Tonight, America’s Next Top Model: College Edition gathers some guidance from two very influential ladies. Move over, Tyra! Grammy Award-winning songstress Alicia Keys and fashion designer Mara Hoffman lend their best words of advice for the remaining nine models.
Keeping with the whole “girl power” thing, guest photographer Sarah Silver will stand behind the lens as the girls suit up for cheer practice. Yes, the models will be hoisted up in the air for this cheerleader photo shoot. Who will soar high and who will come tumbling down?
Who will Laura take into the Tyra Suite with her for her week’s stay? Maybe we’ll get to that news later because right now I’m more worried about how disgusting the kitchen is. Plus, there’s drama.
It seems like Laura told Leila that she would pick her as her roomie, but Laura has already selected Kristin. So, Laura, Kristin and Allyssa sit in the Pink Room, making fun of Leila’s supposed “obsession” with the blonde bombshell. Isn’t it funny how this season is so quickly turning into the typical high school lunch scene?
The next morning, the girls get the wake up call of a lifetime. Tyra and Alicia Keys walk into the sorority house. To make things awkward, Kiara takes the opportunity to show off or audition, take your pick, for Keys. She sounds good, but is it necessary? Let’s get down to business.
Charity Challenge: Alicia is more than an artist, she is a philanthropist so the runway show the models will be participating in tonight will be an event for the Keep A Child Alive charity. Whichever model helps to promote their Mara Hoffman look best and generate the most funds will win $10,000 for their college fund and will visit Alicia Keys on her Girl On Fire tour.
Now to gear up for the show, Tyra wants the girls to show off their walking skills, while portraying the feel of three of Alicia’s songs “Superwoman,” “My Boo” and “Empire State of Mind.” The girls seem to have what it takes, except for Leila, who resembles a stiff robot.
Now as Top Models, Tyra would like to instill in each of them a sense of leadership. So this season she starts off with the task of delegating who will oversee what backstage at the event, according to the Girl On Fire theme. Thanks to her Head of the House title she got winning last week, Laura is assigned as leader. Unfortunately, she starts things off horribly. She quickly makes the mistake of leading a group discussion of the overall theme. At the venue, Johnny Wujek and Kelly Cutrone tear her efforts apart. With some help, she’s able to explain to hair and makeup artists what she’s envisioning.
“Please, don’t embarrass my client of over 10 years because I’ll kill you,” Kelly says. Mara Hoffman’s fashions are draping the models as they walk down the runway, but Kristin’s not scared. She’s only worried about falling. “Kristin’s a bad person,” cries Leila to cameras. “She’s ugly inside.” While I agree that Kristin can have an attitude, she’s not the one who heard Tyra yelling at her to move her arms while walking in front of hundreds of people.
So who out of Victoria, Laura and Kiara raised the most money for Keep A Child Alive and will win the reward?
Charity Challenge Winner: Kiara
I guess it’s a good thing that Kiara got her singing audition out of the way earlier. She chooses Nastasia to join her for the tour visit.
That night in the house, the most ridiculous display of in-house drama occurs. Kiara tells Leila that Laura thinks Leila is obsessed with Laura. Laura walks in and Leila addresses the situation. Laura begins to cry. All of the girls sit in to listen. Kristin belches. Victoria is sitting in the corner stretching. Leila starts crying. “It feels like high school,” weeps Laura. I agree!
Quickly, lets fast-forward to the next day when the girls arrive at the football field for their cheerleader photo shoot with photographer Sarah Silver. Rob Evans and Johnny are in tow for coaching. And lucky for those who did not cheerlead, Jonte is there to show them how it’s done.
Wait. I understand how some men may have better model experience than women when it comes to the runway walk or posing, but cheering? The male cheerleaders are their for muscle strength, carrying their female counterparts, tossing them, lifting… For this Top Model photo shoot, should a woman have come in to help give the girls a feel for how to move their bodies? Last I checked, men and women were built differently. But I digress.
With the lowest scores after the charity challenge, Allyssa is worried about going home. She is doing her best to stick those poses while flying up in the air. Unfortunately, she fails to remember the models catching her are real. A smack in the head causes one male model to bleed from the head. Good thing the fans can’t find any viral videos of that one!
Laura and Leila have two very different approaches to this photo shoot. Laura is afraid of heights. Tears and all, she is tossed up in the air over and over again, working through her fears. Leila, on the other hand, must still be “obsessed” with Laura, pouting in all of her shots. Johnny calls it “duck lips.” Duck lips aren’t the problem, it’s her focus. “I just think that I deserve it more than she does,” comments Laura. I’m not sure that I would take things to that extreme, either.
There’s a few shake-ups in front of panel tonight, it seems. Tyra, Kelly and Rob are joined by media representative Bryanboy to discuss each girl’s photo, as usual, but the shift comes from the photo’s rankings.
The biggest shocker comes from Kristin’s performance. She actually get’s good news from the judges, especially Kelly. “You’re making my heart melt right now, Kelly,” says Kristin. I’m thinking she may want to have this moment put in writing and signed by all in attendance, just in case.
Yvonne also looks to be out of the danger of the bottom two now that she has learned to embrace her curves. Her photo is striking and her skin is gorgeous. The judges easily toss high scores her way.
The top photo, though, will go to the girl who successfully meshed the sport of cheerleading and modeling. It can’t look so sporty that one expects a call from the next installment of the Bring it On franchise, yet it can’t be too fierce for fear of scaring away fans voting at their computers. So who does Tyra hand the top spot of the sorority house to?
Top Photo: Nastasia
Leila and an unsuspecting Brittany find themselves in the bottom two. Brittany entered this competition as the “Disney girl,” hoping to grow over her time on Top Model. She failed this week to progress. And as we know from earlier, Leila has been more focused on Laura. So who goes home?
Eliminated: Leila
It pays to keep your head in the game. “This is a shock to me,” says Tyra. Thanks to America’s votes. One half of a point kicked Leila out of the competition and into the Comeback Series. “I talked such a big game because I just felt so good about myself,” confesses Leila to cameras. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so worried about Kristin’s blatant disregard for personal humility. It’s the quiet ones that you should look out for.
Next Friday on America’s Next Top Model: College Edition, the girls are challenged to bring a video game to life. Plus, during their photo shoot, Yvonne gets testy with Bryanboy. Probably not a good idea since he’s the guy who stands between her and her fans. Just an idea.
Jilliane Johnson
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
