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America's Next Top Model

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America’s Next Top Model is a reality television show which pits contestants against each other in a variety of competitions to determine who will win a modeling contract with makeup manufacturer Covergirl. Supermodel Tyra Banks hosts and produces the show.

The debut season of the show premiered on the UPN network in 2003. On it, 10 female contestants were placed in a New York City apartment. Spanning a wide variety of women of various races, heights and body sizes, they had been whittled down from a pool of thousands to compete against one another in various contests designed to simulate the extreme demands placed on professional models. Each week one contestant was eliminated by a panel of judges: Banks herself, clothing designer Kimora Lee Simmons, Beau Quillian, and Janice Dickinson, who bills herself as the world's first supermodel. By the next season, only Tyra and Janice remained judges, but the others are now ex-model/fashion photographer Nigel Barker and fashion editor/stylist Nolé Marin. After season four, Janice, amid rumors of personality conflicts with some other judges, and Marin were replaced by Twiggy and "Miss" Jay Alexander (Alexander had been involved with the runway and various photo shoots since the first season).

The show has also produced a male model copy-cat show on the Bravo network, called Manhunt. It's hosted by Carmen Electra.

Season 1

The show takes on a reality show style of format in that we not only see these competitions but the effects they have on the participants, as well as the drama of their day to day lives while participating. This included several contestants who were devout Christians and disapproved of homosexuality, to the dismay of lesbian contestant Ebony Haith. Elyse Sewell, who was in the top three, is probably the most memorable contestant. The extremely intelligent double major expressed her liberal views proudly, which gave her edginess, but her acerbic tongue that dripped with condescension towards others of differing views or who weren't as gifted mentally, brought a wary eye upon her by the show's judges. It also didn't help that she undercut the touted premise throughout the show that modeling was "hard" as she breezed through set up challenges and the rigors of modeling using sheer wit. Elyse did earn a huge following that has lasted well after the show for said views and attitude, but she proved on the show that innate intelligence can get you very far and is probably most responsible for her continued success as a model. In a dramatic 2 hour season finale, Elyse and the eventual winner Adrianne Curry were both selected as the bottom two, allowing fellow contestant Shannon to advance automatically to the finals. The former was later booted out of the competition due to her "know'all" attitude. The winner of the first season was Adrianne Curry, an Illinois woman with a thick accent who had been pursuing modeling since her early teens, and till today, the judges felt that Adrianne was indeed the rightful winner that outshone's Shannon's superior All-American beauty.

Season 2

The second season of the show, in 2004, featured 12 contestants this time. Though the format was the same, the production took several different angles on how the show was presented. The judges were often much more harsh in their criticism of the contestants. In particular, one contestant, Catie Anderson, was repeatedly told that she looked or acted like a prostitute. The contests in this season were also more sexual: the first one required contestants to pose nude in body paint, something that plus-size contestant Anna Bradfield opted out of, causing her to be eliminated first. There was also a lesbian-erotic photo shoot towards the end of the show where the remaining four contestants posed nude in seductive positions in pairs of two.

The second season also spawned a clear-cut "hated" character in the form of Camille McDonald. While it is not uncommon for a "bad" character to emerge on a reality show, Camille's race came into play when it was pointed out by critics and the NAACP that many reality shows airing at this time seemed to peg the black female character as the one to dislike. Camille did make it into the final five, however, and in so doing ousting other more promising model hopefuls, including Catie and the Muslim-originated Sara. The second season also featured Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, a young woman whose struggle with lupus was detailed on the show. She fought against it to become one of the last two finalists.

Another contestant of note was Shandi Sullivan, a lithe, blonde cashier from Kansas City, Missouri. Shandi began the show as a very mousy and poorly dressed girl in glasses with absolutely no flare at all for the catwalk, but by the end she had transformed into an extremely skilled model and ravishing beauty. Shandi provided an infamous moment when in one episode she cheated on her boyfriend, Eric, while in Italy. The scene when she called her boyfriend to inform him of her infidelity was shown on various other programs. She made it into the top three.

