Amiciness is recapping the premiere episode of the latest cycle of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 22 Guys & Girls. Will a guy win again this season after Keith won last cycle? Find out in my recap.
(As you may have noticed, they’ve already revealed who made it to the Top 14. But read on if you want to know how it all began. ;))
In the Beginning
Tyra Banks is rocking the pixie cut. I love it! Ooh they’re starting at the final runway. Drama! “How did this journey begin? Well, this is the story.” We’re going back to the start.
Thousands auditioned from all across America. No height requirement this cycle. #NotTooTallNotTooShort. But how will the shorties get any work after the show? The fashion industry still likes their models tall, right? But I guess, what Tyra wants, Tyra gets.
We get a rundown of guests, including Tyra’s own mom, and the first plus-size model ANTM winner, Whitney. This cycle’s prizes: a modelling contract with NEXT Models Management, a cover and spread for NYLON Magazine, a national ad campaign and $100,000 from Zappos Couture. What happened to Guess? Twenty-twoooooooo.
The Top 31 are flown to L.A. I’m still not sure why they chose such an arbitrary number. The guys arrive first at Park Plaza Hotel. Everyone’s chatting with each other, and then they notice the deaf guy signing, with an interpreter in tow. I think this is a first on any Top Model franchise. Nyle is deaf but can lip-read
I don’t look at myself as a deaf person, I see myself as a person.
He introduces his interpreter, Ramon. Nyle’s such a sweetheart. *swoon*
Creative consultant Yu Tsai arrives on a double-decker bus. He tells the guys that they’ll be on a tour of Hollywood, and they’ll be the main attraction. They’re having their first photo shoot on the bus. He calls the guys up the bus one by one. Yu Tsai asks the boys if they’re ready to see the girls. Ugh, of course they are. Here’s the usual I-know-the-boys-are-gorgeous-but-I’m-here-to-win-the-competition cliché. Then the girls are called to ride the bus. Their first photo shoot will have them be in nothing else but underwear. Each model gets 10 frames.
Sexy farmer boy Dustin is up first. His body looks beautiful, but he doesn’t know what to do with his “He-Man” arms. Stefano doesn’t like girls with fake boobs. I immediately don’t like him. Alexa addresses the elephant in the room bus. She candidly says that she had a boob job. “I love my boobs. I love them pre-op and post-op.” *Hailee_Steinfeld-Love_Yourself.mp3* Hadassah‘s are fake too, she declares. Bello risked everything to join this competition. This is young Courtney‘s first photo shoot ever.
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At the end of their drive, the bus turns the corner of Hollywood & Highland to a huge crowd of ANTM fans around a red carpet catwalk. Yu Tsai calls up the other judges. PR maven Kelly “Cutthroat” Cutrone broods in her usual all black outfit. “Look at all those models just asking to get home up there.” Oh you! “Runway, diva, coach extraordinaire” Ms. J Alexander struts her stuff as usual. Show creator Tyra Banks is introduced to a huge applause from the crowd. One of the girls says that Tyra’s face “is like a buttery canvas.” What even?
I don’t know why Tyra is yelling. She’s mad (in both the American and British English sense). “We are OG! We are the original!… Don’t let anyone ever get in the way of your dreams.” Is she throwing shade at Naomi Campbell here? (Naomi had that ANTM-ish show, The Face, a few years ago, and she and Tyra seem to be rivals from way back.) I don’t even know what goes on in Tyra’s head most of the time now. Twenty-twoooooo.
The models walked the runway on Hollywood Boulevard, while Yu Tsai, Ms. J, and Kelly are on the bus looking over their runway walks. Surprise! This isn’t your usual runway. The fans come up on the catwalk and get in the way of the models. Challenge!
