| America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9 | |
|---|---|
Promotional photograph of the cast of Cycle 9 of America's Next Top Model |
|
| Format | Reality television |
| Created by | Tyra Banks |
| Developed by | Ken Mok Kenya Barris |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Tyra Banks Ken Mok Daniel Soiseth |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The CW |
| Original run | September 19, 2007 – December 12, 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Cycle 8 |
| Followed by | Cycle 10 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9 was the ninth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the third season of the series to be aired on The CW network. This cycle's promotional tagline was "The Future Of Fashion." The promotional song was "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna.
The international destinations during this cycle were Shanghai and Beijing. The prize was management and representation by Elite Model Management, a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, and a cover and six-page spread within Seventeen magazine. The season averaged 5.12 viewers making the cycle one of the most successful on show's history.[1]
The winner was 21-year-old Saleisha Stowers, from Los Angeles, California.
This was also the last cycle to date in which Twiggy participated as a judge.
First aired September 19, 2007
The ninth cycle premiered with 33 potential contestants each receiving a phone call from Tyra Banks, announcing that they were the semifinalists. They convened at a port in San Juan, Puerto Rico and met J. Alexander, who gave them boarding passes for a luxurious Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas, their residence for the week until the 13 finalists were decided. Their first task was to walk a runway modeling life-jackets. At breakfast, the women met Tyra, before proceeding to their interviews with the judges. Memorable moments included Janet's mock waxing of Tyra, Heather revealing that she had Asperger syndrome, and Lisa's revelation of being an exotic dancer.
They docked at St. John’s, Antigua for a beach photo shoot, where they met Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez. After the shoot, the final 20 were selected. Tyra asked the final 20 why they should become America's Next Top Model, before the final deliberations with Mr. and Ms. Jay were done and the final 13 contestants were chosen. Marvita Washington failed to make the final cut, but later successfully became a contestant on Cycle 10.
First aired September 26, 2007
The 13 finalists were taken to Los Angeles where they were introduced to the new green theme of the cycle.
The first photoshoot portrayed the negative sides of smoking. In one set of frames, they looked glamorous smoking; in the next set, they were shown after smoking had affected them. The girls portrayed the following:
| Model | Smoking side-effect |
|---|---|
| Ambreal | Lung cancer |
| Bianca | Gingivitis |
| Chantal | Tracheotomy |
| Ebony | Collapsed lung |
| Heather | Second hand smoke (with Saleisha) |
| Janet | Burn victim |
| Jenah | Baldness from Chemotherapy |
| Kimberly | Sunken face |
| Lisa | Face tumor |
| Mila | Hair loss from chemotherapy |
| Sarah | Premature aging |
| Saleisha | Second hand smoke (with Heather) |
| Victoria | Still-born child |
During the photo shoot, Bianca and Lisa clashed in an argument concerning Lisa's morals.
The girls' first challenge was to create an outfit that was simple yet fashionable from Old Navy in 10 minutes. They went to Old Navy and Benny Ninja (posing expert – voguing challenge, cycle 8) was there to help/supervise them. The girls' outfits were judged at panel, and Saleisha was determined to have the best outfit. She won $1,000 and the chance to do an ad for Old Navy.
Before the contestants are getting to called in, Tyra told them that they will stop smoking inside the model house starting the following day. Most of them, especially Heather, Lisa, and Chantal excelled, but Bianca, Ebony, and Mila struggled. Ebony and Mila found themselves in the bottom two, Ebony because she was too stiff and Mila for not taking the photoshoot seriously. In the end, Ebony was chosen over Mila for displaying more potential. At the end of the episode the girls were informed that smoking was banned for this cycle because it set a bad example to young girls and women.
First aired October 3, 2007
Some girls helped Heather dress up to spruce up her image. The girls then proceeded to Fashion Madhouse, where J. Alexander shocked the girls with a scary lesson on perfecting their runway walk while wearing straitjackets. Miss J teased Heather because of her weak walk, and also teased Bianca because she showed her signature walk too much. Back at the house, Saleisha and Bianca got into a heated argument.