The winner of the cycle was Yoanna House, a fashionista who had lost 40 pounds (18 kg) in order to realise her dreams of being a model. Yoanna proved that one with physical disadvantages (she was overweight and had a slightly limp shoulder) need not bow down to outside contention should you believe in yourself.

Season 3

The third season of the show debuted in fall 2004 and was criticized by some for focusing far more on "drama" than on modeling ability. Amanda Swafford, who was legally blind, broke ground by making it to the final three due to her stunning photos produced consistently week after week. However, the final two were Yaya Da Costa Johnson and Eva Pigford, who went head-to-head in a very elegant Japanese fashion show. Both women were African-American, while no black woman had previously won (Mercedes, a mixed race competitor (half African-American) had been a finalist in Season 2). Eva was declared the winner.

Season 3 of the popular reality TV series proved to shatter many ANTM records. Among them was for the inclusion of the first blind contestant (as mentioned above to be Amanda), the contestant who survived the most number of eliminations, that is, to be second to last most numerously (Ann, a total of 4 times) and the contestant who won the most number of reward challenges (Yaya, with a total of 5). It also featured the first openly acclaimed plus-sized model in Toccara, a 180 pound model hoping to break the industry. She made it to an impressive seventh place. Finally, it was the first African-American winner and runner-up pair in the show's history. Furthermore, Eva is the youngest winner of these reality TV shows series at the age of 18 (in fact she was still 17 when she first came for auditions).

Many today still consider Yaya as the better competitor, attributed to her profound determination and her amazing consistency throughout the season. Eva was also notoriously noted for her frequent fighting within the loft that the girls stayed in, particularly with Amanda and her self-dubbed "friend" Ann, although Yaya and fellow contestant Norelle didn't really get along very well too.

Mid season, they flew off to Tokyo Japan, where Nicole was first axed due to her inability to master basic Japanese. This was soon followed by Norelle, Ann and Amanda, leaving Yaya and Eva in a closely contested final that even Tyra Banks was tearing when she anounced the winner to be Eva.

Season 4

For the next installment, which ran in spring 2005, the ___location was moved from New York City to Los Angeles, but with the girls living on a set which resembled NYC. One of the most memorable contestants in season four was Tiffany Richardson, who initially had made it into the semifinals in cycle three but had gotten into a fight with a woman who poured beer on her weave in a bar. She was accepted as a finalist for cycle four with a calmer and more mature attitude, though her defeatist outlook caused her to be eliminated from the game. In what was generally considered a lackluster season, one of the most talked-about moments occurred after a double elimination ceremony which removed Tiffany and another contestant, Rebecca Epley. Tiffany laughed and joked on her way out, prompting Tyra to scream "BE QUIET!!!!" and have a meltdown over how they had given Tiffany a chance and she had let them down.

Rebecca too gave the judges a scare a couple of episodes earlier. During evaluation, she collapsed and literally fainted right before the judges. It was due to a childhood medical relapse, and although not life threatening, it was inconvenient. The judges admired her courage to come back for evaluation after her discharge and she made it to the next round.

The season also included Michelle Deighton, a bisexual wrestler who was considered by some to be awkward and masculine in person, but who nevertheless turned out to be one of the most versatile and photogenic contestants. During the show she contracted impetigo, which at one point was mistaken to be a flesh-eating virus by several of the other girls (partly upon "confirmation" from fellow contestant Noelle's mom that it would cause certain death). She managed to make it into the sixth place before being eliminated.

Another memorable character was janitor turn model Lluvy. In the fourth episode, where the final twelve remaining girls had to take a Zodiac calendar spread, Lluvy's Pisces shot was commented by Tyra as "the worst photo in the history of America's Next Top Model". Expectedly, Lluvy was very distressed by this, but she still managed to hang on as Brandy was eliminated due to her bad attitude. (In fact, Lluvy holds the record for the girl who appeared the most times consecutively in the bottom 2, a total of three times in a row!)

Other interesting characters included Brittany, a tomboyish, sometimes overly alcoholic, model who was best friends with fellow contestant Keenyah for most of the whole show, until the former got fed up with the latter's "hypocritical" attitude in South Africa. This led to a complete argument explosion whereby Brittany yelled a loud and shocking "SHUT UP!" into Keenyah's face. The quarrel spread all the way back to the loft when Keenyah further provoked Naima. Brittany was eliminated the next day as the quarrel clearly took its toll in the pre-evaluation contest.

