Asia’s Next Top Model Season 1 has just ended and honestly, I have a lot to say about it. Before anything else, congratulations to Jessica for being the first title holder. No other contestant deserved to win, but of course I was rooting for Philippines’ Stephanie.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to review the episodes one by one but I’d be more than glad to rant list down my insights on the first season.
I guess it would be rude for me not to state the positive points first so as follows are the first things that came to mind.
Positive Points (In no particular order)
Theme Song – I actually liked how the show remixed the Top Model opening song/music. It had this “Asian” vibe. Maybe, it was because of the way the words was said “Did I mention that? I’m gonna be on top.”(Correct me if I heard the words wrongly).- Nadya and the other judges – Nadya did okay as a host. Then again, sometimes, I was quite unsure of the clothes she wore. I liked the fact that they had guest judges. This brought a fresh and unbiased perspective (one couldn’t help but get attached to the contestants) .
- Format – Good thing the show decided to stick with the original format of the America’s Next Top Model franchise. It’s easier to gain viewers
- Tyra’s Special Appearance – I’m quite torn on this. Anyway, Tyra’s appearance brought a sense of affirmation that she “consented” the franchise. Well, duh. It has with her consent that the show was made possible but Tyra actually meeting the finalists made the Asian version more real rather than an imitation. Am I making sense? 🙂
- Kate – Kate made the show interesting especially when the models were just inside the house. The way she speaks and thinks. I love Kate. We all love Kate.
Negative Points (In no particular order)
Quirky Photo Shoot – The first “quirky” photo shoot was done on a portion of a wall in Little India, Singapore. The models needed to portray “quirky”. What does quirky mean? This was the question left unanswered by most viewers and models during their shoot. Apparently, Helena had the best photo, which left me second-guessing the credibility of the show. Yes, the photo was quirky but it was “trying a little too hard”. And Yes! Stephanie should have won the best photo that week. Anyway, overall, I was disappointed with the first theme since I was hoping for grandness and rebelliousness or at least something that would give the Asian franchise an edge not to mention the poor performance of most contestants that week.
- Sponsors and Product Placements – Obviously, the show is all about “fashion.” The models would wear clothes, not cars and cameras. The product placements were a bit too obvious and forcefully done. It seemed like show revolved around its sponsors and not the other way around.
- Challenges – There weren’t enough challenges that would teach the girls modelling skills. What happened was the girls had super crash courses on runway walking, make-up and formal dining. Take note. They only ate siomai a.k.a. dumplings. Hahaha. Kidding.
Photo Editing – I don’t know. Sometimes, I feel the photos were overly processed just like the photos for WWF. I feel like photoshopping had become a way of compensating the simplicity and the limitations of the sets.- Underwater Photo Shoot (Speaking of simple sets) – I kind of anticipated this episode but I was just left disappointed. I imagined the underwater set to be bigger and deeper!! The photos were so-so and did not make the impact I imagined them to be. If only the photo was a group shot, this photo shoot would have been WAY more interesting.
- Final Runway – The runway show could have been done in Marina Bay Sands or something that would really represent Singapore. I just felt that the aquarium did not do anything. It didn’t connect with the runway, clothes and the show (Well, at least on TV.)
- Small Talk with Tyra – When Stephanie, Jessica and Kate met Tyra after the show, it appeared REALLY awkward.
Nevertheless, Asia’s Next Top Model Season 1 was successful. It was a great effort in making another pan-Asian reality TV show like Asian Idol. Unlike Asian Idol of course, hopefully, Asia’s Next Top Model will have a second season. Hopefully then, it would be edgier and higher budgeted.
Image Sources:
- http://www.herworldplus.com/lifestyle/stuff-do/asia%E2%80%99s-next-top-model-debut-november-25
- http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/336524/thailand-jessica-wins-top-model
- http://joe-anth-tan.blogspot.com/2012/11/asiantm1-e1-quirky-girls-in-little-india.html
- http://paddylastinc.com/2012/11/26/asias-next-top-model-episode-1-quirky-girls-in-little-india/
- http://paddylastinc.com/tag/asias-next-top-model/