The girls participated in a couture runway challenge for Collen Quen. After the challenge, Saleisha won a trip to Paris in the future for a Colleen Quen fashion show. For the photo shoot, the contestants were placed on a climbing wall while wearing couture gowns. Jenah was praised for her high fashion photo, while Lisa, Heather and Chantal shone in their shoots, but Ebony, Bianca and Kimberly struggled. Although Ebony struggled, she managed to improve and impressed the judges with a better shot than last week.
Ultimately, it was Bianca and Kimberly who landed in the bottom two. Tyra stated that, besides herself, none of the judges liked Bianca's photo, but Kimberly's inability to transfer her high fashion appeal in person onto film and lack of fashion sense sent her home.
First aired October 10, 2007
The contestants got their makeovers at the Ken Pavés salon. Some girls, like Sarah and Chantal, embraced their new looks with positivity and excitement. Bianca was initially intended to get a long blonde weave, but her damaged hair wouldn't have been able to accept the weave, so she was shaved bald. She was given a blonde wig, but it went unused for the rest of the season, because the bald look suited her.
The challenge that week involved the girls putting together a look using CoverGirl cosmetics at a make-up table, and going through racks of clothes to find the outfit with their name on it. Janet was deemed by the judges as having the best make-up, and she would have won; however since she didn't put on the correct outfit, she was disqualified. Sarah won the challenge, and she got the opportunity to shoot a tutorial video for the CoverGirl website on makeup application.
This week's photo shoot had the girls portraying different plants, as follows:
| Model | Type of plant |
|---|---|
| Ambreal | Rose |
| Bianca | Sunflower |
| Chantal | Baby's Breath |
| Ebony | Bird of Paradise |
| Heather | Weeds |
| Janet | Hydrangea |
| Jenah | Moss |
| Lisa | Bamboo |
| Sarah | Ivy |
| Saleisha | Tulip |
| Victoria | Cactus |
At panel, Tyra told Ebony that she would have been called first for having the best picture in the bunch if it wasn't for her up-tight personality in front of the judges. Lisa, Jenah, Heather, and Sarah once again stunned the judges. Bianca and Ebony surprise the judges with their improvements compare to their past shoots. While Chantal was criticized about her inability to take in both the photographer's and the art director's instructions during the shoot. Saleisha's lack of emotion in her picture didn't sit well with the judges. When evaluating Victoria's cactus picture, Twiggy made a remark that it was a fitting representation since she felt Victoria has a "prickly disposition." Saleisha and Victoria ended up in the bottom two and Victoria was shockingly sent home for not handling criticism well.
First aired October 17, 2007
The week kicked off with a posing lesson with vogueing expert Benny Ninja, who taught the girls how to pose while in the air by jumping on a trampoline. Ambreal was praised for her natural ability to strike amazing poses, while Heather and Lisa struggled with their awkwardness.
Later, the remaining 10 girls used what they learned from Benny for this week's challenge, in which they had to pose in the air while being carried by figure skater Lloyd Eisler. The prize was an Akademiks photo shoot for Seventeen magazine with Cycle 6 winner Danielle Evans. Lisa won the challenge, picking Ebony and Janet to join her in the photo shoot, but she caused some tension when some other girls feel that her win was not deserved.
For the week's photo shoot, the girls were to take high fashion photographs posing as gargoyles on the roof of Omni hotel building. Bianca and Ebony shocked Mr. Jay with their astounding progress, while Jenah, Heather and Lisa all delivered once again. Sarah struggled to fit the character, Janet was worried about showing her underwear, and Ambreal had to fight her fear of heights.
At panel, most of the girls received praise from the judges. Though Heather delivered another strong photograph, she was advised that she needed to model her face forwards as well, and not just profile. Sarah was criticized for not grasping the concept of the shoot, and Ebony was once again cautioned about her uptight in-person appearance, and was told that she would have been called first if she had smiled in panel.
The bottom two were revealed to be Janet and Ambreal. Tyra felt that both girls had striking features and great personalities, but felt that Janet was constantly coached from photoshoot to photoshoot, and Ambreal was worsening rather than improving. Ambreal was given another chance, and Janet was sent home.
