Today is our third and final installment of our review of the photos of the thirteen finalists for Cycle Nine of America’s Next Top Model. We are going to scrutinize the final five modelettes to see which one might have that special something the judges will be looking for.
And as an added bonus for this final installment, we have a special new shot of Tyra Banks. As any America’s Next Top Model fan knows, Tyra never asks a modelette to do something she wouldn’t do herself – or at least hasn’t in the past already done. This season, she continues her policy of ensuring we have a Tyra photo in the style of the girls’ shoot in order to see how the master handled the theme. In case you were wondering why the girls are all wrapped in tin foil in their group shot, we now know: the theme for the shot was “the future.” And what does Tyra look like in the future? Click through to find out and to read the last set of model reviews.
Once again, here is the group shot for the season for your close perusal as we critique this last group of five.
And here is Tyra’s take on the metallic theme. Put on your sunglasses; you are about to be blinded by the modeling hotness.
So with that fierceness fresh in our minds, let’s see how the new crop measures up.
Lisa
I actually wrote all the other assessments for this installment before remembering I forgot Lisa. Which, I think, shows how much of an impact this shot made on me. I think, though, that she is yet another girl with good potential hidden behind a “cute” hairdo. I wonder how the elegant bone structure we see in the group shot would look with a more severe haircut. I think getting out from underneath those curls – cute as they are – might be key to her success in America’s Next Top Model.
Mila
It might just be the name Mila, but am I seeing an Eastern European influence in her face? I feel like she might have the Russian face shape and features that have been very popular in the modeling world in the past few years. She’s not really doing anything remarkable with them in either the group or solo shot, but actual Russian Natasha Galkina from Cycle Eight did very poorly in her first few photo shoots only to blossom later on in the competition.
Saleisha
If Heather from yesterday’s group should be in the dictionary next to “willowy,” Saleisha should be in the dictionary next to the word “symmetrical.” And symmetry equals beauty: it’s just science, y’all! Beyond her symmetry, and despite a slightly underwhelming presence in both her solo and group photo, of all the modelettes for this new Cycle, this is the one I am most anticipating seeing in the various photo shoots. I am thinking she has potential for some interesting transformations in the various themes. There is something compelling about her that is hard to put one’s finger on; we’ll have to see if her on-screen persona matches up.
She also has the “fivehead;” which, as Tyra has helpfully explained since she has one herself, is when your forehead is so big you need a bigger number to describe it. A fivehead has made Tyra Banks a very rich woman, will it add up to success for Saleisha?
Sarah
Sarah is, apparently, one of the “plus-sized models,” or so it’s being said on the internets as of this article’s publication. If so, either this photo was touched by a Photoshop genius, or she is one of the most perfectly-proportioned plus-sizers we have seen, without the cankles or off-balance, extra-sized booty or boobage we’ve seen with some of the other plus-sized models in the past. She is strategically hidden in the group photo, so as yet, we are not able to really get an accurate sense of what her body truly looks like. She has a classically beautiful face, but at this point, I’ve given up on thinking the America’s Next Top Model judges will ever truly accept a plus-size girl.
Victoria
Victoria has an interesting face, a kind of Botticelli-style oval that doesn’t immediately say All-American Cover Girl, but in the solo shot definitely looks to have plenty of editorial, high-fashion potential. Unfortunately, her group shot looks a little plain and uncertain, but if she can bring the same edge of her solo shot to the edgier shoots, while developing the posing and angles that create a sort of clean-cut commercial look, she might be an interesting contender.
And that’s all of them, our thirteen new Cycle Nine modelettes! Of course, seeing them walk and talk and creating ANTM drama is required before we can really form favorites and those-we-love-to-hate, but in the meantime fashion fans, put all those hours spent listening to Tyra school the girls during elimination to good use. If you were Tyra, and you were reviewing these thirteen shots, who would give out the photo to first as safe? Which two would you stick at the bottom? And who would NOT continue on in hopes of becoming America’s Next Top Model if you had your way? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
– Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Images courtesy of CWTV)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
