next Top Model began without proper planning and ended in a stampede that several people hospitalized and three people arrested.

Chaos erupted yesterday outside the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan when an overheating car pulled over near the front of the crowd of  wait-weary auditioners and someone shouted, “It’s a bomb!” Read more

Meet the new cast of America’s Next Top Model

The CWs hit series AMERICAS NEXT TOP MODEL returns for cycle 12 with 13 finalists from across the country fighting to make their dreams of becoming a top model a reality on Wednesday, February 25 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) with encore performances on Fridays (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET).

“AMERICAS NEXT TOP MODEL” CYCLE 12 PARTICIPANTS:

Name: ALLISON

Age: 20

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Occupation: Artist

Name: AMINAT

Age: 21

Hometown: Union, New Jersey

Occupation: Student

Name: CELIA

Age: 25

Hometown: Cynthiana, Kentucky

Occupation: Designer Fashion Sales

Name: FO

Age: 19

Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Occupation: Student

Name: ISABELLA

Age: 19

Hometown: Barboursville, Virginia

Occupation: Aspiring Model

Name: JESSICA

Age: 18

Hometown: Bradenton, Florida

Occupation: Student

Name: KORTNIE

Age: 24

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Occupation: Non-Profit Organizer

Name: LONDON

Age: 18

Hometown: Arlington, Texas

Occupation: Student

Name: NATALIE

Age: 19

Hometown: Palos Verdes, California

Occupation: Student

Name: NIJAH

Age: 18

Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, California

Occupation: Aspiring Model

Name: SANDRA

Age: 19

Hometown: Rockville, Maryland

Occupation: Student

Name: TAHLIA

Age: 18

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

Occupation: Student

Name: TEYONA

Age: 20

Hometown: Woodstown, New Jersey

Occupation: Loss Prevention Representative

McKey Wins ANTM

McKey has taken the top slot in Cycle 11 of America’s Next Top Model. Though her celebration was certainly not as memorable as Danielle’s when she won cycle 6, McKey did still manage the Olympian feat of picking Tyra up.  Tyra did her best to make it look fierce. McKey beat out Analeigh and Samantha, neither of whom were able to convey the complete high fashion and commercial package as well as the winner. Where McKey managed to look high fashion in person and on paper, Analeigh was always too sweet looking for high fashion (though she had a fabulous body) and Samantha looked too commercial in person(though she managed to look high fashion on paper).

Their first challenge when the show opened was to do a Covergirl commercial for some new lipgloss.  They had to memorize their lines and at the end, kiss a guy. McKey managed to give the best of a series of mediocre to bad performances. Analiegh’s nerves got the best of her. Where in the last Covergirl commercial challenge, she was easy and breezy, in the final episode she forgot all her lines and Mr. Jay had to feed them to her. Samantha was stiff, and almost looked like a Cindy Mccainbot. It wasn’t pretty. They had to give their best commerial headshot in the Covergirl photoshoot that folllowed. The photographer said Analiegh had a great body, but a not so great face. Mind you, Analeigh is gorgeous, and if she is considered unphotogenic, well. I’ll never take another picture of myself again. Tyra told Samantha that her smile was not modelesque. I guess that meant she doesn’t do commecial well. Everyone loved McKey’s very sweet gamine-like shot and Analiegh was sent home while McKey and Samantha prepared for a walk-off.

Before the fashion show that would determine their fate, the two girls did a photoshoot with Seventeen magazine where the director said this cycle’s winner would be a hard decision to make. Indeed as the girls posed away, and later when they walked the longest runway in ANTM history during the fashion show, it was not clear who would win. Mr. Jay outdid himself in creating this cycle’s confectionary pink runway, which he called his Willie Wonka design. With hills, and steps and winding ways, it reminded me of something out of The Cat In the Hat.