Mamé and Devin are paired up on the runway. Devin zooms ahead and leaves his partner. Nope! No one leaves Mamé in a corner! At least Mamé is looking hella gorgeous. Miguel is an openly gay military man. “A chemical biological nuclear specialist.” Sexy! Here’s Nyle looking hot as hell again. He’s getting a lot of screentime this episode. A couple of bad runway walks: Dallas does pec bumps at one end of the catwalk (eww), Jake and Raquel do a tango dip (this isn’t Dancing With The Stars, please), and Gage exposes his armpits for everyone to see (no!). And here’s Justin to save the day. Composed, smooth, sexy. Out of all of the guys, he looks like a professional working model. Asia represent!
Top 22 Deliberation
The judges are deliberating who will make the Top 22 by getting to know the models one-on-one and looking at the result of their first photo shoot.
Lacey is up first, speaking with a Southern accent. She does a great model pose. Very editorial. Her parents divorced when she was a teen. During this time, she was a lot heavier, so she strove to be healthier. Good first photo, except for the strained neck and hunched shoulders.
Nyle is up next. He has his interpreter in the room as well. The usual introduction, but with his hands. Tyra adds: “And I’m fine as hell.” Well yes you are, Nyle! He’s a bit goofy, so the judges want him to embrace his sexiness. (I want to embrace his sexiness, too.) “Daym, Nyle. Daym” is the extent of their comments on his photo. BRB learning how to say “Marry me, Nyle” in American Sign Language.
Here’s another language-other-than-English speaker. Mamé is the daughter of a diplomat, grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, and speaks French. Her African parents sent her to the US so she could be in a more stable environment instead of moving all the time. She’s also the current reigning Miss Maryland USA, but I didn’t get pageant girl vibes from her. Her skin is gorgeous, and it glows both in her photo, and in person.
Bello (pronounced as in Spanish) has a crown. What a diva. Everyone wants to hold and play with the crown. And then it breaks. LOL at that stock sound effect. Bello is enraged. Dear Bello, no way that crown is over two hundred dollars. It looks like a Halloween costume prop that you can readily buy from the supermarket. Nyle: “That’s impossible, it’s probably a buck 99.” I am infatuated.
With broken crown on his head, Bello walks into judging. Plus he’s also wearing a toga. What an odd ensemble. He says it’s his graduation walk, because he didn’t get to graduate. Ms. J automatically notices Bello’s eyes. Bello insists that his eye color is 100% natural. His online model portfolio says otherwise. “What the hell was that?” — Ms. J. Oh Ms. J, never change.
Mikey enters the judging room greeting the judges, and even winking at Yu Tsai, whose name he forgets. Tyra: “You just seem like you don’t pay bills.” HAHAHA. Can’t blame Tyra. He does look like he’s homeless, but he did work at an early age. He’s one of the few men in his family to not end up in prison. That is a life accomplishment in itself. I kinda like his long hair, gives him an edge. But I do wonder if a short hairstyle would clean up his look.
Courtney is a “tablet model.” Okay, so an… Instagram model? Not bad for her first professional photo. I’m getting Cycle 20 Nina vibes from her. The gap teeth is adorable, and makes her stand out.
Hadassah is a pageant girl, and she informs the other models about the difference between a pageant walk and a model walk. (It’s a lot more bouncy and twirly.) She has this Valley girl accent. It will probably get annoying in a few more episodes. Her body is beautiful though.
Back outside the panel, Bello asks all of the models the two who they think will be eliminated. “I don’t wanna break your hearts like somebody broke your crown.” I am in love. Stefano chooses Hadassah, mispronouncing her name, and Alexa. He chose Alexa because, he explains, her boobs are fake and that she’s bragging about it. Alexa feels attacked and cries. All the other girls are comforting her, and Stefano is just frozen on the side.
Alexa battled anorexia when she was young. She gets the “Vegas girl” comment a lot, and it’s okay with her. A little too much nostril on her photo. Stefano plays a reggae-rap song on guitar. He should definitely just stick to modelling. Horrible song! And he really does come off as a douchebag. He has nice defined abs, though. Next!