First aired October 24, 2007
At the house, Ebony shocked some of the girls by saying she no longer wanted to be there. Later on, male model Tyson Beckford surprised the models at the house and gave them a lesson on being a spokesperson. Most pulled off an impromptu sales pitch for their teacher, but a few had a hard time concentrating on their task. Later, the girls were split into groups and had to create a public service announcement for the charity Keep a Child Alive. Though the group consisting of Heather, Jenah and Ambreal struggled to put together their announcements, they won the challenge and received gift baskets from Carol's Daughter. In addition, Heather won an extra prize; she got to participate in a photo shoot for Carol's Daughter, directed by singer Mary J. Blige. She used the photo shoot as an opportunity to practice shooting face-front pictures.
The week's photo shoot had the girls model with various recyclable materials, as follows:
| Model | Recyclable material |
|---|---|
| Ambreal | Newspaper |
| Bianca | Oil |
| Chantal | Shredded paper |
| Ebony | Bubble wrap |
| Heather | Aluminum cans |
| Jenah | Cardboard |
| Lisa | Plastic bottles |
| Sarah | Garbage bags |
| Saleisha | Tires |
Ebony and Ambreal struggled with their shoots, while Heather received praise for not doing a single shot in profile. Saleisha and Jenah excelled, while Sarah and Chantal also did well. Bianca was complimented for her practice in the mirror and smiling with her eyes in most of her film. Lisa was told by Jay that she was doing well, but the judges criticized her for being too "Model 101."
At panel, due to their poor performances in the photo shoot, Ebony and Ambreal landed in the bottom two, both for the second time. Tyra called Ebony to receive her photo, but Ebony stated that she no longer wished to participate. After astonishment and permission from Tyra, Ebony was sent home, and Ambreal was spared from elimination.
First aired October 31, 2007
This was the recap episode of the season, reviewing the first six episodes of the cycle. It included some never-before-seen footage, including Miss J's fashion checkpoint at castings, Bianca running into a glass door, Jenah visiting the dentist over a chipped tooth, Tyra discussing body image with the girls, Janet teaching Bianca how to unclog the toilet, Jenah dealing with nicotine withdrawal, Bianca's confrontations with Saleisha, Chantal, Lisa and Heather, and the girls playing a card game where one of the girls spoke about Bianca's maturity and loss of her attitude after having her head shaved bald.
First aired November 7, 2007
After Ebony’s departure, Sarah questioned her self-image. Things heated up when Bianca accused Heather of just “sitting pretty” and not doing anything extra to produce good photos.
Tyra taught the ladies how to model in front of a moving camera. Later, the contestants shot a music video with Enrique Iglesias. The girls met Enrique in their van, where he told them one of them won the reward of being featured more in the video. They gathered again later where both Lisa and Heather were announced as the winners, incorporating a “Gothic” look in the video. During the filming, Heather fainted from exhaustion.
At panel, Lisa, Heather and Saleisha's clips received praise, while Sarah was criticized for feeling embarrassed about her own body. In the end, she landed in the bottom two together with Chantal. Sarah was eliminated.
First aired November 14, 2007
The remaining seven girls went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. There, they were paired up with student fashion designers, as their muses. On the runway, the girls showed off their outfits as well as explained their dresses. Heather and Lisa both stumbled on their performances, and Saleisha was chosen as the challenge winner. The reward for the challenge was a photo shoot for Seventeen magazine, and she chose Bianca and Lisa to join her in her reward.
For their photo shoot, the girls were dropped off in the desert, where they had to portray a model stranded in the middle of nowhere, posing with a burning car. During the photo shoot, Heather's frustration over her poor challenge performance took its toll, and she produced many mediocre takes.
At panel, the girls were told that they would be going to Shanghai, China for the remainder of the competition, but there were only six spots available. Most of the girls received praise for their pictures, especially Bianca and Jenah, but Heather was informed that this was her weakest shoot to date. Ambreal was advised that she needed to work much harder, and Lisa was told that she was fading away from the judges.
In the end, Ambreal and Lisa landed in the bottom two, but it was Ambreal who was eliminated since the judges felt Lisa had more potential.
