Thursday, November 29, 2007

Shanghai'd in Shanghai

I can honestly say that this is the first cycle of ANTM for which I have not chosen a favourite and stuck by her for the duration. Last night, it was "go-see" time and the girls had to impress designers not only with their looks, portfolio and walk but also with their charm and personality. This proved to be quite a challenge for some of the girls. The translators tell the cabs to take the girls to their destinations, but once the girls get out of the cab, they still have to navigate themselves to the right studios. Plus, they have to be back at the agency on time.

Saleisha jumps out of the cab in the pouring rain and runs into the first designer's studio. She doesn't impress him; he thinks she dull. Poor Heather is lost. Chantal is scolded by one of the designers for wearing bright pink booty shorts rather than nude underwear, and her walk doesn't impress the designer either. By the time all the other girls have completed two or three go-sees, Heather still hasn't done her first one because she can't find the location. When she finally finds the first designer's studio, she is told how important it is to make eye contact, something that she struggles with. She is again awkward and obviously uncomfortable despite the fact that she has a look that the designer likes for China. After this, she heads back out, only to get lost a second time. She decides to go back to the agency so she doesn't get disqualified, but can't find her car. Cut to an awkward amount of footage of Heather walking around Shanghai aimlessly. Saliesha and Bianca are the only two who make it back to the agency on time, so the other girls are disqualified from the challenge. Bianca, who impressed the designers with the perfect mix of personality and beauty, is the winner.

Our favourite hunky judge, Nigel Barker is the photographer for this week's photo shoot. The models pose in a garden with people dressed in beautiful Chinese lion and dragon costumes. This means that the models have to be on their game, they must be super fierce to stand out in the shot. Nigel tries to coach Jenah, but she gives him attitude her sarcastic attempts at humour seem to do little more than irk him.

You see, this is where I'm torn. In my opinion, Heather and Jenah had the two best photos this week. However, they are both seriously lacking in the personality and "pulling it together" departments. I favoured Bianca this week, for the first time- she definitely rocked it in her go-sees and though I'm not particularly a fan of her face in her photo, on the whole, it was a good shot.
Five stand before Tyra, but she only has four photos in her hands. Saleisha is called first. Next is Bianca, then Chantal. Jenah and Heather are in the bottom two. The name that she doesn't call must return to the hotel, pack her bags and leave. Jenah. Heather is eliminated. I wasn't surprised. Beautiful and photogenic as the girl may be, I just think that she lacks the professionalism and confidence that it takes to be a top model. Can you really see Heather walking a runway, doing speaking engagements, or nailing a commercial for some new mascara? Can you imagine her at charity events, schmoozing at a high profile party, or doing whatever other highly visible tasks a model is required to do on a daily basis? I certainly can't. I was pleased with the judges' decision to send the girl home this week.

What do you think ANTM fans? Gus Greeper...is your secret choice still in the running? We're getting close to the end here, folks!
All photos courtesy of The CW

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

THANKFULLY i think it was on your site that i said Jenah was my second pick... or it is in my comments .. either way... Heather was my pick, i wanted her to pull it out so bad, but they made the right decision sending her home i agree she just wasn't able to pull off more than just a good photo but she should be so proud of herself i think she accomplished so much more than just pretty pictures just not in any kind of commercial sense.
Jenah just needs a wee attitude check that to me is not a big deal anyway, i think she just needs to learn when she can bust out JENAH and when she needs to bust out professional Jenah.

Anonymous said...

It just went downhill from Nicole. She was boring, and then Jaslene cannot speak at all, and is damn hideous. Unfortunately, Jaslene is the only one I really see in ads and on TV. If it weren't for this show, she could never never make it on her own. I think Top Model should be a stepping stone but not hand commercials to girls who ordinarily wouldn't make it past a first interview.

As I wrote on my blog, my fave is always changing too and I barely care who wins at this point.