Plum Blossoms

Michelle
Nobody in their right mind thought that Michelle was going to win this, nor expected her to last this long. Yet I can't help but feel sorry to see her go, having gone through so much with the impetigo and the whole flesh-eating insanity. I don't know why the judges kept Michelle around so long: maybe they thought she'd actually (*ding*) lose it and beat Janice Dickinson to a pulp if she got canned before a certain point. And the experience of “moving forward” to South Africa probably gave her enough confidence to think that she actually did improve personally in this whole thing. But this is a freaking competition, not a self-help class, and I never did see any of that “potential” that the judges used to justify keeping her around.

But then, it's not like any of the people that were canned before her were really likely Top Model candidates in my eyes, so no great travesty of justice was done. There's no prize for second place, after all.

Christina
At the beginning of the competition, Christina and Naima were the only two faces that screamed “Model!” in my head. Then she got lost in the crowd before the crowd started thinning out, which was unfortunate for her, but in a sense indicative of her weakness in establishing a presence. I suppose from a purely aesthetic point of view, she was definitely Top Model material, but when analyzing personalities she doesn't show it enough. Now having seen what happens outside of panel, I don't think it's fair that the judges kept complaining that she seems like an ice queen, but since everyone that made it to that point was pretty good, I still can't really say that she was bumped over a better girl.

Brittany
I didn't notice Brittany for a while at first except for her Cover Girl party performance (does drinking impression: “Glug!”). But while her spunkiness might've been inappropriate at such occasions, she definitely grew on me. The show would've been a lot less interesting to watch had she been kicked off earlier, and she had an excellent attitude during her challenges and photo shoots: light and easygoing but always aware of the importance of the situation (as long as there's no booze!).

For example, the picture with her in the mud is probably the hottest, most jaw-droppingly gorgeous and sexy picture ever during the whole damn season (see left, or the entire picture at the UPN site). And indeed Brittany was the only girl who I think actually can pull off “sweet and innocent,” “modelesque,” and “hot sexy momma,” all at the same time.

The judges never did quite communicate to Brittany what amount of spunk she should deliver to the competition: at first they told her to tone it down, then she dialed it down too much and it was too late for the judges to get her to get some of it back. It's too bad, because by her last episode she was obviously shaken by it all and started to have the deer-in-headlights look going. Nonetheless, I didn't peg her as a likely winner at the start and didn't think so at the end. But I think she could've done better and she may have lasted even to the final two if not for the attitude expression changes.

Plus she kind of looks like a tall Mandy Moore and she spazzed on Keenyah, and those are always pluses in my book.

Keenyah
Well there's no arguing that she's a great-looking girl and she knows her stuff. But compared to the other five in South Africa, she was one annoying bitch. Her tussle with Kahlen in the go-see competition was not only unbecoming but also unprofessional. Imagine how the client would think had s/he known you'd been wrestling with another girl just downstairs before coming in. Okay Kahlen was half of it, but nobody's gonna say that she's an annoying bitch, plus Keenyah did the same thing to Naima, except Naima wasn't quite as immature and just waited her turn, although it would've been cool if she slugged Keenyah in the face.

The belly thing really was Keenyah's undoing, and it's not just a matter that models have to be scrawny little sticks. The point here is that she ate excessively in response to stress, and she kept doing it after the judges first point it out. There are many ways to deal with stress (Brittany, for example, drinks and dances on tables), but if you're going to gain ten pounds throughout this competition, who knows how much more weight you're going to gain after this? It's modelling: high stress isn't exactly a rarity. Plus you're not watching your eating habits after the judges have complained about it? What's it going to take? Keenyah did lose the weight after the show was over, but I'm not convinced that if she won, that she could find winning sufficiently relieving that she'd change her eating habits.

Plus how can you not know if Nelson Mandela is alive or not?

But Keenyah was an excellent competitor, and I think that it would've been a lot harder for Naima to win had not Kahlen knocked her off in the second-to-last elimination. Although how Keenyah could model swimwear with that gut is not exactly clear.

Kahlen
I didn't notice her at first, but Kahlen was no doubt my sentimental favourite by the time the whole thing was over. She takes some exceptional photographs, she has a great personality, and her growth in what she knows and what she can do was just phenomenal. Remember that this is a small-town Oklahoma girl that arguably didn't have a clue what she was walking into. It's obvious that her lack of self-confidence did her in, because sometimes she would think that she bombed a challenge or a shoot when in fact she nailed it, and sometimes she tries too hard and misses the sweet spot (like in the nature shoot, I'm not sure exactly why she went for dead and brown as her theme).

It would make wonderful TV for Kahlen to have won, but her confidence issue probably would've undone her had she actually been plunged into such a big contract head-first. It'd be good if she worked her way up by the usual channels and built up some more confidence, which I'm sure is what she's doing right now. It's not the big break that Naima got, but maybe that wasn't in the stars for her (for now). And she's shy enough around guys that she definitely won't sleep her way to the top!

UPDATE (2005/05/22 1530PDT): there is evidence that Kahlen wasn't as “innocent” as depicted on the show, but she's still a spectacular model and did a better job than almost every other contestant. I still think she deserved to get that far.

Naima
As mentioned previously, Naima was one of the two faces that screamed “Model!” in my head when I first saw the contestants. And I always wanted her to win, mainly because she looked truly different from everyone else and she looks kind of East Asian (although she's actually mixed from who knows how many countries, as we've heard on several occasions). She's also calm and composed under pressure, and was the only one of the three that made it to the last episode without any major flaws. I don't think we viewers ever saw or understood enough of what she calls the “old” Naima for us to really say if she has really grown in any sense, but she certainly seemed to be the only one with her ball on the prize. Of course, that might seem conniving and insincere to some, but it's the modelling industry and youthful innocence might not exactly be the best attitude to bring with you. Note that bitchiness is also bad, which is why I'm not exalting Keenyah here.

I must say that I didn't like her appearance as much in the last few episodes, but that's only because she lost the mohawk and got a really short haircut, which doesn't work for me. What impressed me in those last days, though, was how she went from “can't do a front shot” in Episode 10 to delivering an incredible front shot for the Cover Girl ad in the finale (see left). I'm not sure if effort can actually do that, but I think it's a part of it.

In all, Naima was certainly the one to beat, and I'm happy to see her win. Brittany and Kahlen appeal to me on sentimental levels, but so does Naima, and from a professional perspective she was definitely the Next Top Model.