First aired November 21, 2007
The six remaining girls flew to Shanghai and were brought to their suite. However, there were only five beds inside, and when Saleisha refused to share the only king-sized bed, Heather was left without one. Jenah and Bianca ended up sharing the large bed.
The girls learned basic martial arts poses. Their challenge was to showcase their poses in the air on high wires. At the challenge, Bianca refused to pose in the air and disqualified herself. Heather won the challenge, and was rewarded with a shopping spree. She chose Chantal to accompany her.
This week, the girls were told to wear clothes that showcased their personalities. They ended up shooting both a commercial and photo shoot for CoverGirl Queen collection.
At panel the judges felt all the girls struggled with either their commercials or their photo shoots. Only Chantal and Saleisha received relative praise for their commercial performances, despite unsatisfactory photos. Jenah was praised for her photo, but her personality was questioned by the judges. Heather and Lisa's commercial takes were deemed the worst, and they landed in the bottom two, despite strong photos. Though her photo was deemed "warm and approachable," it was Lisa who was eliminated, with her ability to handle criticism in question.
First aired November 28, 2007
The remaining five girls were sent to PT Models in Shanghai for go-sees. Heather had difficulty finding her way around town, and ended up only visiting one designer, while Jenah received bad comments about her personality and walk. Bianca and Saleisha were the only two to make it back on time; Chantal, Jenah and Heather were all disqualified for their tardiness. Bianca won the challenge; as her reward, her picture was to be used in a campaign for the 2008 Olympics.
Later, the girls took part in a photo shoot with Nigel, where they stood out in a crowd of Chinese lions and dragons. Some of Jenah's comments caused friction between her and Nigel, leaving Jenah to worry about her fate in the competition.
During panel, Tyra announced that the final four would go to Beijing for the remainder of the competition. Saleisha shone, while Bianca was critiqued for forgetting about her face in her photograph, and Jenah's communication skills were questioned. Chantal was complimented for a beautiful picture. Heather was criticized for not being able to handle pressure and doing the worst in the go-sees challenge, although her picture received praise.
Jenah and Heather ultimately landed in the bottom two, both for their communication improprieties. While both were commented on having the two best portfolios of the remaining models, the judges felt they lacked something in their communication. With that, Jenah's name was called and Heather was eliminated.
First aired December 5, 2007
The final four flew to Beijing, where they were introduced to the story of the Four Beauties. The next day they participated in a challenge in which they turned a traditional Chinese garment into their own style. During the task, Bianca purposefully gave Jenah bad advice, so when Jenah was declared the winner, she instead chose Chantal to share her prize of custom-made Chinese qípáos gowns. Jenah also won a personalized runway lesson with Miss J.
The girls then travelled to the Great Wall for a Mongolian warrior-themed photo shoot photographed by Tyra. Chantal excelled throughout the photoshoot by thinking outside of the box, while Jenah, Saleisha and Bianca struggled at first but pulled off good takes at the end. Tyra was generally positive about all the girls' performances, but she showed concern over Jenah's identity crisis and Bianca's stiff poses. The shoot concluded with a final group shot to see which girl stood out the most.
At panel, all the photos were greeted with positive reviews, and Tyra confessed that her opinions about the girls have changed after photographing them. Chantal's photo was deemed as one of the best shot ever from the show by Tyra, severely praised for thinking outside the box, using her whole creativity and looked fierce at the same time, earned her yet another very clear first call-out, with Saleisha comes next but she was criticized. Jenah explained that she was homesick, but cared greatly about the competition, and Bianca argued that she had consistently improved. In the end, Bianca was eliminated for not demonstrating the same innate talent as the other finalists.
First aired December 12, 2007
The final three were put to the test when they had to shoot a CoverGirl commercial for CoverGirl Wetslicks Fruit Spritzers. The girls got to choose from 12 fruity flavors to portray in their commercial.
| Model | Fruity flavor |
|---|---|
| Chantal | Lemon Splash |
| Jenah | Strawberry Splash |
| Saleisha | Tangerine Splash |
All the girls struggled with their commercials at first, but all managed to pull off good takes in the end, although Jenah's attitude came off as slightly abrasive to Jay, and Saleisha asked for a minute to compose herself due to frustration.