Christina, another contestant who made it to fifth place, was a very strong contender, whom the judges commented as the girl who took some of the best pictures in the season (this was said too for Kahlen and Michelle). However, Christina just couldn't get past her "cold" persona and was ousted as such.

In the season finale of Cycle 4, which was located in South Africa, Keenyah, Kahlen, and Naima competed to win the top spot. Keenyah was the first to go because the judges felt Kahlen was a stronger model. Kahlen and Naima faced off in the final runway walk in which the runway was partially under water. The judges had a hard time choosing between the two potentials. They explained that Kahlen's pictures had been stronger during the competition, but Naima had a better and stronger finish in the final stretch. In the end of what was supposedly the longest deliberation ever, the judges chose Naima as America's Next Top Model.

Especially the third and fourth seasons of the shows have been criticised for having contestants chosen more for their potential to be reality TV personalities than actual modelling abilities. The show has constantly featured contestants that would generally be too old to start out in the modeling business or not tall or thin enough to do runway work. The later seasons have also been criticised for deviating further from high fashion into a more commercial territory. Nevertheless, the show remains one of the highest rated shows on UPN and a fifth and a sixth season have been commissioned.

America's Next Top Model Records

Cycle 1 Champion: Adrianne Curry

Cycle 2 Champion: Yoanna House

Cycle 3 Champion: Eva Pigford

Cycle 4 Champion: Naima Mora

First White Winner: Adrianne (Cycle 1)

First Black Winner: Eva (Cycle 3)

First Mixed-Parentage Winner: Naima (Cycle 4 - Black-Irish & Black-Mexican Indian)

First White Runner-Up: Shannon (Cycle 1)

First Black Runner-Up: Mercedes (Cycle 2)

Furthest Advancing Asian: April (Cycle 2 - 4th Place)

Furthest Advancing Black-Black Pair: Eva & Yaya (Cycle 3 - 1st & 2nd Place)

Oldest Champion: Yoanna (Cycle 2 - 23 years)

Youngest Champion: Eva (Cycle 3 - 19 years)

Shortest Champion: Eva (Cycle 3 - 5'7")

Tallest Champion: Yoanna (Cycle 2 - 5'11")

Oldest Contestant: Robin (Cycle 1 - 28 years)

Youngest Contestants: Heather(Cycle 2) and Ebony (Cycle 5) (both were right out of highschool during their seasons

First Disabled Contestant: Amanda (Cycle 3 - Legally Blind (Retinitis Pigmentosa)/Night Blindness)

Most Asian-Originated Contestants: April(Japan), Jenascia(Philippines) & Sarah(Iran) (all from Cycle 2)

Most African-American Contestants: Eva, Yaya, Toccara and Kelle (all from Cycle 3)

First Latin-American Originated Contestant: Giselle (Cycle 1)

First European-Originated Contestant: Brita Petersens (Cycle 4)

Heaviest Contestant: Toccara (Cycle 3 - 180 pounds)

Lightest Contestants: Elyse (Cycle 1), Amanda & Magdalena (Cycle 3) & Shandi (Cycle 2), all 115 pounds

Shortest Contestants: Eva (Cycle 3), Jenascia (Cycle 2) & Cassandra (Cycle 5) all 5'7"

Tallest Contestants: Ann, Kelle (Cycle 3), Xiomara, Yoanna (Cycle 2), Brittany, Keenyah (Cycle 4) & Diane (Cycle 5), all 5'11"

Most Reward Challenges Won: Yaya (Cycle 3 - 5 in total)

Most Reward Challenges Won Consecutively: Yaya (Cycle 3 - 5 times in a row)

First contestant to ever win CoverGirl of the Week from start to finish: Naima (Cycle 4 winner of ANTM)

Total Escapes From Elimination: Ann (Cycle 3 - 4 times in bottom 2 without getting ousted)