The first hill was so high that the models had to run up it to get to the top. it was interesting to watch. During their turns on the runway, McKey was all cool girl attitude while Samantha was all glamourous grace. It was a battle between dark and light, and in the panel as the judges reviewed the two models’ bodies of work, you could all see them trying to figure out who was better. Based off photos alone it was a tough sell, and for some reason I imagined them doing Paper, Rock, Scissors to determine the winner. But in the end, Samantha, who apparently took a lot of imaginiation to sell in person lost out to McKey’s immediate shining qualities.

Onward to cycle 12.

America’s Next Top Model: The New Marjorie

In this week’s episode of America’s Next Top Model, Marjorie took Tyra’s critique of her maddening twitchiness to heart and decided to relax, have fun and let out the new Marjorie. But this girl wasn’t necessarily more likable, or more interesting, she was just slightly calmer, though not less nerve-wracking. The other models watched her with an air of trepidation, unsure of whether to accept her or hide the kitchen knives.

The first challenge of the evening involved a bit of spit-swapping with the incredibly hot top male model Mark Van der Loo. A local agency was casting for a commercial where a girl who is running along the street  finds herself being followed and ogled by an incredibly handsome guy. Turning the idea of the romantic chase on its head, she stops her jog to kiss him. The prize for the most believable performance? A $10,000 shopping spree. The girls lick their lips in anticipation and prepare themselves to give America’s next top kiss. Samantha gives her best flirtation in a romantic comedy  kiss and Analiegh is sweet but I think there was a little bit of saliva string a la Cruel Intentions. McKey was flinchingly awkward which is usually Marjorie’s domain, but instead the new Marjorie came off as weird and slightly psychotic. The judges loved her saying she was the most natural and she won the challenge.  Since when did weird, scary random kisses come off as natural and believable? Even Mark looked like he wanted to run away.

Back at the house, new Marjorie decides to invite the guys who drove them around in boats during the last challenge to the house. They come bearing offerings of pizza and liquor. Few of the girls drank, besides Marjorie, and while the evening began with a bit of charades, it eventually fell into a McKey wrestling with one of the guys, Samantha and another guy do magic tricks in the kitchen and Analeigh and Marjorie making one of the guys put on a pair of high heels and play drunken cat walk. Unsatisfied with these developments, and noticing that Marjorie’s inhibitions had taken a rain check on the evening, one of the guys decided that it was time for the ritual drunken playing of truth or dare. He dared Marjorie to kiss one of the guys to which she obliged with a bit too much gusto. By the end of the night, she and the guy, end up in the jacuzzi. She fully clothed, and he in his boxer shorts trying to convince her to marry him.

Analeigh had enough at that point and decided that things had gone way too far, she, with the help of the other girls kicked the guys out and put new Marjorie to bed.

But new Marjorie was determined to hang on, and she made her way to the photoshoot that followed. The models had to wear clogs with some high fashion outfits in front of a windmill. Analiegh and McKey were excellent while Samantha was so uncomfortable in the shoes that all her pictures were horrendous except for the last 7-10 frames when Mr. Jay gave her a verbal slap. Marjorie was just completely uninspiring, and Mr. Jay asked her what the hell she was doing, which was basically not much of anything. She stood, she slumped slightly but barely posed. In bringing out this new, less spastic Marjorie, the girl lost all of her charm. The judges noticed, and she was sent home.

America’s Next Top Amazing Model Race

If you’re still undecided about the presidential race and chose to exercise your intellectual muscles by watching Barack Obama’s prime-time special, you need not worry about having missed your favorite brain musher America’s Next Top Model. Since I’ve already voted, I watched ANTM for you. Last night, the Tyraettes arrived in Amstardam to be greeted by Holland’s Next Top Model host Daphne Deckers. (Sidebar: It’s amazing how the Top Model series is compelling even when you can’t understand what the judges are saying.)

Deckers tells the girls that they will be placed in groups of two and that the first challenge is to find their house using a variety of clues. The concept is ripped straight from the Amazing Race, but fun nonetheless as the girls take a train, a cab and ask for directions to get to their house. The first couple to arrive will get 50 extra frames during their photo shoot. Samantha is unhappily grouped with Elina, but the thought of 50 extra frames keeps her on task. They are the first to arrive. Meanwhile Marjorie hilariously tries to buy a train ticket with US dollars, and Sheena, thinking she and McKey had won the challenge, does a victory lap only to find out that they are actually the last to arrive.

