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America's Next Top Model 13: Nicole On Top For 7th Straight Week
Rankings and Commentary by RTVC Staff Writer Jacob D.
October 29, 2009
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This week's episode of America's Next Top Model saw the girls taking on new scenery and new personas, but revisiting old habits.
The remaining six girls were whisked away to Hawaii, the overseas destination for the season.
The girls received surfing lessons and then had a mini-photo shoot on surfboards for a challenge. Erin won for the second week in a row.
For the photo shoot, the girls took on the roles of various bi-racial characters to varying degrees of success.
At judging panel, Nicole's photo was deemed the best while Brittany and Erin were left as the bottom two.
Though Erin continued to sabotage herself and stand in the way of her own progress, Brittany was eliminated for being too analytical and lacking passion.
Five girls remain; who will be eliminated next time?
On a side note, I usually don't write anything for the eliminated contestants, but a lightbulb went off over my head by the end of the episode that I really want to address.
The Top Models in Action segment focused on Cycle 12's Natalie, of whom I wrote all season that I just was irritated by her and not impressed by anything she did. Of Brittany, I've been writing that she's slightly irritating and I haven't been terribly impressed by most of what she's done.
The two contestants are so similar in look and style, and in what I've written about them, that I don't know why I didn't see this coming sooner! Argh! How could I miss the comparison? Natalie and Brittany were even eliminated in the same position and for some of the same reasons, mostly about not showing enough passion and fire! Had I noticed sooner, I might've ranked Brittany lower on my scoreboard.
Anyways, that was just an 'A-ha!' moment I had that I wanted to address somewhere. Here are my rankings:
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Nicole
Current Ranking: 1 Previous Ranking: 1
Nicole is an 18 year old student from Louisville, CO. She is 5' 7".
For the seventh week running, Nicole holds on to the number one spot. Should this be a surprise to you, dear readers? Maybe not, but I'm starting to run out of things to say. She is naturally model-esque, is a nice girl, though still a bit dry as far as personality goes, and took yet another amazing photo. I remember thinking to myself while recapping the episode that it seems like anytime one girl starts making progress towards toppling Nicole, which I felt Laura was doing prior to this week, she catches herself and continues to widen the gap. Personality and presence may ultimately be her undoing, but if that day ever comes, Nicole will remain on top until then if she keeps this up.
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Laura
Current Ranking: 2 Previous Ranking: 2
Laura is a 19 year old waitress from Stanford, KY. She is 5' 6".
This week, the judges hit on something concerning Laura that I missed: she often doesn't come across as a model. She's a beautiful girl, striking and unique, with a lovely personality, but as we've learned time and again on this show, beauty isn't the only thing that makes a model. Laura has taken a number of great photos and earned praise for that, but as far as actually looking, speaking, acting, and composing herself as a model, the judges need to see more of that. As it is, she's very girl-next-door, which is fine, but for the sake of the competition she should sharpen her persona and be the chic girl-next-door.
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Jennifer
Current Ranking: 3 Previous Ranking: 4
Jennifer is a 23 year old model from Philadelphida, PA. She is 5' 5".
I think we have a problem with Jennifer and that problem is inconsistency. While Erin said at some point in the episode that Brittany's performance is very up-and-down, I think the same can be said of Jennifer. She's either fantastic at the shoots or a complete mess and her pictures often come to similar extremes. What saves her is both her personality and how memorable she can be. She already stands out for being the only Asian model in the cast and she's a very charming, charismatic person. The judges sing praises for her potential and they really want to like her, having never placed her anywhere near the bottom two yet at any judging panels despite her rocky progression throughout the competition. I can definitely see Jennifer in the finals, but whether or not she gets there depends on if she can become more stable between now and then.
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Sundai
Current Ranking: 4 Previous Ranking: 5
Sundai is an 18 year old student from Bakersfield, CA. She is 5' 3".
Sundai moves up a spot to her highest ranking yet, but only because someone above her on the scoreboard was knocked out. Sundai is a spirited young girl with a fresh, cutesy look. However, that may be a problem because Sundai, so far, has been knocked for being stuck in one mode. She's been chastised for a while about striking the same poses and angles, but this week, she was also criticized for photographing too short and too young, as if she were a 12 year old girl. The judges want to see a strong, confident woman before them and they want Sundai to be more versatile. Had she not taken what the judges felt was one of her best shots, not one of the best shots in the competition, but one of HER best shots, I have no doubt she would've fallen into the bottom two and faced possible elimination. As it is, I think her personality and perseverence continues to save her and she could yet hang on for another week or two, but I don't see her winning or even reaching the final round unless she really take things up a couple notches.
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Erin
Current Ranking: 5 Previous Ranking: 6
Erin is an 18 year old student from Kenosha, WI. She is 5' 6".
Erin moves up one spot, but remains in last place on my scoreboard. I began to notice this episode that a lot of the good that comes of Erin happens despite her and not really because of her. True, she's done well in a number of the challenges, winning now for two weeks running, but as far as photo shoots, she's a lot like Cycle 12's Allison: doesn't really doing anything different or vary her looks/poses from week to week, yet comes away with great pictures. So far, her unique look and great pictures have saved Erin, but her new habit of self-sabotage is keeping her at the bottom of the pack. It was very apparent to the judges when she crashed and burned in last week's commercial shoot and it was very apparent in this week's shoot when she lacked any real emotion or presence in her photo. The result was that, much like her challenge win streak, she landed in the bottom two for the second week in a row. Allison managed to turn her fortunes around and ultimately rank second for her season. Can Erin do the same? Time will tell.
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Brittany
9th Elimination
Brittany is a 21 year old student from Livermore, CA. She is 5' 5".
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Rae
8th Elimination
Rae is a 21 year old mother and homemaker from Rochester, MN. She is 5' 6".
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Kara
7th Elimination
Kara is a 19 year old student from Fort Wayne, IN. She is 5' 7".
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Ashley
6th Elimination
Ashley is a 22 year old artist from Chicago, IL. She is 5' 6".
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Bianca
5th Elimination
Bianca is a 21 year old student from Columbia, SC. She is 5' 7".
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lulu
4th Elimination
Lulu is a 19 year old student from Brooklyn, NY. She is 5' 7".
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Courtney
3rd Elimination
Courtney is a 22 year old cheer instructor from Plantation, FL. She is 5' 4".
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Rachel
2nd Elimination
Rachel is an 18 year old customer service worker from Woodland, CA. She is 5' 5".
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Lisa
1st Elimination
Lisa is a 19 year old student from Queens, NY. She is 5' 5".
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Jacob D. is a twenty-something native of Austin Tx who spends his time
listening to music, posting on Austin based messageboards, playing
video games, and watching TV. Jacob also enjoys reading Shonen Jump,
Garfield and Calvin & Hobbes strips, playing Texas Hold 'em, drawing
cartoon chickens, and tending to his neopets. Though shy in real
life, he loves to sound off on his favorite shows and enjoys
interacting with other fans.
You can contact Jacob at Jacob@RealityTVCalendar.com
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