Cheryl Shops

America's Next Top Model recap
I've been a good girl this season and not reading the message boards, so I have no idea who's going to win America's Next Top Model, and I'm finding that I'm enjoying the show a lot more. (Granted, last season I had to reassure myself that Yack-Yack wouldn't win. And thankfully she didn't.) This week's episode, for example, totally kept me guessing. I thought Keenyah was totally a goner this week, but she completely stunned me by winning the go-see contest. (Her prize was to attend an industry dinner party with a friend, and she brought good-time-gal Brittany, who got wasted and wouldn't let Keenyah get a word in edgewise. Ha!) Naima, who's obviously a fan favorite, winning the Cover Girl of the Week contest every week, came across as a complete flake, which kind of turned me off. The girls then had a photo shoot where they had to "kloof" to their location (not to be confused with "crunk" or "krump"), or as you and I would call it, wade through a bunch of streams and crap. With the aid of the stylists, the girls had to use stuff from nature to create their wardrobe (i.e. branches, mud, leaves, etc.). I don't know how environmentally responsible it was for everyone to destroy wildlife as such, but snaps to brittany, who just rolled around in the mud to create her look (the result: a totally hot photo). Everyone but Kahlen and Brittany took a somewhat mediocre photo--Naima apparently can't photograph from the front--as we found out at judging. And to turn the tables--oh, snap!--Tyra made the girls judge each other's photos. Keenyah had nothing good to say about anyone, Brittany thought everything was "Great! Really cool!", Christina's comments had no emotion behind them whatsoever, but Naima and Kahlen both gave very insightful commentary. The girls were then asked who they thought might win, and who deserved to go home; Kahlen and Keenyah were the high vote-getters in the former category, Christina in the latter. So...Christina went home, although it was down to her and Brittany in the final two (the judges were upset that Brittany apparently hasn't learned anything about "the industry" as reflected by her dumbass critiques). Christina indeed photographed well, but she had zero personality, which normally wouldn't matter for a lot of models, but as I've said before, this is America's Next Top Model--a whole different ballgame.

So, who's going to win? I have a theory. You know the photo they show at the end, where they remove a girl each week? They always remove 'em from the front. As of now, Keenyah and Kahlen are in the foreground and Naima and Brittany are in the background. Hmm...Personally, I am rooting for Kahlen, but she reminds me of Shandi (both a good and a bad thing), who, as we know, suffered from confidence issues. So I'm hoping Kahlen doesn't befall a similar fate. But as I said before, I'm not reading the message boards, because I want to be surprised.

Next week, the models learn how to dance (always amusing), Keenyah's ego goes out of control, and the girls have a photo shoot with a male model. Tee hee.