America’s Next Top Model 7, Episode 1: I’m Not A Stripper, I’m An “Entertainer”!

It’s been the longest few months of my life! Me without ANTM is like a fish out of water! Well, not really, but I missed the girls! So here we are – it’s time for 13 more girls to try their luck at becoming the next Tyra Banks! Some will do well, some will flop. We’ll be surprised at times and then other times we’ll see it coming. Either way, we’ll enjoy the drama, so let’s begin, shall we?

Tyra tells us that being a supermodel has been the experience of her life. However, she has been passing the torch now, and helping new girls break into the industry. She knows a top model when she sees one. She has blasted six girls into success now, along with girls who haven’t won the show as well! This season, Tyra has brought 33 girls to L.A., and that group will be weeded down to 13 finalists. The experts will be tougher than ever, and in 12 weeks, one of these girls will be America’s Next Top Model!

We begin at the airport. The girls are now arriving, and the first we meet is Jaeda, who says this is her dream. Another girl, Becky, can’t believe that this is happening. It has always been her dream, and she’s from a small town. Evita says that she is sad to leave her children right now, but she’s happy to be there. What makes it worse is that her husband isn’t home either – he’s in Iraq.

The girls walk into the terminal and are greeted by Ms. J. Alexander, who is in a stewardess outfit. He welcomes the girls and Caridee already has the quote of this episode with this one about Ms. J.: “She’s so he!” Ha! I already love her.

Ms. J. tells the girls that they need to be ready at a moment’s notice – and they are already off to their first shoot! The girls will each need to pose for 10 photos. A.J. says that she has never done modeling before and can’t believe this is happening so fast. Melrose says that at 23, she has the confidence to be a top model, more so than some of the younger girls. Ginger says that she wants to show her stuff to the world.

Caridee sure is crazy, but at least she knows she is. Anchal, our first Indian-American girl since Julie in Cycle 3, says that she knows she can do this. Brook, who I originally thought would be boring, says that she thinks she rocked it – and I do too! The girls finish up with their first semi-shoot and arrive at the Belage. They each get acquainted, and we are introduced to Amanda and Michelle, the twins. Michelle says that there aren’t many six-foot-tall girls there right now, so they are confident. They have always been compared to one another growing up, and used to having to compete with one another, so that won’t be the hardest part for them. They realize that only one girl can win this thing.

The next morning, the girls arrive for breakfast. As they toast, the twirling twins from last season, Ron and Richard Harris, come from behind a curtain and begin swirling and twirling! Leangela says that she wants to twirl and be like Tyra, and that’s when we see Tyra come out, and all the girls begin to go crazy. Tyra tells them that this is her favorite part of the competition – meeting all the girls, since she has seen all their videos. So now, it’s time for some serious interviews, and if they are nervous – tell her! At that, everyone begins to twirl again, and before Tyra leaves, she makes sure that she drops it like it’s hot. That’s it, tomorrow, at work, I’m going to drop it like it’s hot and see what my coworkers say. I’ll let you know next week!

The interviews with Mr. Jay, Ms. J., and Tyra begin, and the first girl this season to meet them is – Christian, who is VERY cute! Christian says she is there to fill Tyra’s spot in the industry. Then she starts to mimic Tyra’s poses over the years and nails every one of them! She wants someone to realize that she has the “it” factor.

Caridee is next, and she is wearing a garter. Ms. J. goes right on over and takes it off, throwing it to the other judges. Mr. Jay tells her to never wear one again. Caridee says that she’s from North Dakota, and the only famous person to come from there is Paul Bunion, and he’s dead. Tyra says that she reminds her of Rebecca Romaijn.

Anchal is up next, and the judges wonder why she’s wearing blue contacts. Anchal basically breaks down saying that she always feels the need to be pretty, and wants to make a difference and show who she really is. Meh. I prefer Julie from Cycle 2 to Anchal already.

In come the twins… together. Michelle admits to being the tomboy of the twins. Amanda says that they aren’t trying to be different, but naturally are. Ms. J. tells Tyra, when the twins leave, that the closest they should be to fashion is in the back row of a show.

Megg is the next girl to see the judges, screaming like a maniac. Ms. J. actually falls out of his seat! She says that she’s rock and roll on the runway, and then walks all over the place. Okay, she’s already getting on my nerves.

Jaeda is up next, and she’s beautiful, even though she’s a little gangly. She admits that she is known as the “hot girl” but Tyra says that being the hot girl doesn’t mean you are a model. Jaeda tells Tyra that she’s the hot girl that can model, and is there to be seen. I love her!

Becky is up next. She says that even in her baby book it says that she wanted to model. She isn’t giving up and is here to win. The judges agree that she is generally sweet, but also comes off as generally boring.

Monique stomps her way in next and is very excited, saying that she has been through so much. She has three sisters and was always the darkest, which earned her some ridicule. She lacks self confidence, but wants some big things and is willing to take a chance with modeling.

Next, we get a montage of some of the girls dancing for the judges… and singing! In the confessional, Melrose says that the twins need some grooming, and Eugena says that they shouldn’t hold onto one another so much, since only one girl can win the competition.

Speaking of Eugena, she’s next in front of the judges. Right away, she tells them the girls from last season, especially Gina, were boring. When asked who is boring this season, Eugena doesn’t hesitate to say that the twins are, and so is Megg. Hmm, could Eugena be trying to get rid of some tough competition? She admits to talking about people behind their backs, but she is still likeable. The judges, as well as myself, scoff at that one!