America’s Next Top Model 9: Ranking the Models – The Top 8

1. Jenah (3 last week): I’m believing more and more that one of the last models standing will be Jenah. She is versatile and consistent, but most importantly, all the judges love her and think she’s high fashion. Jenah’s photo was smokin’ and she finally tamed the beast on her head. The challenge went well for her, but I was distracted by the loud sound of the posters hitting the floor when she dropped them. (Challenge: 8, Photo: 10, Misc: 9, Tyra’s rank: 2nd, Episode score: 9.2, Cumulative score: 8.4)

2. Heather (2): Heather is still coming on strong. She’s won the Cover Girl of the Week for three consecutive weeks running now. Heather is so popular that even Bianca is giving her advice on how to do better. She handled the privilege of shooting with Mary J. Blige extraordinarily well, showing the other girls it went well, but not rubbing it in their faces. Heather’s decision to take all forward-facing photos was smart, and she was still able to impress Jay with her creativity. (Challenge: 8, Photo: 8, Misc: 10, Tyra’s rank: 3rd, Episode score: 8.5, Cumulative score: 8.0)

3. Chantal (1): Chantal took a bit of a hit for her poor challenge performance this week. She was choppy and insecure. Her shoot went fairly well, and I really liked the photo they picked for her. Chantal looks so natural when she starts posing in front of the camera. She also did a convincing job selling lime popsicles. (Challenge: 5, Photo: 8, Misc: 9, Tyra’s rank: 6th, Episode score: 7.1, Cumulative score: 7.6)

4. Saleisha (4): Saleisha is just not as exciting with her new hair. She pulled off a better photo this week, but her personality seems deadened. Saleisha was the girl to incorrectly state that Keep a Child Alive did prevention, so I’m assigning the blame to her instead of her whole team. Tyra’s a fan, so I expect her to stay for a while, but instead of thinking she’ll last until the end, I think she’ll end up disappointing Tyra one day soon and going home earlier than she should. (Challenge: 6, Photo: 8, Misc: 7, Tyra’s rank: 1st, Episode score: 7.9, Cumulative score: 7.1)

5. Sarah (7): Plus, schmus, Sarah’s doing great. I would have to agree with the judges that she’s lost weight, but unlike them, I don’t really think it matters. Sarah did fairly well, but I don’t see the same drive as some of the other girls have. The fact is, folks, a plus-sized girl will never win on this show. (Challenge: 9, Photo: 8, Misc: 8, Tyra’s rank: 5th, Episode score: 7.7, Cumulative score: 7.1)

6. Bianca (8): I’m really proud of Bianca. She’s really turned around from the spite and deception she exhibited earlier in the series. She’s finally out of my bottom two, and I expect her to continue to climb the charts over the next few weeks. She would have scored much better if it weren’t for a terrible showing in the challenge this week (and her former attitude). Bianca was the worst of the bunch, and I can’t see her speech improving enough to succeed in future speaking challenges. But for now, my eyes are smiling. (Challenge: 4, Photo: 9, Misc: 10, Tyra’s rank: 4th, Episode score: 8.0, Cumulative score: 6.6)

7. Lisa (5): Lisa is on the verge of a meltdown, I can just feel it. I could be totally wrong, but I’ve been just waiting for it to happen this season. Her hair contributes to her limitations, but Lisa doesn’t seem like a high-fashion model to me. Lisa did very well in the challenge, but I foresee her photo vanishing soon. (Challenge: 9, Photo: 6, Misc: 5, Tyra’s rank: 7th, Episode score: 5.7, Cumulative score: 6.6)

8. Ambreal (6): Ambreal is one of my favorite personalities on the show, but she just cannot fix her eyes. You’d think that with all the praise Bianca got, Ambreal would get in front of the mirror and practice, too. I was surprised Ebony was given the chance over Ambreal, but I’m glad things worked out as they did. Yet I’m not convinced Ambreal has what it takes to fix what’s broken. (Challenge: 9, Photo: 4, Misc: 7, Tyra’s rank: 9th, Episode score: 4.9, Cumulative score: 6.1)

Eliminated: Ebony (9): Ebony seemed to change, at least in her behavior toward the other girls. She even learned how to smile a bit when Tyson appeared. Still, she covered her smile and reverted to frowning to look “fierce.” I was prepared to bash her for quitting, but she knew that she wasn’t going to win, and I just can’t fault her for changing her mind about the competition when she was in tears apologizing for disappointing Tyra. (Challenge: 8, Photo: 3, Misc: 1, Tyra’s rank: 8th, Episode score: 3.1, Cumulative score: 4.5)

Asher Streets is a food engineer and musician who lives in Madison, WI. He has a love for all things Italian, most especially gelato, wine, espresso, and cheese. Asher appreciates your opinions too and can be reached via email: asher.streets@gmail.com.