Cycle 17 of
America's Next Top Model, the All Star Cycle, aired on September 14, 2011 on CW
with many familiar faces from previous cycles.
We enjoyed sixteen
great seasons of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) on CWTV. America’s Next Top
Model is the brainchild of Tyra Banks, acclaimed top model, television host and
a former singer and actress. Tyra knew the challenges of the fashion industry
and created a show to give young women a crash course in ‘Modeling in the Real
World 101’. She puts them through weeks of challenges, photoshoots, training
sessions, runway shows, ‘go-sees’, hair makeovers, dancing and acting. In the
middle of all the modeling and the tools to help build their ‘star power’, the
girls are also distracted by the drama of living in a house with sometimes 13
or 14 models with one and sometimes two going home in one week.
Cycle 17 – The
All Star Cycle
America’s Next Top
Model calls Cycle 17 the All Star Cycle because competitors from all seasons
except for three, six, seven and eight are back to once again aiming for the
coveted title. This all-star season offers the winner a spread in ItalianVogue, a spread and cover in Beauty in Vogue,
the opportunity to sit as a guest correspondent for Extra, a $100,000 contract with Covergirl and
other prizes.
Tyra seems to be
looking for more than just a top model for this All Star Cycle. She seems to be
looking through some of the best contestants from the previous shows for a true
‘all star’. According to Tyra in the opening of the first episode, there will
be appearances by the Kardashians, Latoya Jackson, Kathy Griffin, Ashlee Simpson and other celebrities. Viewers can also expect to see the girls work on a music
video, a perfume, also audition for a guest appearance on CSI among other
surprises.
The Models of
Cycle 17
Some of the
fourteen ladies who are competing in this special season are Alexandria
Everett, the one top model that people really seem to dislike from Cycle 16,
Kayla Ferrel, the sultry lesbian from Cycle 15 and Angelea Preston, who tried
out on numerous occasions and is known for her ‘ghetto fabulousness’ from Cycle 14.
Laura Kirkpatrick from Cycle 13, the sweet country girl whose grandmother makes
her clothes and Allison Harvard, the wide-eyed blonde from Cycle 12 are also
back in this competition. Two models are back from Cycle 11, Isis King, who has
since completed her gender transformation and Sheena Sakai, who is half Korean
and half Japanese.
Cycle 10’s
Dominique Reighard, the girl who was constantly berated by the judges for her
masculine bone structure, is also back. Bianca Golden from Cycle 9 is one of
the more successful returns as she has modeled for Ford Models and appeared in the 2008 Virgin Islands Fashion Week. Bre
Scullark from Cycle 5 is a favored returning model and is noted for throwing
away Nicole’s Red Bull after claiming to miss her snacks.
While many of the
girls are known for their photos, their runway walk or their attitudes,
Brittany Brower from Cycle 4 who was always loud and Lisa D’Amato from Cycle 5
who urinated in a diaper, are more known for their wild behavior and their
antics. The girls who come from the earlier seasons are Cycle 2’s Camille McDonald, a
self-declared diva and Cycle 1’s Shannon Stewart, the ‘religious Christian’ who
refused to pose nude.
Episode One of
the ANTM’s All Star Cycle
The first episode
of Cycle 17 started off re-familiarizing the viewers with the returning models.
Of course, there was a photo shoot and it was shot by CelesteCanino in the backyard of the girls' new home.
Subtle drama was highlighted with Bianca’s disapproval of her red hair, which
affected her performance because the photographer was not engaged with her
posing. Shannon came back with her Christian values and refused to wear lace
underpants for her photo. Instead she posed in a bikini swimsuit bottom which
made her more scantily clad.
The judges’ task
was to evaluate the young ladies based on their photos, personality, the
potential to be the Top Model All Star and how they worked the crowd. The
judges were the same: André Leon Tally, Nigel Barker,
Tyra Banks and guest judge, rapper Nicki Minaj.
This first episode showed a live judging with an audience and the girls stomped
their runway walks on a long catwalk to impress all the onlookers. Most of the
models had a favorable response but Alexandria was actually booed and derogatory
remarks were hurled at her.
The judges still
retreated to privacy to review the photos and the performances. The models were
called out in the following order: Isis, Allison, Camille, Lisa, Angelea,
Laura, Bre, Bianca, Shannon, Dominique, Sheena and then Kayla. Brittany and
Alexandria sat in the bottom two because the crowd showed no positive or
negative reaction to Brittany and because Alexandria was booed. Alexandria was
given another chance at redemption because she was memorable so the boos actually
worked in her favor. Brittany Brower, Cycle 4’s wild-child now an entrepreneur
and host, was sent home once again.
While this first
episode did not have much of the drama queen and ‘divalicious’ behavior, the
clip from next week’s episode proves to have some excitement. As of today, with
over four million Facebook fans, America’s Next Top Model All Star Cycle 17
will surely have viewers glued to their television to see which model will win
this coveted title.
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