Wanna Be On Top?, Cycle 2
From Wikifashion
Cycle 2 of the reality series modeling competition Wanna Be On Top?. The cycle's catch phrase is "Fairy Tales Come True".
Contents |
Episode Summaries
Let's Dance!
32 hopeful contestants arrived in a Pasadena hotel to start a runway challenge. Yvonne, a 27-year-old doctor, won the catwalk challenge and impressed both of the Jays. The 32 contestants, vying for the 13 finalist spots, try and impress Tyra, Mr Jay and Miss Jay. Memorable contestants included Jessica, who revealed that she hasn't been able to speak with her family since they evacuated Hurricane Katrina, Renee, who gave the judges something to talk about after being a little cocky, Melrose, who showed the judges her rebellious side by showing her cage dancer moves, and as well as telling the judges she was the daughter of a preacher and Dani tells the judges about her personality in debates during her audition video.
The 32 contestants are trimmed down to 20, having to then participate in a photo shoot. Tyra selects the 13 finalists to enter the competition. There were many older girls in this cycle, as 9 out of the 13 contestants were 21 years old and over, while Renee was the only 26-year-old contestant.
A Model Marks Her Territory
After the field was narrowed down to 13 girls by the judges, the girls were sent to a runway competition using the clothes from the designers of Elmer Avenue. The contestants had to choose their clothes off the backs of 13 male models, then "feminize" and wear the outfit down the runway. Melrose was chosen as the winner, allowing her the chance to be "Diva for the Day" on the set of their next photo shoot.
At the fashion magazine-inspired house, the contestants were surprised that only 11 beds were available, and maneuvering took place. Victoria, who did not get a bed, stole Renee's and poured water on it, saying it was "pee" in order to ensure nobody tried to take it off her.
The next day, Tyra's dramatic diva appearance kicked off a shoot where the girls were given different model stereotypes to portray as follows:
| Model | Stereotypes |
|---|---|
| AJ | Casting couch model |
| Alasia | Anorexic model |
| Bianca | Narcissistic model |
| Danielle | Back-stabbing model |
| Felicia | Dumb blonde |
| Fo | Model-turned-actress |
| Gabrielle | Black girl-turned-white girl |
| Jessica | Plastic surgery model |
| Kyle | Diva model |
| Leslie | Drug-addicted model |
| Melrose | $10,000 a day model |
| Renee | Bulimic model |
| Victoria | Cell Phone-throwing model |
The judges liked Fo, Danielle & AJ's photos but questioned Leslie, Alasia, Gabrielle and Melrose's. The judges felt that Melrose gave a terrible photo from what she "had to work with," pointing out that she looked older than she was in the photo, combined with her bad attitude on set, saw her in the bottom two. Gabrielle, also in the bottom two, was criticized for being "boring," and showing lack of variations in her shots. The judges felt that Gabrielle had less potential than Melrose, therefore sending her home.
- First call-out: Fo Porter
- Bottom two: Gabrielle Kniery & Melrose Bickerstaff
- Eliminated: Gabrielle Kniery
- Featured photographers: Oliver Bronson, Dylan Don
- Special guests: The Aswirl Twins, Collin Pulsipher, Jonny Day, Ward Robinson, Sean Murphy
Back To High School
The contestants were greeted by J. Alexander and a marching band at a high school, before they were divided into teams and taught a runway walking routine based on timing and precision. After the rehearsal, they met fashion show producer Roy Campbell, who introduced them to their challenge - a prom fashion show consisting of three looks each, modern contemporary, the 80s prom and ghetto fabulous. Leslie's breasts fell out of her ghetto fabulous dress, and was commended for not letting it affect her walk but was criticized for not covering up in front of the high school students. Fo won the runway challenge and received her own personalized runway trophy. Although Jessica did not win, she expressed her happiness for being there because she didn't attend her own prom.
The next day, the contestants returned to the high school for a photoshoot, where Jay Manuel assigned each of them a different high school cliché:
| Contestant | High School Cliché |
|---|---|
| AJ | Valedictorian |
| Alasia | Cheerleader |
| Bianca | Student Body President |
| Danielle | Bad Girl |
| Felicia | Jock |
| Fo | Bookworm |
| Jessica | Weirdo |
| Kyle | Teacher's Pet |
| Leslie | Class Clown |
| Melrose | Girl with the Bad Reputation |
| Renee | Class Flirt |
| Victoria | Mean Girl |
While Danielle stood out and was called first , and Felicia and AJ impressed the judges, Melrose and Jessica struggled to fit their characters, and they consequently landed in the bottom two. Melrose was criticized for her inability to transfer her beauty into a photograph, while the judges saw Jessica as too inexperienced and lacking personality. With that, Tyra handed the last photo to Melrose because of her positive attitude, thus sending Jessica home.
