Last week on America's Next Top Model, 32 semi-finalists arrived in Los Angeles, and were bussed off to Palm Springs, where auditions were being held. The 32 were soon pared down to 20, and those girls got to attend a party hosted by Cynthia Rowley, where they had a photo shoot, pared with the girl the judges felt were their direct competition, where they would try to out-shine their competitor in the photo. From this, the judges made their final cut, with 14 girls making it to the house for Cycle 15.
This week, the girls are seen walking on Venice Beach, where there are people roller blading, biking and walking dogs. Soon, a man wearing a white turban, playing a guitar while on roller blades starts circling around the girls and singing. The man is Harry Perry, Venice Beach icon. It turns out that he is there to present them with the key to their new house, which is a gorgeous three story oceanfront building with floor to ceiling windows on each floor.
The girls go crazy, taking the key, and entering the house, which is decked out with the standard pics of Tyra, plus plenty of photos of Vogue Italia covers. There is of course, a runway, where the girls can practice their walks, and Chelsey admits to that being her favorite part of the house. Ann, looking at the Vogue Italia covers comments that whoever wins is going to have their career just skyrocket being on the cover of Vogue Italia. Kendal is amazed at everything, commenting that she lives in a mobile home, so this is all brand new to her. The top floor has a built-in beach with lawn chairs and a floor of sand. Rhianna is loving that location.
Later on, Chris and Ann go out on the rooftop patio, and Chris says she's gonna help Ann get a man, and she asks her what her type is. Ann answers that hobos are kind of hot. They joke about the different people they see walking in the area. Chris asks Ann what is the oldest that she will go to, and Ann remarks, "sixty." I love Ann's personality. Chris then asks her what kind of man she wants. Ann says, "He has to be a warlock, and he has to spit fire, and he has to know how to make sushi. Chris gives a look like, "Are you out of your ever lovin' mind?" Ann is definitely quirky, and reminds me a lot of Nicole Fox, winner of the Cycle 13, which was the shorty Cycle. I like her.
Inside one of the bedrooms, Ana Maria, Jane and Sara are talking about Ana Maria's weight. Sara remarks that Ana Maria needs to gain some weight. Ana Maria says she doesn't like herself thicker and admits that at one time she weighed 135, and now she weighs 110, and she loves the way she looks now.
In another room, Kacey, Kayla, Liz, Terra and Kendal are all talking about boyfriends, and it's revealed that Kayla is a lesbian, and she has a girlfriend back home. She remarks that there has never been a lesbian winner of America's Next Top Model, and she wants to be the first one.
Tyra Mail!
Everyone gathers around the elegant big screen TV, which is surrounded in a picture frame, where the Tyra Mail is displayed.
"Your rise to the top begins in Hollywood. Love, Tyra"
The girls jet off to the Hollywood & Highlands Center, where they meet the Jays. They talk about that being the location of the Oscars, and mention that this Cycle, they are raising the stakes extremely high. They will be walking in a Diane von Furstenberg runway show. Miss Jay asks the girls, "Do you really wanna know how high the stakes really are? ... take a look up there." As he points up, the girls can see a glass runway four-stories in the air, jutting out from the building, sort of like a huge diving board. Everyone has a terrified look on their face, when Miss Jay continues that they will be doing their own hair and makeup,to create their own best first impression. They have one hour to do this, so Mr. Jay sends the girls off to do their makeup and hair and get prepared.
After the girls are all made up, they are hooked into harnasses. Sara was surprised. She thought that if you fall you die, (Sara, seriously?) The girls meet with the Jays again just before the show is about to start. Mr. Jay reminds them that they will be judged on their confidence on the runway.
Now, we get a look at the crowd that has gathered for the runway show, and it's now dark. The runway has lighted sections every couple feet, and there are lights shining up from below.
First on the runway is Ann, who at 6'2", admits that ironically, she has a fear of heights. She makes her way out onto the runway, stumbling a bit on the steps that lead down, and then walking very stiffly, and her fear is very visible. Lexie, although afraid as well, seems to do really well. She comments on the runway swaying as she walked, but she worked it out. The judges were very impressed with Sara. Kacey has her glasses off, so she can't see. Mr. Jay tells her to look out at the runway at the pink bars of light, and tells her to use them as a judge for how far she can walk. He tells her not to pass that last bar. (I can't imagine walking 4 stories in the air in the dark, without being able to see clearly. How terrifying!) Most of the other girls did really well, considering the circumstances. The last to go was Kayla, who said she wasn't scared of heights, but she was scared for her life. You sure couldn't tell, as when she hit the end of the runway, she looked down at the crowd, and pointed at everyone. The Jays loved it! What attitude!