 

After they get all settled in their gorgeous temporary home, they are whisked off to the red light district, where real live legal prostitutes stand in windows selling their wares. The girls find out that their next challenge is to stand in these same windows selling garments. It’s a political/fashion statement of some local fashion designers. Elina says she respects prostitutes and is excited about the challenge, while Samantha is full of apprehension.

 

The girls are once again coupled off into groups of two: Sheena with Marjorie; Elina with Analeigh; and Samantha with McKey. Elina and Analeigh are first. They’re standing in two seperate windows wearing these huge white confectionery type dresses by the same designer. Elina is at her best and the designer is pleased with her effort, though he does find her a bit too controlled. On the other hand. Analeigh is so busy trying to sepereate her dress from some silver things that are hanging from the ceiling that she practically forgets to pose.

 

Sheena and Marjorie are wearing very edgy dresses and the designer asks them to portray rock and roll type fierceness. Marjorie is amazing as usual, twisting her body into all types of hunchbacked weirdness with matching facial expressions while Sheena manages to just look like a prostitute. Samantha and McKey were the only two models who were actually in one window together. Their designer asked them to portray dolls and Samantha captures the directions wonderfully, looking as porcelain as the doll she is holding. McKey, on the other hand, was just okay, but the two girls managed to win the challenge, because they worked together, and synchronized their posing. What did they win? They’ll be modeling in Amsterdam’s Fashion Week, which is the biggest fashion event in Holland.

Back at the house Elina and Samantha, who had worked so well toghether in the first challenge fall out again over whether prostitution is a respectable profession. I’m sure they can petition Tyra to do a show about it, but I think she already did. McKey later says that Elina is ugly from the inside out.

The girls’ are sent to Amsterdam’s harbor, where the obsessively orange Jay Manuel gives them a quick history lesson abour Amsterdam’s shipping past. He tells them that their next  photo shoot wlll be on a boat where they will be wearing mid-century style clothing with a modern twist. Andy Tan is their photographer.

 

McKey, who goes up first, is intent on getting herself out of the middle. She is wearing all black and experimenting with her poses to find the most compelling one. Mr. Jay notices the difference in her passion.  Elina’ s shoot ran like a Verizon commercial. she was is thinking so hard about how to create the perfect shot, she doesn’t hear Jay giving her direction. So, he repeatedly has to ask her, “Elina, can you hear me?” Analeigh who could never channel her skater training without doing literal poses, finally finds the balance between being a model and a skater. Jay is impressed. Marjorie continues to use her signature hunchback pose to great effect. Samantha is a bit boring, and Sheena, no matter how hard she tries, still cannot jettison her inner hooch. She straddles  a pole and Jay stops the shoot to tell her that she’s not being ladylike.

In the end, McKey’s desire to move out the middle gets her the first photo, Analeigh’s ability to find balance gets her the second photo while Elina’s controlling nature and Sheena’s inability to control her nature land them both in the bottom two. Elina wins on the strength of being able to take better photos.

 

America’s Next Top Model Axis of Evil

This week’s episode of America’s Next Top Model opens with a model war that is falling out on continental lines–it’s the U.S. versus Europe, with all the American models supposedly tired of the whining and complaining of the two European models (Elina and Marjorie).  What are they whining about? Everything. Twitchy, uncomfortable Marjorie can’t understand the concept of optimism, while Elina who hates her mother and wants to ban the use of all animal products, and maybe eventually take over the world, can’t get over her need to control her own every movement, which she says has to do with her European background. In fact the two have a very Pinky and the Brain quality about them–of course minus the joy. Perpetually sunny Samantha and Sheena are the most flumoxed by it all and at one point Sheena asks Elina (who happens to have been in the U.S. for 11 years) why she doesn’t go home if she’s so unhappy. It’s the immigration question of the ages.  In response to a clearly scripted question from producers about her feelings on Elina and Marjorie’s dissatisfaction tour, Joslyn says she doesn’t have time to worry about “immigration issues,” she’s more concerned about being kicked out this week.  And worry, she should.

