October 8th, 2007
America’s Next Top Model Cycle 9
America’s Next Top Model Cycle 9 Episode Guide
Episode 9.01 The Girls Who Go Cruisin’
Original Airdate: September 19, 2007
The ninth cycle premieres with 33 girls receiving a phone call from Tyra Banks, announcing that they are the semifinalists. The 33 convene at a port in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There, they meet J. Alexander, who gives them their boarding pass to a luxurious Caribbean ocean liner, Royal Caribbean’s Adventurer of the Seas, their residence for the week until the 13 finalists are decided. Their first task is to walk a runway modeling life-jackets, where Heather’s hunchback gets noticeable attention. While having breakfast, the girls meet Tyra, before their one-to-one interviews commence at the ships’ Lyric Theatre. Several memorable auditions include Janet being a Brazilian waxer on top of her day job, Heather’s Asperger syndrome, and Ebony’s dysfunctional childhood. They dock at St. John’s, Antigua for a beach photoshoot, where they meet Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez. After the shoot, the final 20 are selected. At dinner, Tyra asks the final 20 reasons why they should become America’s Next Top Model, before the final deliberations with Mr. and Ms. Jay are made. At nightfall, the final 13 are ultimately chosen.
- Featured photographer: Jim Wade
- Special guests: Jaslene Gonzalez, Gregorio Cuevas, Patrick Dukes
[Screen Captures][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.02 The Girls Go Green
Original Airdate: September 26, 2007
The models are introduced to their new “green” form of transportation by Jay Manuel, before moving into their mansion. The week’s photo shoot had the girls portray different negative side effects of smoking. Soon after, a feud breaks out between Bianca and Lisa, with the former adamant that an exotic dancer will never win America’s Next Top Model. Back at the house, many girls start making fun of Heather’s autism issues, reducing her to tears as she calls home. J. Alexander drops by the house and gives them a lesson on style, before they are driven to Old Navy where they meet Benny Ninja, who introduces their challenge. They have 10 minutes to put together a stylish wardrobe for their first appearance in front of the judges. At panel, the judges deem Saleisha’s outfit the best, and she wins a $1000 shopping spree at Old Navy and the chance to do an Old Navy advertisement. Chantal, Heather and Lisa all pull out great shots, while Bianca, Ebony and Mila struggle to fit their characters. When the girls file back for the elimination ceremony, Tyra announces a smoking ban that will start the following day and continue for the rest of the cycle as a means of discouraging smoking among younger viewers. In the end, Ebony finds herself in the bottom two because she couldn’t translate her beauty onto film, while Mila is criticized for laughing during an extremely controversial and serious shoot. Mila’s dead expressions send her home.
- Bottom two: Ebony and Mila Bouzinova
- Eliminated: Mila Bouzinova
- Featured photographer: Mike Rosenthal
- Special guest: Benny Ninja
- CoverGirl of the Week: Lisa
[Screen Captures part 1 part 2][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.03 The Girls Go Rock Climbing
Original Airdate: October 3, 2007
Some girls help Heather dress up to spruce up her image. The girls then proceed to Fashion Madhouse, where J. Alexander shocks the girls with a scary lesson on perfecting their runway walk while wearing straight jackets. Back at the house, Saleisha and Bianca get into a heated argument, with the latter calling the former “borderline plus-size”.
After a couture runway challenge, Saleisha wins a trip to Paris in the future for a Colleen Quen fashion show as the reward for the week’s challenge. For the photo shoot, the girls are placed on a climbing wall while wearing a couture gown, symbolizing a stark contrast of the wardrobe and the setting for an edgy high fashion shoot. Again, Heather impresses the judges with her ability to transform on film, and Jenah pulls off a stunning, high-fashion photograph. Ebony, Bianca and Kimberly all struggle.
Ultimately, it is Bianca and Kimberly who land in the bottom two. Tyra stated that, besides herself, none of the judges liked Bianca’s photo, and Kimberly is unable to transfer her high fashion appeal in person onto film, thus sending her home.