Devin is strange. Either he or Bello is probably this cycle’s Romeo. He’s signed to all these different agencies, but didn’t get much work because of his unique look. Tyra found him on Instagram. Does this show even perform psych evals on the models? He definitely looks and sounds crazy. It’s a bit disconcerting.
Up next, someone who is definitely not crazy (other than crazy hot) is Dustin. He is a farmer boy and a wrestler. He’s kinda like Ben from last cycle, but he seems to be a better model, so far. Tyra asks if he has cauliflower ear (it’s an ear deformation that you usually get when doing contact sports, like wrestling), and Dustin comes up to her for a feel. Sure, Tyra. You just wanted to have Dustin’s face up close. I would, too. Such a cutie.
Ashley isn’t very confident about her looks. She was molested when she was 5, which makes her very protective of her younger sister. I love that she wears glasses. It makes her look more down-to-earth than the others.
On the other end of the confidence spectrum is the very (over-)confident Bryant. “ANTM has never seen a model as hot as me.” His body is like a Greek statue, so that’s probably true. More than a hundred thousand Instagram followers! He does a lot of underwear and swimwear modelling. “When I get my picture taken, it’s almost orgasmic to me.” WHAT. That might be a disorder. You need to get that checked by a doctor, stat!
And then a short montage of more models. Raquel is a Harry Potter fangirl. Jake does not get along with typical models. Maleesa is the shortest this cycle, and feels that the others underestimate her because of her height. Delanie was fat when she was younger and was bullied.
This cycle’s token hot Asian guy, Justin, is up next. He calls himself J-Smooth. His parents wanted him to work in a more professional industry, but he chose to pursue modelling. Yu Tsai loves having another Asian representative on the show aside from himself.
Ava is the perky hippie Christian girl. Her motto is “Keep your legs closed and your Bible open.” Good luck with that in the model house! She’s serving beautiful face in her photo.
This is the most diverse group of models the show has had so far. All different kinds of crazy.
You just wanna make my work really hard, Tyra. — Yu Tsai
The models arrive at the model house where Yu Tsai and Ms. J are waiting. They’re throwing a pool party… sort of! The models find out who will make Top 22 by wading through a foam pit and looking for a ball with their name. If the model ends up without a ball, that means he/she is going home. This is kinda fun. Raquel is confident that her model height will be an advantage. In the end, she, along with 7 other models, did not make the Top 22. She can’t believe that she didn’t get through. Better luck next cycle, hunty!
My early favorites this cycle are Nyle, Dustin, and Justin for the guys, and Mamé, Hadassah, and Courtney for the girls. As I’ve mentioned a few times already, this is a pretty diverse cast. I think abolishing the height requirement helped a lot in that regard. We already know who the Top 14 are from the official cast photos, so they should have made their first show a double episode.
Next Episode
The Property Brothers visit the model house, to probably do some interior decorating on the model house. Photo shoot at the Universal Citywalk for their official photos. That’s the one where they’re naked with just a cardboard with their own hashtag (e.g., #NyleANTM) covering their goods. Devin and Bello fight. Back the hell away Bello, or Devin will eat you for dinner. Devin continues to scare me.
Do you think Bello’s eye color is fake? Who can teach me sign language (preferably Nyle or someone who looks as good as him)? Who is your early favorite to win this cycle? Sound off in the COMMENTS below.
Don’t forget to catch America’s Next Top Model Cycle 22 on ETC same day as the US every Thursday night at 8, and coming soon on Star World every Thursday night.
2 Comments
Loved Tyra’s new do! Pak!
[…] Last time on America’s Next Top Model Cycle 22 Guys & Girls, we met the final 31 contestants who made it to the show. The models shot their first photo on a tour bus around Hollywood. The contestants then had their first runway show. When the models arrived at the model house, the Top 22 were revealed. Who will still be in the running towards becoming America’s Next Top Model? Find out in my recap. […]