#antmcycle4commentary

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Naima Mora

Place: Winner

Panel Call-out Average: 3.73

Personal Call-out Average: 4.73

Favourite Performance: African Native Dance

Least Favourite Performance: Natural Outfit after Kloofing

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

Naima was a respectable choice, but I personally had other girls in mind that felt overall more deserving of the title.

Thoughts:

I think based on my rankings, a lot of people might misinterpret me and think I don’t like Naima. I do like her, and her win was fine, but I just had other choices in mind for the fourth champ. Naima was one of a kind in her looks. I have to say that her makeover on paper sounds horrible but in reality it worked really well for her and transformed her into an even more eye-catching competitor. She started with a strong photo, then feel from grace, and then she climbed back up. This inconsistency was apparent in her portfolio, with one bad shot for every two good ones she delivered. When she nailed it, it was marvellous, but when she missed the mark it fell incredibly flat. I definitely think she was one step behind a couple of the girls overseas because of that (as her average reflects). Her walk however, was unbeatable this cycle, and she proved it beyond any doubts in that final runway where she slaughtered the catwalk. In terms of her personality, I liked Naima because she was soft-spoken but was still opinionated and didn’t let people walk over her. At the same time, and please forgive me for saying so, she was mostly invisible to me until the final four weeks of the competition- her winner’s edit was strange and rather weak (again, if we consider that Tiffany was being pre-selected, then perhaps it explains why Naima was rather forgettable to begin with) and they didn’t really focus on her until much later. I felt like half of her good photos she was holding back on delivering something truly amazing, so despite a couple of gems and a spectacular walk, I did not think she was on par with Kahlen or Brittany. The judges said she aced the final exam, but I think that was only half true, really since her commercial was weak and her ad was good but nothing to call home about. Honestly, I feel like Naima is one of those winners who didn’t fully deserve the win based solely on the show but went on to prove they were a high calibre of a model post-show. Still, it was good to see a nice person win again, not going to lie.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Kahlen Rondot

Place: Runner-up

Panel Call-out Average: 3.73

Personal Call-out Average: 3.82

Favourite Performance: Natural Outfit after Kloofing

Least Favourite Performance: African Native Dance

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

Between her and Naima I’m definitely picking Kahlen.

Thoughts:

Shandi: Who are you?

Kahlen: I’m you, but stronger.

Honestly though! I felt like Kahlen was Shandi 2.0 in that she had the shy, sweet demeanour and was just so naturally modelesque and high fashion (main difference being that Kahlen’s walk was amazing by the end and Shandi’s was merely passable). But anyway, focusing on Kahlen as an individual, it is no secret how much I love her. Kahlen came in with apparently no prior knowledge and still managed to make the best impression to me in castings based on that fierce walk and high fashion appeal. I was proven right because homegirl consistently delivered some of the best shots of the cycle, and only really stumbled twice. Her abilities came from instinct rather than training which was impressive, and she seemed to know exactly what to do to wow everyone when she was in the right headspace. With amazing poses, show-stopping faces and always giving 100% in a shoot, it’s no wonder she excelled so much! I loved her portfolio (even though the judges tended to overrate her at times), and she actually has the most entries in my Top 10 out of the pool of girls this cycle. And obviously Kahlen’s personality was bloody endearing to the core.  She was down-to-earth and always stayed humble despite the judges literally pumping helium into her head. She was adorably mousy, but also had a fun side that was charming like her prank on Christina and her playful jabs during the safari. She was cute and quirky, and a pleasure to watch every episode. Her versatility, personality and ability to give Carmen Kass a run for her money have always made me believe she should have been the rightful winner out of the Top 2 we had. Silver isn’t a bad thing, but I would pick her first anyday.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Keenyah Hill

Place: 3rd

Panel Call-out Average: 4.18

Personal Call-out Average: 5.09

Favourite Performance: 1-800 Flowers Dog Walking

Least Favourite Performance: Animal for Lubriderm

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

Part of me thinks she shouldn’t even have made it overseas, but I won’t deny she was one of the girls to beat in the first half of the competition.