- First call-out: Danielle Evans
- Bottom two: Jessica Santiago & Melrose Bickerstaff
- Eliminated: Jessica Santiago
- Featured photographer: Carlos Rios
- Special guests: Roy Campbell, Hallie Bowman
- CoverGirl of the Week: Danielle Evans
Who Goes Bald?
The contestants got their makeovers at the Ken Pavés salon. Some girls, like Leslie and Melrose, embraced their new looks with positivity and excitement. Bianca was initially intended to get a long blonde weave, but her damaged hair wouldn't have been able to accept the weave, so she was shaved bald. She was given a blonde wig, but it went unused for the rest of the season, because the bald look suited her.
The challenge that week involved the girls putting together a look using CoverGirl cosmetics at a make-up table, and going through racks of clothes to find the outfit with their name on it. Felicia was deemed by the judges as having the best make-up, and she would have won; however since she didn't put on the correct outfit, she was disqualified. Leslie won the challenge, and she got the opportunity to shoot a tutorial video for the CoverGirl website on makeup application.
This week's photo shoot had the girls portraying different plants, as follows:
| Model | Type of plant |
|---|---|
| AJ | Rose |
| Alasia | Sunflower |
| Bianca | Baby's Breath |
| Danielle | Bird of Paradise |
| Felicia | Weeds |
| Fo | Hydrangea |
| Kyle | Moss |
| Leslie | Bamboo |
| Melrose | Ivy |
| Renee | Tulip |
| Victoria | Cactus |
At panel, Tyra told AJ that she would have been called first if it wasn't for her up-tight personality in front of the judges. Alasia, Renee, Fo, and Leslie once again stunned the judges, while Melrose was criticized about her inability to take in both the photographer's and the art director's instructions during the shoot. Danielle's lack of emotion in her picture didn't sit well with the judges. When evaluating Victoria's cactus picture, Twiggy made a remark that it was a fitting representation since she felt Victoria has a "prickly disposition." Danielle and Victoria ended up in the bottom two and Victoria was shockingly sent home for not handling criticism well.
- First call-out: Renee Alway
- Bottom two: Danielle Evans & Victoria Marshman
- Eliminated: Victoria Marshman
- Featured photographer: Lionel Deluy
- Special guests: Ken Pavés, Dawn Patton, Brent Poer, Crissy Barker
- CoverGirl of the Week: Fo Porter
Put Your Best Face Forward
Tocarra Jones of visited the girls for a slumber party, and taught them about making an impression with personality. The next day, the models were taught by Benny Ninja how to strike various poses with different genres of music. Most of the girls struggled at the teach, but Alasia and Bianca stood out due to their creativity. Later that night the girls were challenged to a pose-off competition, where groups of girls faced off against each other and were judged based on the overall audience response to their individual performances. Bianca and Alasia made it to the final round, but it was Bianca who won the challenge.
Leslie's confidence was once again shattered because of the audience's negative reaction during her performance, and she considered quitting the competition. This sparked a series of reactions from some of the girls, especially Bianca, who were shocked that she might move on instead of someone who wanted to win more than her.
The weeks's photo shoot had the girls portray old immigrants that traveled to Ellis Island with their families; Benny Ninja was pictured with the girls as the family father. The pictures were taken via old-fashioned cameras, and were thus black-and-white. Leslie once again expressed her desire to quit in the make-up room, but at panel, her improvement impressed the judges and she received the first call-out. Danielle, Alasia, and Melrose also received unanimous praise for their convincing performances conveyed on film. AJ, despite her poor performances in the challenge and photo shoot, was yet again spared elimination when Felicia was sent home for not having striking photographs.
Right after AJ's name was called, Bianca went to stand by Felicia and told Tyra that Leslie wanted to quit the competition, and that she found it unfair to eliminate other girls with more passion. However, Bianca was rebutted by Tyra who said that Leslie should be the one to express her own feelings, not her. The judges' decision however, were final and couldn't be further altered.
- First call-out: Leslie Powell
- Bottom two: AJ Stewart & Felicia Provost
- Eliminated: Felicia Provost
- Featured photographer: Brian Edwards
- Special guests: Benny Ninja, David Blond, Phillipe Blond, Sky Nellor, Toccara Jones
Smile and Pose
The models received letters from home to cheer them up. The next day, they arrived at Roosevelt Island, where they were tasked to create chemistry between themselves and a male model, who turned out to be Nigel. Later, they met comedian Ross Matthews, and their challenge required them to model with him and produce a good shot with only five frames. Fo won and received a pair of $6500 Jude Frances diamond earrings, while Alasia received a $5000 ring.