Consecutive Bottom 2 Appearances: Lluvy (Cycle 4 - 3 times in a row)

Worst Photo In History: Lluvy (Cycle 4 - Pisces Photo)

Most "First Called Out For Safety": Amanda (Cycle 3 - 4 times in total)

First Contestant To Quit The Game: Cassandra (Cycle 5)

First Publicly Announced Lesbian Contestant: Ebony (Cycle 1)

First Publicly Announced Bisexual Contestant: Michelle (Cycle 4)

First Contestant To Contract Disease During The Show: Michelle (Cycle 4 - she came down with impetigo)

First Contestant Who Tyra Banks Shouted At: Tiffany (Cycle 4)

First Double Elimination: Rebecca & Tiffany (Cycle 4)

First Contestant To Faint In The Show: Rebecca (Cycle 4 - before the panel of judges)

First Contestant Whose Loved One Died While Filming: Kahlen (Cycle 4 - her best friend from high school died)

First Contestant To Refuse Taking A Photo Shoot: Robin & Shannon (Cycle 1)

First Contestant To Arrive Late For A Photo Shoot: Jenascia (Cycle 2)

First Contestant To Verbally Request To Leave Competition: Nicole (Cycle 1)

Most Frequently Appeared Name For Contestants: Nicole (Cycles 1, 3 & 5) and Sarah (Cycles 2, 4 & 5)

Most diverse racial mix: Cycle 2 (Whites: Other Races = 6:6)

First fake double elimination/time no contestant was eliminated in a regular episode - Episode 8, Cycle 5 (Nicole and Jayla)

Unique Parentage:

1) Giselle (Cycle 1 - Mexican)

2) Yoanna (Cycle 2 - Canadian American/Mexican)

3) April (Cycle 2 - German/Japanese-Irish/Welsh)

4) Camille (Cycle 2 - Jamaican)

5) Sara (Cycle 2 - Iranian[Persian])

6) Jenascia (Cycle 2 - Filipino/Greek/Cherokee Indian/English/Irish/Possibly German)

7) Yaya (Cycle 3 - Caribbean Origins)

8) Norelle (Cycle 3 - Irish American)

9) Julie (Cycle 3 - Indian)

10) Magdalena (Cycle 3 - Panamanian Origins)

11) Naima (Cycle 4 - Black/Irish/Mexican-Black/Welsh)

12) Noelle (Cycle 4 - Black-White)

13) Jayla (Cycle 5 - Italian)

14) Lisa (Cycle 5 - Distant European Origins)

15) Most Successful Modeling Career After Show: Elyse Sewell

16) Only Two Former Strippers: Cassie Grisham (Cycle 3) and Tiffany Richardson (Cycle 4)

17) Homosexual/Bisexual Contestants: Ebony Haith (Cycle 1), Adrianne Curry (Cycle 1), Michelle Deighton (Cycle 4) and Kim Stolz (Cycle 5)

Contestants

Cycle 1 contestants (in order of elimination)

Cycle 2 contestants (in order of elimination)

Cycle 3 contestants (in order of elimination)

Cycle 4 contestants (in order of elimination)

Cycle 5 contestants (not in order of elimination, some last names not available yet) Template:Spoilers

  • Ashley Black (eliminated 1st)
  • Ebony Taylor (eliminated 2nd)
  • Cassandra Whitehead (quit - Episode 3)
  • Sarah Rhoades (eliminated 3rd)
  • Diane Hernandez (eliminated 4th)
  • Coryn Woitel (eliminated 5th)
  • Kyle Kavanagh (eliminated 6th)
  • Bre
  • Jayla
  • Kim Stolz
  • Lisa
  • Nicole Linkletter
  • Nik

International versions

An Australian version of the show called Australia's Next Top Model was broadcast in January 2005. A second series will be aired early next year. The format was also used for British show Make Me A Supermodel, the first series of which was broadcast in 2005. Thailand also used this format in a show broadcast in mid-2005 There have been many spin-offs in many countries, mostly European. These countries include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Thailand, Israel, Australia, Germany, Britain, and more. Most recently, supermodel Heidi Klum is set to host Germany's Next Top Model.

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