The next morning, back at the house, the girls receive another Tyra Mail.
Tyra Mail!
"Ever been bullied? What's the one word that hurt you the most? Love, Tyra"
Ann reveals that her word is "giant," because of her height. Sara and Kayla are in their room talking, and Sara says that she was always teased about being pasty white. Kayla says that she was teased about being the only gay girl, and says she came out her senior year of high school.
The girls head out to the Smashbox Studios, where they meet Mr. Jay, who is wearing a shirt adorned with the words, "Band Geek." He tells them that the photo shoot is going to focus on teen bullying, and tells them that it's a huge issue, because it's one of the leading causes of teen suicide. He then proceeds to tell them that he is sure they are wondering about his t-shirt. He reveals that when he was in school, he was part of the school band, so he was known as the band geek. He then rips apart the shirt to reveal the writing saying "Creative Genius." He tells them that the main point is that the bullying word did not define who he became as an adult, and that is the message that they want to get across. He explains that the girls will be modeling bathing suits, and be painted with the words that were used to bully them, along with a powerful word that represents who they are now.
Off to prepare for their shoot, the girls are all shown with the makeup people who write the words on their bodies. Shortly after everything gets underway, Tyra makes a visit, wearing a t-shirt that says, "Big Forehead." She tells about how when she was a young girl, she used to hear "big forehead" all the time, until one day a girl came up to her to tell her she thought she could be a model, and Tyra rips off her shirt to show her powerful words, which are "Supermodel turned Businesswoman." Then, she turns around to show the back of her shirt, which says, "...with a big forehead." She asks the girls what some of the words people used to bully them. Terra answers that people used to call her "soup cooler" because of her big lips. Tyra suggests that Terra's powerful word might be "luscious lips." Ann reveals that people used to call her giant, and it's clear that it's something that still bothers her, even though she says she last cried about that back in high school. Her powerful word is "Amazon."
First up to be photographed is Esther, whose bully word is "weirdo," and her power word is "independent." She has a bit of a problem with the posing, and Mr. Jay says her hand looks like a crab claw. He does admit that he doesn't think that Esther will have any problems with her large 30 G bust size.
Rhianna sits down with Tyra, and admits her bully word is "stupid." She says teachers used to call her that. Her power word is "undefiniable." In her shoot, the photographer says that Rhianna seemed to be stuck in the same position, and that even though they only need one photo, the model still needs to come up with a variety of poses.
Next up is Lexie, whose bully word is "elf ears," and power word is "unique." The photographer is happy with Lexie's posing.
Chelsey is next to be photographed, and she reveals her bully word to be "Casper," and her power word to be "fearless." She also has a good shoot.
Mr. Jay goes over to where Kacey is getting made up. She doesn't have her words written on her yet, but reveals to him that her bully word is "oreo," because people used to think she acted white. Her power word is "nubian queen" Mr. Jay says that Kacey had a blank expression in all of her shots.
Kayla sits down with Tyra in an emotional conversation about her bully word, which is "queer." She says she used to be called queer in high school, and you can tell it still is very hurtful to her today, as she tears up. She tells Tyra that when she was in tenth grade, she was bullied so much about her sexuality that she had to change schools. She's afraid to have the word written all over her, as she feels she may crumble, and she doesn't want to break down on set. Her power word is "free."
Kendal's shoot is next. Her bully word is lanky, and her power word is "fierce." She seems to do well.
Jane is next, and her bully word is "big face," and her power word is "big square head." I don't really get it, but she explains that she chose that power word combination to show how awesome she can make her face.
Terra is emotional, and she has a difficult time in her photo shoot. Her bully word, as mentioned above, is "soup cooler," with "luscious lips" as her power word.
Liz is the next girl to be photographed. Her bully word is "mutt," and her power word is "bi-racial beauty." The photographer loves it.
Sara's bully word is "manly," and her power word is "athletic." She does so so, with the photographer saying she feels Sara is using a very safe expression in her shots.
Ann looks super strong in her shots. "Giant" is her bully word, with "Amazon" as her power word. She's the best so far.
Chris has a much easier time than her sister Terra did. Her bully word is "bony," and her power word is "slim." She does really well, and Mr. Jay calls it pretty.
Ana Maria comments to the camera that there are pretty girls, but she wouldn't look twice at any of them. In her photo shoot, she reveals her bully word to be "bucktooth," and her power word to be "sexy mouth." Mr. Jay is concerned with Ana Maria's body. He says he doesn't see a tall, slender model, he sees bones. He tells her pretty much that she is too slim. Ana Maria reveals to camera that she doesn't care what he says. She knows what she sees in the mirror.