Thoughts:

Keenyah was at the centre of the two most problematic moments of this cycle (but I’ve covered them both in my awards, so to avoid redundancy I won’t covered them in as much detail). Keenyah began as one of the girls to beat- she delivered incredibly gorgeous photography and seemed poised to be a possible winner. Unfortunately, her rising star plummeted dramatically from the fifth week onwards, and she was either at the bottom or close enough to be equally weak. She never recovered and it was frustrating to see her be saved after week to week of further decline. Her look was great for commercial, but it didn’t really justify keeping her for so long, and her walk was decent but nothing special, really. As i said, I think she kept being called forward to serve as a running gag or joke for the panel. Coupled with the sexual harassment, you would think Keenyah would be a beloved contestant out of virtue of her mistreatment. However, this couldn’t be farther from the case. Keenyah never made herself likeable during her time on the show.- she came across entitled and spoiled, and as much as I hate the fat-shaming, I do have to acknowledge that Keenyah wasn’t making any conscious effort to control her over-eating and keeping it healthy, which was a legitimate concern beyond her just gaining over ten pounds. Basically, Keenyah didn’t leave a good impression on me, though my heart goes out to her for being made a punching bag at the end.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Brittany Brower

Place: 4th

Panel Call-out Average: 4.8

Personal Call-out Average: 4.4

Favourite Performance: Natural Outfit after Kloofing

Least Favourite Performance: 1-800 Flowers Dog Walking

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

Bitch could have won if the judges didn’t have something up their ruddy arses.

Thoughts:

Good God, Brittany was the biggest surprise of her season. She came in as a diamond in the rough (emphasis on the rough) and seemed to be headed for an early exit before she pulled out the Uno card on us and began slaying every week from then on. Seriously, after her two initial bumps and Seven Deadly Sins, she was consistently either my FCO or SCO. She delivered the absolute best and most iconic picture of the cycle, and could have honestly won the whole thing had the judges not unceremoniously eliminated her right before the finale. Brittany had a gorgeous look that really did scream baby-Janice to me, and she mastered her sexuality pretty quickly, producing fashionable and attractive shots. Her personality was one that you could either love or hate- there was no in between with her. I personally loved Brittany because she was the life of the party during her stay. She was over-the-top but it seemed to be natural for her rather than attention-seeking, and her vivacious fire was infectious and winning. She was one of the most positive contestants we ever had so far and I loved that she spoke her mind with conviction.

Brittany’s story on Top Model was a sad one since she was robbed twice. First on her own cycle, and then on All-Stars when she was eliminated on the basis of people not remembering her much (what the actual FUCK?). I was happy to see her for C17, but furious to see them make her the first cut.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Christina Murphy

Place: 5th

Panel Call-out Average: 4.22

Personal Call-out Average: 3.78

Favourite Performance: Seven Deadly Sins

Least Favourite Performance: Zodiac Sign

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

Based solely on portfolio, she should have won hands down, but her walk was pretty weak so the most I can give her without being too biased is Runner-up probably.

Thoughts:

Christina was the dark horse of the competition. After seeing the averages and taking a look through her portfolio, she was the only girl to stay consistently solid throughout her whole run. Her look was distinctive and eccentric, and I think she had it in her to become a powerhouse due to it. She knew how to be understated in her modelling just enough so that it looked natural and yet still sold herself and her outfits as a model should. I find her generally underrated by both fandom and panel alike- her Seven Deadly Sins is one of my all-time favourites, I might change her spot with Michelle’s Zodiac honestly. Nevertheless, I do think she needed some major help with her walk, which is why as much as I adore her, I wouldn’t have picked her as the winner (definitely would have let her go as far as the finale though if I had been the judges). Plus, I completely disagree with this icy veneer the judges kept saying they saw. At one point I even considered giving her the Pandemos award because she was literally one of the sweetest girls I’d seen in the show so far. She was the first to be there for Kahlen when her friend died and continued supporting her throughout. She had fun with the girls and seemed really bubbly and funny, if a bit quiet. The recap episode really put into perspective how much of a light she was in the house. Tyra’s speech of her having the heart of an angel I can agree with. All things said, Christina left a little too early for my liking, even if the crown was never hers to wear. Her portfolio and character made me fall in love with her.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Michelle Deighton

Place: 6th

Panel Call-out Average: 6.13

Personal Call-out Average: 4.38

Favourite Performance: Zodiac Sign

Least Favourite Performance: Seven Deadly Sins

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

She could have had a couple more weeks- she was declining, but not as badly as Keenyah, and she had more highs than her too.

