New Season Alert! Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Coming Soon!

Asia’s Next Top Model will be back on our television screens for its fifth cycle soon! They’ve already wrapped up shooting for the upcoming cycle last month. With the new cycle comes exciting changes. First and foremost, we have the new judging panel of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5, albeit with some familiar faces. 😀

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Cindy Mail! 📨

Model, host, and actress in her home country Thailand, Cindy Sirinya Bishop is back to host this cycle. I mentioned in my Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 4 season review that Cindy has been the best host of the show yet. She’s the perfect blend of friendly and fierce. Plus her years of modelling experience and being a celebrity really lends credibility to her critique during the deliberation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl3krX5nyUU

Follow Cindy on Instagram (@cindysirinya) and Twitter (@cindysirinya).

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Models! Models! Models! 📸

I know not everyone is a fan of his tough approach. Plus some of the photo shoot themes last cycle were a bit lackluster. But I’m still excited that AsNTM Cycle 4 creative director and photographer Yu Tsai is back! I’m hoping we have more interesting photo shoot themes. And yes, I’ll always remind y’all that wishes do come true:

It's never a boring #ANTM shoot with @yutsai. Please guest on @AsNTM 😁. #Cycle22 #DosYDos

— amiciness (@amiciness) August 28, 2015

Follow Yu Tsai on Instagram (@yutsai88) and Twitter (@yutsai).

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New Top Model Mentor! 👠

Kelly out! Cara in! Cara G. McIlroy is this cycle’s top model mentor. Based in Hong Kong with her husband and kids, she is a ramp and print model including Elle, Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar. She hosted on Channel [V] and National Geographic, and in keeping with the FOX Channels, she also appeared on Star World’s Stylesetter segments. She’s also a health coach, entrepreneur and co-founder of Genie Juicery in Hong Kong.

She’s been a guest on the show before during Cycle 3. His husband, former model and now fashion photographer, Jesper McIlroy, has also guested on the show a couple of times as photographer and guest judge. They’ve even guested on the same episode!

Follow Cara G on Instagram (@caragmcilroy) and Twitter (@misscaragrogan).

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The Queen Has Arrived! 👑

The queen of the world—the universe rather—is coming to AsNTM as a guest judge. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the title of Miss Universe in 2015, only the 3rd Filipina to do so. She tried 3 times in the national pageant scene before she became the country’s Miss Universe representative. Doing commercial and runway modelling from a young age, she is now signed with international agency IMG. Welcome the queen to this cycle’s judging panel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A7XKU9a87U

(It’s kind of funny how, last cycle, they made a big fuss about Gwen’s being too “beauty queen,” and now, they’ve invited, arguably, today’s most popular beauty queen on the show.)

Follow Pia Wurtzbach on Instagram (@piawurtzbach) and Twitter (@piawurtzbach).

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Your Singapore 🇸🇬

As I’ve already mentioned, this cycle will still be in Singapore. Of the 5 cycles so far, we’ve only been out of Singapore once: in Malaysia during Cycle 2. When are we ever getting out of Singapore? We’re missing out on the beautiful beaches of Asia, y’all!

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Expect the Unexpected… 😱

…is this cycle’s tagline. Are we getting more creative photo shoots? Will there be multiple eliminations in one go? One or more of the girls eliminated even before they’ve unpacked their bags like last cycle? Will there be a model comeback like in the other Top Model franchises? Will there be more drama? Of course there will.

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Fourteen 1⃣️4⃣️

…is the number of girls vying to become Asia’s Next Top Model. Let’s do a country tally, shall we?

The Philippines still has 3 representatives this cycle. Indonesia also has 3, and 2 of them are twins! A first in AsNTM! Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand each have 2. Vietnam has 1 representative. And Taiwan is back this cycle with 1 representative also.

I’m sad that we don’t have a representative from China, Japan and South Korea again. And I’m doubly sad that there’s no South Asian representation still.

We’ll get to know more about these girls… soon. So watch out for my next AsNTM post and see how they stack up against last cycle’s models. 😉

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Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 will premiere on Star World on April 5! Visit the official AsNTM website (asntm.com), and follow AsNTM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to get the latest updates on this new cycle.