America’s Next Top Model 10: Meet the Models

Quick! Get a second browser up on your computer and put it to something like The Wall Street Journal or CNN, then come back to RNO. Okay, have you done that? Whew! Now you can safely go back to reading about our favorite guilty pleasure, America’s Next Top Model, and still be able to switch to something more socially appropriate with a quick flick of your mouse. Don’t worry, dear readers, your dirty little secret of being an ANTM fan is safe with me! I’m also one of them!

This season, the CW didn’t have any video online to let us hear a little from each of the models. All I could find were the pre-season still shots and quick videos set to music for each girl. It wasn’t much to go by. Fortunately, the folks at E! News this week offered up a preview package to tease the show, and through the magic of Tivo, I got a little extra insight into some of the girls.

Tyra and Jay Manual both hint that this season will be bigger and better than ever! This is the most competitive group of girls yet and they have the biggest egos. There will be plenty of changes that will flip the apple cart on these girls. Well, that should make it even more difficult for us not to tune in, right? Hee hee!

Another wobble in the apple cart this season is in replacing the ever-graceful and iconic model, Twiggy, with the curvaceous model from the ‘80s, Paulina Poriskova. Paulina was recently an early out on a season of Dancing with the Stars. When I was a teenager a few years ago (cough, cough), she was one we all looked up to as the perfect image of what a pinup girl should look like.

The cast this time around is one of the largest, with 14 girls. Let’s take a quick look at them to make our early judgments to see who might take the crown as (channel Tyra with me here, folks)… America’s. Next. Top. Model.

Aimee – From her pre-season photo, she reminds me a little of Heather from Cycle 9 in her bone structure and angles. Her looks are long and lean. She has a strong nose. Her video does her better justice and she’s much prettier than her plain photo. She might make it into the top half, depending on how well Aimee can do to create stronger photos.

Allison – There’s just something about this girl that I like. She has a little bit of an exotic feel in her introductory photo. On E! she had a brief sound bite that made her come across as one of the few in the group who may have some sort of intelligence to complement her looks. She may end up being a narrator for the season. Unfortunately, her video was weak and awkward. Her body was all over the place and not graceful. Despite that, I’d like to think she’ll make it into the top five with her personality.

Amis – With her name pronounced like “Amy,” this girl just doesn’t grab me from the first photo. Maybe it’s her choice of dress that is unflattering, but I didn’t see much I liked initially. Now, in her video and on E!, she had a much more appealing look. She has those beautiful cat eyes that pierce through the photo at you. I think Amis will easily make it through to the makeover, where I can’t wait to see what Tyra does with that mop full of hair. She may end up in the top half, but not much more.

Anya – She comes to us from Honolulu, where I think she’ll return quickly. Her features are very strong and almost masculine. She’ll need to soften her face somehow. That said, she’ll probably do very well with high fashion or the runway. My gut says that she’ll be out in the early rounds and maybe even first.

Atalya – This girl is one of my favorites! I like her photo with her soft beauty. She defies the tough-girl standard we sometimes see from her hometown of Brooklyn with her sweetness. In her video, Atalya’s body angles shine over most of the other girls’ in theirs. While watching the preview on E!, she had a fabulously relaxed walk. I think she’ll be in the top three this season and one to watch.

Claire – Finally, we’re out of all those A-named girls! When I first went through the photos of all the girls, Claire’s stood out to me more than any of the others. She’s striking, exotic, and posed well. Yet here it comes… but… she lost me on the video. She didn’t move much nor did she have the “wow” she exuded in her photo. Later on television, I caught a glimpse of her and found out that the whole left side of her head is shaved. It’s just unattractive. I have no idea how the makeover specialists will change her look, but it may end up being a hindrance in the long run. Sadly, I think she may end up leaving mid-pack.

Dominique – Initially, she came across as harsh in her photo and almost too old looking to be a Seventeen cover girl. It took me a while to remember of who she reminded me, but she brought me back to the late ‘80s again with looking very much like Frederique van der Wal, who also came to fame as The Mole in Celebrity Mole: Hawaii. In any case, Dominique is stunning and showed a professional walk. She’s slightly more… er… um… busty than many runway models on the catwalk, which could prove to be a problem. Her older look hurt Melrose in the end, and it may end up being Dom’s downfall as well. I still think hope that she makes it into the top three.

Fatima – Do any of you see one of the world’s original supermodels, Iman, in this girl? She’s thin and wiry, which means if her walk is decent, she’ll do well with the high-fashion shoots. She shows great lines and poses in her video. On the downside, she may end up being one of the contentious troublemakers, creating drama for the show. She’s full of herself and it shows. Despite all that, she will likely be in the top five, just for all the excitement she’ll bring for the producers and editors.

Katarzyna – Wow, this girl is one of those classic beauties. Just by looking at her, you know she’ll be just gorgeous from any angle. Unfortunately, in her video she is limited in the way she poses. And to make it worse, on the E! package, her walk is just atrocious! She bounces and flails her arms. I think this girl will be an early casualty under Tyra’s guise of being “too commercial.” Just between you and I, I sort of hope she’s gone early as her name will be the most difficult to spell correctly in recaps.

Kimberly – Here is our one blonde in a sea of brunettes. Like Katarzyna, Kimberly also has the classic, soft, beautiful look which rarely gets far in the process. In her video, she’s pouty and too stiff in her posing. She will have a lot to learn along the way… if she makes it that far. All said, I think she’ll be out in the first five, unless they keep her as the token blonde.

Lauren – If you squint hard enough, she sort of looks like the twins, Michelle and Amanda, from Cycle 7. She’s similar in her all-American look, but will it be too mousy? Her bio labels her as an artist. I wonder if this will help as she might have ideas of how to make art in her photos. On TV, she came across well with a decent walk. I’d like to see her with a slightly softer look going forward. Again, I think we’re looking one of the girls to make the top five, if only for her odd look.

Marvita – What does Tyra see in this girl? Is she a drama maker? She just comes across as harsh and full of attitude. Her video reminds me of the one-dimensional Ebony from last cycle who showed us the same shot every week. I think she’ll be gone early- to mid-season.

Stacy Ann – Wait, is it Danielle, the winner from Cycle 6 back again? Stacy Ann’s photo comes across as tough and she looks so much like Danielle, it’s almost uncanny. But once you go to her video online, you see a much softer side. She shows us a hint of a warm smile that will do well in her commercial photos, but her body should allow her to do well in high-fashion runway work. On E!, her walk was also one of more notable. While I initially thought she’d go mid-pack, I’ve revised my thoughts to make her round out the top five.

Whitney – Her pre-season photo just doesn’t do her justice. I wasn’t expecting much from her video, but was pleasantly surprised by it. She actually has very striking features and moves well. She may very well do better than most of the plus-sized competitors who came before her. I think she’ll make it to the first shoot on the overseas trip, but go home shortly afterwards, I hate to say.

Overall, there isn’t one girl who just screams at me that she’s the winner of America’s Next Top Model. My three favorites to make it to the end are Dominique, Atalya, and Allison. All three have strong features and a little personality. If push comes to shove, I’ll go on record as saying that Atalya may win it this cycle, depending on how Tyra and company decide to play it out. Tune in this Wednesday evening on the CW to see how the catwalk catfight begins!

Kari has been a closet ANTM fan since Cycle 2. But please don’t tell her co-workers and friends. They may ostracize her from lunches and happy hours. You can tell her your own ANTM secrets by e-mailing her at flystorms2@yahoo.com to discuss these individuals and other topics.

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