Before evaluation, the girls were asked to critique their competition. All the girls commented themselves as having the most potential, but Jenah's laid-back attitude caused her to be deemed as having the least. As she was being evaluated, Jenah broke down into tears, but was praised by Tyra for finally showing her real self to the panel. Saleisha and Jenah landed in the bottom two. It was pointed out that Saleisha may have had modeling experience in the past, but Jenah, without any modeling experience in the past, has been said to have taken equally strong, if not stronger, photos than Saleisha. In the end, despite having taken some of the most high-fashion pictures of the season, an emotional Jenah was eliminated.
The final two had a photoshoot for Seventeen magazine's February cover issue. The final runway took place near the Forbidden City, where Saleisha and Chantal modeled Qi Gang's line of couture dresses. Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez started off the show. Chantal was a bit stiff, and had a slight accident when her dress tripped a stilt performer, while Saleisha owned the runway show. Behind the scenes Saleisha consoled Chantal, who was slightly distraught about tripping the stilt performer.
During the final panel, the judges praised both finalists' personalities and their pictures throughout the season. The judges praised Chantal's high-fashion appeal and Saleisha's commercial ability and holistic modelling potential.
The girls were called back, and Saleisha was declared the ninth winner of America's Next Top Model.
(ages stated are at time of contest)
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyudmila "Mila" Bouzinova | 20 | Boston, Massachusetts | 13th |
| Kimberly Leemans | 20 | Ocala, Florida | 12th |
| Victoria Marshman | 20 | New Haven, Connecticut | 11th |
| Janet Mills | 22 | Bainbridge, Georgia | 10th |
| Ebony Morgan | 20 | Chicago, Illinois | 9th (Quit) |
| Sarah Hartshorne | 20 | Heath, Massachusetts | 8th |
| Ambreal Williams | 19 | Dallas, Texas | 7th |
| Lisa Jackson | 20 | Jersey City, New Jersey | 6th |
| Heather Kuzmich | 21 | Valparaiso, Indiana | 5th |
| Bianca Golden | 18 | Queens, New York | 4th |
| Jenah Doucette | 18 | Farmington, Connecticut | 3rd |
| Heather "Chantal" Jones | 19 | Austin, Texas | Runner-up |
| Saleisha Stowers | 21 | Los Angeles, California | Winner |
| Order | Episodes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | ||
| 1 | Mila | Heather | Jenah | Jenah | Lisa | Saleisha | Lisa | Bianca | Chantal | Saleisha | Chantal | Chantal | Saleisha |
| 2 | Bianca | Lisa | Heather | Sarah | Bianca | Jenah | Heather | Jenah | Saleisha | Bianca | Saleisha | Saleisha | Chantal |
| 3 | Jenah | Chantal | Lisa | Heather | Ebony | Heather | Saleisha | Saleisha | Bianca | Chantal | Jenah | Jenah | |
| 4 | Chantal | Sarah | Chantal | Lisa | Chantal | Bianca | Bianca | Chantal | Jenah | Jenah | Bianca | ||
| 5 | Ambreal | Jenah | Sarah | Janet | Jenah | Sarah | Ambreal | Heather | Heather | Heather | |||
| 6 | Victoria | Saleisha | Ambreal | Ambreal | Saleisha | Chantal | Jenah | Lisa | Lisa | ||||
| 7 | Sarah | Ambreal | Victoria | Ebony | Heather | Lisa | Chantal | Ambreal | |||||
| 8 | Saleisha | Victoria | Saleisha | Bianca | Sarah | Ambreal | Sarah | ||||||
| 9 | Kimberly | Janet | Janet | Chantal | Ambreal | Ebony | |||||||
| 10 | Ebony | Kimberly | Ebony | Saleisha | Janet | ||||||||
| 11 | Janet | Bianca | Bianca | Victoria | |||||||||
| 12 | Heather | Ebony | Kimberly | ||||||||||
| 13 | Lisa | Mila | |||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||