- Bottom two: Bianca Golden & Kimberly Leemans
- Eliminated: Kimberly Leemans
- Featured photographer: Matthew Jordan Smith
- Special guests: Roy Campbell, Colleen Quen, Sutan, Christian Marc
- CoverGirl of the Week: Heather Kuzmich
[Screen Captures][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.04 The Girl Who Goes Bald
Original Airdate: October 10, 2007
Tyra gives the girls a sneak peak at their makeovers at the Ken Pavés salon, the most dramatic of which is Bianca having most of her hair shaved off due to extensive hair damage. However, she is given a honey blonde wig to wear during photo shoots.
The challenge that week involved the girls putting their look together using CoverGirl cosmetics at a make-up table. Sarah wins the challenge, and she gets the opportunity to shoot a tutorial video on the CoverGirl website on makeup application.
While Jenah, Sarah and Heather once again pull off strong shots, Bianca, Ebony and Janet are commended for their improvements, and Chantal, Saleisha and Victoria struggled with their shoots.
At panel, Chantal gets criticized about her need to listen more during photo shoots, and Saleisha’s lack of emotion in her picture doesn’t sit well with the judges. When evaluating Victoria’s cactus picture, Twiggy remarks that it was a fitting representation since she felt Victoria has a “prickly disposition”, a comment to which Victoria takes offense and rebuts her. Saleisha and Victoria end up in the bottom two and Victoria is sent home for not having enough “charm” to be a model.
- Bottom two: Saleisha Stowers & Victoria Marshman
- Eliminated: Victoria Marshman
- Featured photographer: Lionel Deluy
- Special guests: Ken Pavés, Dawn Patton, Brent Poer, Crissy Barker, Sutan, Christian Marc
- CoverGirl of the Week: Heather Kuzmich
[Makeovers][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.05 The Girl Who Is Afraid Of Heights
Original Airdate: October 17, 2007
The week kicks off with a posing lesson with vogueing expert Benny Ninja who teaches the girls how to pose while in the air by jumping on a trampoline. Ambreal is praised for her natural ability to strike amazing poses, while Heather and Lisa struggle with their awkwardness.
Later, the remaining 10 girls use what they have learned from Benny when they have to pose in the air while being carried by ice-skaters in a rink for this week’s reward challenge - the prize being an Akademiks photo shoot for Seventeen magazine with Cycle 6 winner Danielle Evans. Lisa wins the challenge, picking Ebony and Janet to join her in the photo shoot, but causes tension when some other girls feel that her win was not deserved.
For the week’s photo shoot, girls are to take high fashion photographs posing as gargoyles on the roof of a high rise building. Bianca and Ebony shocked Mr. Jay with their astounding progress, while Jenah, Heather and Lisa all delivered once again. Sarah struggles to fit the character and Ambreal has to fight her fear of heights. Janet has trouble because of her white underwear and short skirt. She fails to succeed because of her worrying about showing her underwear.
At panel, most of the girls receive 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 is once again cautioned about her uptight in-person appearance, and is told to smile more. Janet is commended for worrying too much about her undergarmets and Nigel points out that the color of her underwear could be changed to black and blend in with the skirt.
The bottom two are revealed to be Janet and Ambreal. Tyra felt that both girls had striking features and great personalities, but just couldn’t transfer that into their photographs. However, Ambreal’s photographs are deemed to be just strong enough to keep her another week and Janet is eliminated.
- Bottom two: Ambreal Williams & Janet Mills
- Eliminated: Janet Mills
- Featured photographer: Mike Rosenthal
- Special guests: Benny Ninja, Ann Shoket, Danielle Evans, Byron Kirkland, Lloyd Eisler, Marc Baptiste
- CoverGirl of the Week: Heather Kuzmich
[Screen Captures][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.06 The Girl Who Gets a Mango
Original Airdate: October 24, 2007
Male model Tyson Beckford surprises the models at the house and gives them a lesson on being a spokesperson. Most pull off an impromptu sales pitch for their teacher, but a few have a hard time concentrating on their task. Later, the girls are split into groups and create a public service announcement for the charity Keep A Child Alive. Though the group consistng of Heather, Jenah and Ambreal struggle to put together their announcements, they win the challenge and receive gift baskets from Carol’s Daughter. In addition, Heather wins an extra prize; she gets to participate in a photo shoot for Carol’s Daughter, directed by singer Mary J. Blige. She uses the photo shoot as an opportunity to practice shooting face-front pictures.