Kayla is next, and she is trying to hold it together, as she's having "queer" painted on her. Her power word "free" is written on her neck. She reveals to camera that having free written on her neck was theraputic. The photographer and Mr. Jay are both really impressed. Mr. Jay called her "breathtaking."
When the shoot is over, actress/singer/songwriter/teen star Demi Lovato makes a visit to the set, and the girls are excited to meet her. She tells them that she had to stop by when she heard about the theme of their shoot. She goes on to tell them about being bullied when she was younger. She was called fat and promiscuous back when she was 12-years-old, and it felt like the end of the world to her. Since it's so close to her heart, she has teamed up with an organization called Pacer, and the website http://teensagainstbullying.org which helps people learn to cope with bullying. She says "the end of bullying begins with us." Mr. Jay tells the girls that's it for the day, and they'll see them at panel, where one girl will find that to be her last photo shoot.
At panel, we get a glimpse backstage of Tyra welcoming Andre Leon Talley, and special guest judge Diane von Furstenberg. The girls file in and Tyra gives her introduction to the judges, and she again talks about the prizes for the winner -- contract with IMG Models, a fashion spread in Italian Vogue, a cover and spread in Beauty in Vogue, plus the $100,000 contract with CoverGirl.
- Lexie -- Bully word: elf ears. Power word: unique. Nigel loves the photo, and says that her eyes really stand out. Diane says she likes the attitude inside.
- Kacey -- Bully word: oreo. Power word: Nubian queen. Diane says that she looks like a queen. Tyra sees an athelete that looks gorgeous.
- Jane -- Bully word: big face. Power word: big square head. Andre says her body is very gauche, but her face works. Tyra says that Jane has a lot of natural potential, and she just needs to take it to the next level.
- Kayla -- Bully word: queer. Power word: free. Nigel says that the photo is beautiful, and Diane agrees, saying that "free" is the most beautiful word you could choose, because nothing is more important than freedom.
- Liz -- Bully word: mutt. Power word: bi-racian beauty. Nigel likes the photo, while Andre is impressed with her standing there, but he isn't impressed with the photo.
- Esther -- Bully word: weirdo. Power word: independent. Andre says that there is such awkwardness in the photograph that he can't relate to, but she is beautiful.
- Kendal -- Bully word: lanky. Power word: fierce. Diane thinks Kendal is glamorous, and so much more beautiful than the photograph. Andre compared her to a gazelle.
- Sara - Bully word: manly Power word: athletic. Andre doesn't like the photograph. Tyra thinks that the pose makes you not really remember her face. She just looks like a sexy girl.
- Terra -- Bully word: soup cooler. Power word: luscious lips. Nigel doesn't understand the picture. Tyra thinks she's being too literal.
- Chris -- Bully word: bony. Power word: slim. Diane thinks Chris doesn't look strong enough.
- Chelsey -- Bully word: Casper. Power word: fearless. Andre thinks the picture is gorgeous.
- Rhianna -- Bully word: stupid. Power word: undefinable. Andre can't understand the photograph, but thinks she has potential.
- Anamaria -- Bully word: bucktooth. Power word: sexy mouth. Nigel comments on her very slim body. Tyra tells Anamaria that they chose that pose because her body is covered. In the photos where it wasn't covered, it didn't look healthy. Anamaria argued that she liked the way she looked.
- Ann -- Bully word: giant. Power word: Amazon. Andre and Tyra both say the photo is amazing. Nigel likes the gentleness that Ann has about her. Diane tells her, "I think you can be a big model."
The judges deliberate, and the call-outs went as follows:
- Ann
- Kayla
- Chelsey
- Kendal
- Lexie
- Liz
- Jane
- Esther
- Chris
- Rhianna
- Kacey
- Sara
The bottom two are: Ana Maria and Terra. Terra is beautiful, and has strong posing, but it lacks focus. Ana Maria who is gorgeous, but the judges are concerned by the message that her body type might send to young girls. And the girl going home is Ana Maria.
Next week on America's Next Top Model, the girls will get makeovers. You know what that means!! Tears and meltdowns. The girls find a planted note that says "hair agenda," and Sara cries after reading that Tyra was going to give her an afro. Tune in next Wednesday to find out just what type of makeovers Tyra really has in store for the girls, and of course, find out who will be the next to leave the model home.
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America's Next Top Model Cycle 15 Episode Recaps:
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