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America's Next Top Model (often shortened to Top Model or abbreviated as ANTM) is a reality television show created and hosted by veteran television personality, former supermodel and talk-show hostess, Tyra Banks, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show.
Each season of America's Next Top Model has from 9-13 episodes and starts with 10-14 contestants. Each episode, one contestant is eliminated, though there have been cases of a double elimination or no elimination by consensus of the judging panel. Makeovers are administered to contestants early in the season (usually after the first or second elimination in the finals), and a trip to an international destination is scheduled at about two-thirds of the way through the season (the remaining five or six contestants).
Each episode of Top Model covers the events of roughly a week of real time (however, while overseas, an episode roughly covers three to four days, totaling two weeks of filming abroad), and features a fashion challenge, photo shoot or commercial, judging, and critique of each contestant and her performance by the judging panel led by Tyra Banks, and the elimination of one or more contestants. The current panel includes fashion icon Twiggy, photographer Nigel Barker and runway coach J. Alexander. Each episode is usually associated with a theme in the world of modeling, such as dealing with the press in interviews, selling a commercial product, or appearing in a runway show. The final challenge between the last two contestants is usually a runway show and a picture for CoverGirl.
An episode usually begins with the contestants receiving training in an area concurrent with the week's theme. For example, contestants may get coached in runway walking, improvisational acting, or applying make-up to suit various occasions. A related challenge soon follows, such as a mock runway show or interview, and a winner is chosen by a judge. She receives some prize, such as clothing, a night out, or an advantage at the next photo shoot, and she is usually allowed to share the benefits with a certain number of other contestants of her choice.
The next segment is a photo shoot, and each contestant's performance will reflect heavily on her judging for that week. Each season features photo shoots such as bikini or lingerie shots, beauty shots, posing nude or semi-nude, posing with a male model, and posing with animal(s). Usually one photo shoot per season (excluding Cycle 4) is replaced with a commercial shoot, though in one episode of Cycle 2, the remaining contestants appeared in the music video for Tyra's single, "Shake Ya Body" in lieu of a photo shoot.
The final segment of each episode is judging. During judging, contestants are often given a challenge in some area such as posing, selling a product, runway walking, or choosing a representative outfit or make-up look to satisfy a given prompt, known as a pre-evaluation task. Each contestant's photo is then shown and evaluated by the judging panel. After all photos have been evaluated, the contestants leave the room as the judges deliberate. The elimination process is ceremonious, as Tyra reveals and hands out the photos of the contestants that have not been eliminated one-by-one, in terms of merit, each time saying, "Congratulations. You are still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model". The last two contestants who have not received their photos are brought up as "the bottom two," and Tyra critiques each one before revealing which of the two has been eliminated. However, there have been two exceptions, as Cycle 4 had a double elimination, and in Cycle 5, both of the bottom two were spared.
The format varies slightly when only three contestants remain. In the season finale, the three remaining aspiring models compete in one last photo shoot and/or commercial, followed by a judging session in which the judges eliminate the contestant they feel to be the weakest. The final two then compete in a runway show in front of the judges and a live audience, before both their performances there and during the entire competition is considered when the judges declare a winner.
---- Taken from Wikipedia.
Opinions on Cycle 9? Personally, my favorite of the girls is Janet. Ebony is my second favorite. I'm glad Victoria was eliminated. Heather would have a lot more of my respect if she didn't talk so much about her "disability." She uses it to garner pity, in my opinion. That said, I hope Heather wins for the sake of debunking stereotypes.
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America's Next Top Model
Oct 14 2007, 11:04 PM