The photo shoot took place at New York's Garment District – Canal Street, Chinatown. The girls were dressed up ala fashion faux pas, to raise awareness about the detriment of counterfeit fashion products. Fo, Bianca and Danielle wowed Jay in their performance, while Renee’s confidence took a beating when she received mediocre feedback. At judging, Renee's dour picture landed her in the bottom two along with AJ, whose film from week to week are deemed weak, which made Tyra choosing her best photo difficult (despite having at least one great photo shown at panel). In the end, AJ was sent home.
This episode was dedicated to the memory of Alexander McQueen.
- First Call-Out: Fo Porter
- Bottom Two: AJ Stewart & Renee Alway
- Eliminated: AJ Stewart
- Featured Photographer: D-Nice
- Special Guests: Ross Mathews, Ann Shoket, Eric Orlando, Vincent Oquendo, Pat Cleveland
My Secret Is...
The girls have showing skin care with Iman knew to use as food to applying their faces. Later that day, they were given a three minute interview for an organic product. Kyle won the challenge and was given a mock interview as a spokesperson for a product and picked Danielle to countdown the 5 greatest supermodels of all times with her on The Fabulous Life of Supermodels special in VH1. After the challenge ended, tensions got flare between a critical argument over Alasia and Leslie.
Later, they have a challenge were to complete a commercial shoot, photo shoot, and press interview, all advertising Secret deodorant, in the space of thirty minutes. Behind the scenes, there was a lot of drama, because Bianca stole Melrose' secret, on camera, making Melrose and other girls upset. Originally Melrose was going to say she was afraid of the dark and slept with a night light and Bianca was going to say she was afraid of the dark. However once on camera Bianca said she was afraid of the dark and they stopped her commercial. When they did take two she said she slept with a night light. This caused Melrose to lose sight of her objective and ultimately deliver a bad interview. The girls' secrets used in the commercial as follows:
| Model | Secret |
|---|---|
| Alasia | Loves mens' underwear |
| Bianca | Afraid of dark |
| Danielle | Afraid of heights |
| Fo | Walks and talks tough but screams like a girl |
| Kyle | Likes to sing and dance in front of a mirror |
| Leslie | Tells herself she's beautiful every day |
| Melrose | Afraid of dark and sleeps with night light |
| Renee | Eats ice cream in bed |
The undeclared prize was that the girl with the strongest photograph would have her picture run as an actual advertisement for the product in print media. The judges agreed that Alasia had the strongest performance this week, but they chose Danielle's photo as the best one, and selected it. Meanwhile Fo and Bianca also did well on both. Renee had a great commercial and interview but her photo was criticized. Melrose' lack of focus and poor performance during her commercial landed her in the bottom two with Leslie who was eliminated because she could not overcome her melancholy demeanor.
- First call-out: Alasia Ballard
- Bottom Two: Leslie Mancia & Melrose Bickerstaff
- Eliminated: Leslie Mancia
- Featured photographer: Jason Willheim
- Featured commercial director: Bill Heuberger
- Special guests: Iman, Chris Spencer, Kevin Mock, Ryan Devlin
- CoverGirl of the Week: Melrose Bickerstaff
Dumb Like A Doll
In this week's episode, the contestants were critiqued harshly by an agent (later revealed to be an actress) wanting to test their response under pressure. After the critique, each model took a Polaroid shot to measure how they took the criticism and how it affected their work through their facial expressions. Renee won the challenge because she took the criticism she was given without allowing it to affect her negatively. Renee chose Alasia to share in the prize with her, which turned out to be a visit from a loved one. Alasia's boyfriend (to her dismay) arrived, as well as Renee's mother.
There are one of two photo shoots taken in this episode; where the girls were in a doll photo shoot sponsored by Pantene Pro-V shampoo, as follows:
| Model | Doll |
|---|---|
| Alasia | Glamour Doll |
| Bianca | Marionette |
| Danielle | Rag Doll |
| Fo | Mannequin |
| Kyle | Ventriloquist's Dummy |
| Melrose | Baby Doll |
| Renee | Teen Doll |
After the first photo shoot, the girls all went to the dentist to have their teeth whitened. However, Danielle and Melrose were both offered to have their teeth fixed. Melrose received veneers to fix her "snaggle tooth," and while Danielle was offered the chance to fix the gap between her front teeth, she declined, claiming the gap was a part of who she was. After Melrose had her surgery (which lasted 12 hours), she did not like how her mouth felt.
The next day, the girls met Marc Ecko, Janice and Eva for an interview. After the meeting, they have another photo shoot by Tyra, in which each girl was photographed crying using a tear jerking formula. Melrose returned to the dental clinic, saying that she did not like how she spoke, but when everything was completed after another 6 hours of surgery, she had a new smile and was very happy.
Melrose impressed the judges especially on both shoots, and Fo was once again praised for her improvement, Danielle did well, and Renee had an amazing picture, but landed in the bottom two with Kyle regardless. Renee's overall "fakeness" irked the judges, but it was ultimately Kyle who was sent home, due to her inability to transfer her strong looks onto a photo.