In their first challenge of the evening, the girls are met with a veritable cast of fashion characters beginning with Ron and Richard Harris, the Aswirl Twins. These two delightful men show the girls how to present and sell a garment. They swirl in skirts, take them off, put them back on,  present a clutch and then surprise us with its chain handle, and make a plain ill-fitting green hat seem almost adorable. Then it’s the girl’s turn. The twins love Sheena, practically laugh at McKey, and seemed pained by Marjorie, who couldn’t even get her garment on. Once everyone has had an opportunity to practice, the colorful James St. Jamesarrives on the seen in a green head to toe bodysuit underneath a gown. He parades around a stage and a tv monitor shows that he appears to be invisible so that all that can be seen is the clothes he is wearing. The girls will be doing the same thing as invisible models for a show of duds by designer Nony Tochterman. The girls must make the clothes the star of the night, but honestly, if I’d had my way, the clothes themselves would have been invisible. They were particularly horrendous. Elena, wearing a short purple dress with one long flowing sleeve walks on the stage and waves her sleeved arm in the air. Joslyn, wearing a long purple dress that is belted at the waist, takes off her belt and shimmies it behind her neck. Sheena who has on a long red dress with tiers of ruffles can’t think of anything to do  but swirl. She looks like she might swirl off stage. Marjorie’s dress, which is long, multicolored with horizontal stripes, falls down to her waist, so on screen she looks like an half-naked invisible lady. She feels humiliated. In the end, Elina wins the challenge and her prize is a spread in the holiday accessories spread  in the December issue of Seventeen Magazine. She picks Marjorie to come along and the two have a great time.

Back at the house, the girls are seething at the fact that Elina won the prize, especialliy since apparently she doesn’t believe in Christmas. When Marjorie and Elina return, Sheena takes Elina to task, basically calling her a hypocrite and saying she didn’t deserve to do the shoot. “How can you sell something you don’t believe in,” Sheena asks. But I guess she forgot that that is the difference between mediocre and exceptional models. She then calls the girls evil.

The next day, Cycle 10 winner Whitney, shows up to tell the girls that they will be doing the now infamous Covergirl commerical. But in this year’s shoot, the girls will be using a teleprompter. Joslyn became sick on set, but still managed to give a half decent performance. Analiegh gave the best performance, looking the most natural, and moving across the set as if she knew exactly what she was doing. Marjorie’s twitchiness made her look like a chicken, which Ms. J hilariously demonstrated during the panel. Sheena  toned down her inner hood girl just a bit and managed to impress the director who said she was the best at moving across the set. Elina was controlled and cold as usual. McKey was as awkward as Marjorie. Samantha was unmemorable.

In the panel, Tyra has the girls walk in a pair of clogs and poor Samantha is the only one who falls, though she does it off stage.Tyra then tells the girls that they need to learn how to walk in clogs becasue they’ll be going to Amsterdam. The girls squeal in delight until Tyra says, “But not all of you will go.” All I could think was gee wizz, Tyra, because even my heart dropped at that one. After the judges deliberate, Analiegh gets the first photo and Sheena gets second runner up while Joslyn and Elina are the last two to be called. In the end, Joslyn’s ability to work through her illness did not win her any extra points and Elina was able to squeak by.

Models Overseas on Tonight’s America’s Next Top Model

From the CW:

TYRA ANNOUNCES THE OVERSEAS LOCATION The ladiespull a disappearing act for this week’s challenge. As is Top Model tradition, the remaining girlstest theiron-cameratalents when they shoot their CoverGirl commercialwith the help ofcycle 10 winner, Whitney Thompson. During judging, Tyra reveals this cycle’s overseas destination and one girl is sent home.

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