Ebony and Ambreal struggle with their shoots, while Heather receives praise for not doing a single shot in profile. At panel, due to their poor performance in the photo shoot, Ebony and Ambreal land in the bottom two, both for the second time. Tyra calls Ebony to receive the last photo, but Ebony states that she no longer wishes to participate. She quits, after astonishment and permission from Tyra, and Ambreal is spared from elimination and given another chance to prove herself. Ebony became the second contestant to quit Top Model, the first being Cassandra Whitehead from Cycle 5.
- Bottom two: Ambreal Williams & Ebony Morgan
- Quit: Ebony Morgan
- Featured photographer: Fredric Reshew
- Special guests: Tyson Beckford, Elizabeth Santiso, Lisa Price, Mary J. Blige, Matthew Rolston, Sutan, Christian Marc
- CoverGirl of the Week: Heather Kuzmich
[Screen Captures p1 p2 p3][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.07 The Girl Who Runs Into The Glass Door
Original Airdate: October 31, 2007
This is 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, and Bianca’s confrontations with Chantal, Ebony and Heather.
Episode 9.08 The Girls Who Crawl
Original Airdate: November 7, 2007
As the girls reel over Ebony’s shocking departure, Sarah starts questioning her own self-image. Things heat up when Bianca accuses Heather of just “sitting pretty” and not doing anything extra to produce good photos.
Tyra teaches the ladies how to model in front of a moving camera. Later, the contestants shoot a music video with Enrique Iglesias. The girls meet Enrique in their van, where he tells them one of them will win the reward of being featured more in the video. They gather again later where both Lisa and Heather are announced the winners as they best portrayed the “gothic” look being incorporated in the video.
The filming of the video turns to tragedy when Heather faints due to overexhaustion. The situation soon bides over, and Heather is touched by the genuine concern of most of the girls.
At panel, Lisa, Heather and Saleisha’s clips receive praise, while Sarah is criticized for feeling embarrassed about her own body. In the end, she lands in the bottom two together with Chantal, both for the same reason that they seemed to be “coasting” by with no significant improvements. In the end, it was Sarah who was eliminated for losing her “plus sized” figure, and losing herself in the competition.
Episode 9.09 The Girl Who Starts to Lose Her Cool
Original Airdate: November 14, 2007
The remaining seven girls go to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. There, they are paired up with student fashion designers, as their muses. On the runway, the girls must show off their outfits as well as explain their dress. Heather and Lisa both stumble on their performances, and Saleisha is chosen as the challenge winner. The reward for the challenge is a photo shoot for Seventeen magazine, and she chooses Bianca and Lisa to join her in her reward.
For their photo shoot, the girls are dropped off at the desert where they have 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 takes its toll, and she produces many bad takes.
At panel, the girls are told that they will be going to Shanghai, China for the remainder of the competition, but there are only six spots available. Most of the girls receive praise for their pictures, but Heather is informed that this was her weakest shoot to date. Ambreal is advised that she needs to work much harder, and Lisa is told that she is fading away from the judges.
In the end, Ambreal and Lisa land in the bottom two, but it is Ambreal who is eliminated since the judges felt Lisa had a more model “vibe”.
Episode 9.10 The Girls Go To Shanghai
Original Airdate: November 21, 2007
The six remaining girls fly to Shanghai, China, and are brought to their suite. However, there are only five beds inside, and when Saleisha refuses to share the only king-sized bed, Heather is left without one. Chantal asks the girls to be nice and share a bed, and Jenah and Bianca end up sharing the larger bed.