Thoughts:

I was surprised to see a lot of people on forums say that they thought Michelle didn’t deserve to go overseas. Michelle did become rather inconsistent after the third week, but she seemed to have more highs than lows which is more than I can say for other girls who made it farther than her. She started out pretty strong in the competition, and her Zodiac Sign shot is glorious and deserves to be framed and exhibited at a museum. She began to falter after that, delivering weak shots and then suddenly climbing back to the top and then falling back behind. Her last shoot was definitely not her worst and did not deserve an elimination, although I think they justified it by her inability to handle pressure, which did make some sense. Personality-wise, I really felt bad for Michelle for being ostracised, even though she kept to herself for most of the cycle. She tried to reach out, but was frequently forgotten about, which I sympathise with deeply. She seemed like the sort of quietly funny girl who hid a kind, gentle soul under an snow queen façade. It was sad that her discreet kindness was never returned in full. I would have kept her around her another week, but her inconsistency would stop her from making the podium in the end. Plus, I think she really needed to take a break at that point, so it might have been the best decision at the end of the day.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Tatiana Dante

Place: 7th

Panel Call-out Average: 7.29

Personal Call-out Average: 5.86

Favourite Performance: 1-800 Flowers Dog Walking

Least Favourite Performance: Aliens over Manhattan

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

I think Tatiana was pretty much eliminated at the right moment- perhaps a week late, but I’m not that mad about her placing 7th

Thoughts:

After that tragic first shoot and her whinging and crying about shoes, I thought Tatiana was a goner, but she actually made it relatively far. Upon closer inspection, it never dawned on me how well Tatiana’s look photographed when she nailed a shot. There’s something European about her features, which was exceptionally apparent in her best shot, the 1-800 Flowers Dog Walking. Upon my last rewatch I finally realised she reminded me slightly of Paulina- Those eyes and square jaw were beautifully uncanny. Nonetheless, we never got another standout moment from her and she kept producing either good but unmemorable pictures or weak shots that were saved by someone else’s dwindling performance. Basically, I think Tatiana coasted her way to 7th place. Even though she stayed as long as she did, she never did anything outstanding that made us all remember her. She slowly faded into the background, to the point where I actually forgot about her in my rankings at one point, which is not a good sign. The moments where we did notice her she seemed nice enough. Ultimately I think she deserved to make it that far, but she wasn’t going any further by any means. It’s a shame because she had all the goods that could have skyrocketed her career.

[jaytopmodelrankings]

Tiffany Richardsom

Place: 8th/9th

Panel Call-out Average: 5.5

Personal Call-out Average: 4.5

Favourite Performance: 1-800 Flowers Dog Walking

Least Favourite Performance: Aliens over Manhattan

Eligibility to Win/Place Higher:

If she had continued to improve and delivered another fantastic shot then her chances of winning were very high indeed.

Thoughts:

I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE YELLED AT A GIRL LIKE THIS! WHEN MY MOTHERS YELLS AT ME LIKE THIS IT’S BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME! I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!

Okay, let’s be serious. I’ve made my love for Tiffany quite apparent in my rankings. I was extremely happy to see her come back and how she had gotten help for anger management. She was a strong presence in the house- she kept her humour and her bluntness (albeit with less acid to her delivery) and overall seemed like a sweet, motherly figure who knew how to joke around to ease tension when everything got too much for everyone. Her taking Brandy under her wing, or the way she would playfully tease Michelle and Kahlen really showed how far she had come from that bar fight in the previous cycle’s castings. Portfolio-wise, Tiffany was actually stronger than what I remember her by. The notion that she was Tyra’s pre-selected winner due to the storyline probably dampened my recollections of her performances, because she ended up taking two of my FCOs with her home. She only ever produced one subpar shot, the rest were either excellent or pretty good. Her walk was kinda spunky, and with a few tweaks from Miss J could have worked really well. Had she not been eliminated, she might have even deserved to win, provided she continued to deliver at a consistent rate. Alas, we’ll never know what a Cycle 4 with a crowned Tiffany would look like, and we’ll have to settle for the iconic girl who creeped her way into our hearts ever since the stank hoe poured beer on her.