The girls learn basic martial arts poses. Their challenge is to showcase their poses in the air on high wires. At the challenge, Bianca refuses to pose in the air, disqualifying herself. Heather wins the challenge, and is rewarded with a shopping spree. She chooses Chantal to accompany her, due to her kindness to Heather.
This week, the girls will shoot both a commercial and photo shoot for CoverGirl Queen collection, and are told to wear clothes that showcases their personality.
At panel, the judges felt all the girls, with the exception of Chantal, struggled, but Heather and Lisa’s commercial takes are deemed the worst, and they land 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.
[Video][Recap]
Episode 9.11 The Girls Go On Go-See Adventures
Original Airdate: November 28, 2007
The remaining five girls are sent on go-sees. Heather has difficulty finding her way around town, and ends up only visiting one designer, and Jenah receives bad comments about her personality and walk. Bianca and Saleisha are the only two to make it back on time; Chantal, Jenah and Heather are all disqualified for their tardiness. Bianca wins the challenge; as her reward, her picture will be used in a campaign for the 2008 Olympics.
Later, the girls take part in a photo shoot with Nigel, where they have to stand out in a crowd of Chinese lions and dragons. Some of Jenah’s comments causes friction between her and Nigel, leaving Jenah to worry about her fate in the competition.
During panel, Tyra announces that the final four will go to Beijing, China for the remainder of the competition. Jenah’s communication skills are questioned, while Heather is criticized for not being able to handle pressure, although her picture receives praise.
Jenah and Heather ultimately land in the bottom two, both for their communication improprieties. While both are commended on having the two best portfolios of the remaining models, the judges felt they lacked something in their communication. With that, Jenah’s name is called and Heather is eliminated.
[Screen Captures][Video][Portfolio][Recap]
Episode 9.12 The Girls Go To The Great Wall
Original Airdate: December 5, 2007
The final four fly to Beijing, where they are introduced to the story of the Four Beauties. The next day, they participate in a challenge in which they must turn a traditional Chinese garment into their own style. During the task, Bianca purposefully gives Jenah bad advice, so when the latter is declared the winner, she instead chooses Chantal to share her prize of custom-made Chinese qípáos. Jenah also wins a personalized runway lesson with Miss J.
The girls then travel to the Great Wall for a warrior-themed photo shoot photographed by Tyra. While Tyra is generally positive about the girls’ performances, she shows concern over Jenah’s identity crisis and Bianca’s stiff poses. The shoot concludes with a final group shot.
At panel, all the photos are greeted with positive reviews, and Tyra confesses that her opinions about the girls have changed after photographing them. Chantal’s ability to stand out in the group photo, and Saleisha’s creativity at the shoot advances them to the final three. Jenah explains that she was homesick but cared greatly about the competition, and Bianca argued that she had consistently improved. In the end, Bianca is eliminated for not demonstrating the same innate talent as the other finalists.
[Screen Captures][Video][Portfolio][Interview]
Episode 9.13 The Girl Who Becomes America’s Next Top Model
Original Airdate: December 12, 2007
All the girls struggled with their commercials at first, but all managed to pull off good takes in the end, although Jenah’s attitude comes off as slightly abrasive to Jay, and Saleisha has to be pulled to the side to cry due to frustration.
Before evaluation, the girls are asked to critique their competition. All the girls commended themselves as having the most potential, but Jenah’s laid-back attitude causes her to be deemed as having the least. Saleisha and Jenah landed in the bottom two. Even with previous experience, Saleisha hadn’t started as strong as other contestants, but progressed throughout the competition, while Jenah, with no prior experience at all, shone since the start. In the end, despite the fact that she had given the show one of its strongest portfolios, Jenah was eliminated.
The final runway takes place near the Forbidden City where they will model for Qi Gang’s line of couture dresses, and Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez starts off the show. Chantal has a slight accident when her dress trips a stilt performer, while Saleisha consistently showed a strong walk.
During the final panel, the judges praised both finalists’ personalities and pictures throughout the season. The judges praised Chantal’s high-fashion appeal and Saleisha’s strong final showing at the runway. The girls are called back and Saleisha is declared the winner.
[Screen Captures][Video][Interview][Recap]
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