- First call-out: Melrose Bickerstaff
- Bottom two: Kyle Kavanagh & Renee Alway
- Eliminated: Kyle Kavanagh
- Featured photographers: Jim De Yonker, Pascal Demeester
- Special guests: Janice Dickinson, Eva Pigford, Marc Ecko, Mitch Stone, Alexander Rankovic, Charlie Altuna, Dr. Edgardo Falcon, Sutan, Jeff Lorch, Deprise Brescia, Diana Cole, John
- CoverGirl of the Week: Melrose Bickerstaff
Model Break Down
The girls met with acting coach Tasha Smith at the Los Angeles Repertory Company for acting lessons, and all took turns performing exercises to learn how to break down their physical boundaries. Each girl then shot their own silent film, acting out the direction given to them. After an emotional day, Danielle was chosen as the winner, earning her a guest spot on The CW’s "One Tree Hill." The girls then viewed Danielle’s winning silent film, and Tyra surprised them with a trip to Barcelona, Spain.
Once the girls landed in Barcelona, they were happily surprised when their driver made several stops along the way to pick up male models who would be part of their next challenge. Together, they went to dinner at a traditional Spanish restaurant, where they learned they would shoot a commercial the next day in the Catalan language. Tensions rose between Alasia and her male model Nacho after he told her he did not like black women.
The following day the girls shot a Secret deodorant commercial, where they had to kiss their male model at the end. Most of the girls struggled with their lines and the pressure to perform in another language.
Melrose was praised by the judges as giving the best performance - much to the dislike of Renee, and Fo was criticized for her terrible kiss. However, Danielle, who had previously been favored by the judges, gave one of the worst commercials.
Danielle landed in the bottom two with Alasia. The judges deemed Alasia as the weakest girl, overall as well as with her commercial, Alasia gave them no reasons to continue keeping her in the competition, eliminating her.
- First call-out: Melrose Bickerstaff
- Bottom two: Alasia Ballard & Danielle Evans
- Eliminated: Alasia Ballard
- Featured commercial director: Denis Rovira
- Special guests: Tasha Smith, Lee Norris, David Jackman
- CoverGirl of the Week: Danielle Evans
Blame The Taxi Driver!
The remaining five contestants were sent on go-sees all around Barcelona and were given a time limit of 4 hours. Melrose and Fo arrived back at the modeling agency late, and they were disqualified. Melrose accepted it gracefully while Fo had a tantrum, throwing her portfolio on the ground, yelling at Melrose to "shut up," and blaming the taxi driver for not meeting her at the designated area. Everyone inside the agency, including challenge administrator Priscilla Leighton Clark, heard Fo expressing her displeasure with her disqualification. Danielle impressed the clients the most and won the challenge. She chose Bianca to accompany her to share a photo shoot on top of the famous Harbour Bridge shot by Nigel Barker.
At the photo shoot, the girls worked a swimsuit in two ways. First, Tyra shot them in sensual poses for a women's magazine, and then they struck sexy poses for a men's magazine. Tyra was impressed with Danielle's variety of poses, but was disappointed with Bianca after Bianca had to be coached through the entire photo shoot.
At panel, all but Bianca were hailed for their photos. Tyra revealed that she was shocked because none of the go-see designers wanted to hire Fo, despite a stellar portfolio. Ultimately, Bianca's lackluster photos and Fo's poor go-see performance landed them in the Bottom Two. But it was Fo's lack of charm in front of the go-see designers that sent her home.
- First call-out: Danielle Evans
- Bottom two: Bianca Golden & Fo Porter
- Eliminated: Fo Porter
- Featured photographers: Tyra Banks, Michael Omm
- Special guests: Jodhi Meares, Priscilla Leighton Clark, Wayne Cooper, Lill Boyd, Anna Hewett, Tina Kalivas, Jayson Brunsdon, Arabella Ramsay, Alice McCall, Kit Willow, David Sciola, Brad Rope, Adrian Allen, Tamati William, Samuel Sirena
- CoverGirl of the Week: Melrose Bickerstaff
Climb The Great Wall
The final four flew to Beijing, where they were introduced to the story of the Four Beauties. The next day they participated in a challenge in which they turned a traditional Chinese garment into their own style. During the task, Bianca purposefully gave Renee bad advice, so when Renee was declared the winner, she instead chose Melrsoe to share her prize of custom-made Chinese qípáos gowns. Renee also won a personalized runway lesson with Miss J.
The girls then travelled to the Great Wall for a Mongolian warrior-themed photo shoot photographed by Tyra. Melrose excelled throughout the photoshoot by thinking outside of the box, while Renee and Bianca struggled at first but pulled off good takes at the end. Danielle was praised for doing amazing jumps and utilizing creativity throughout her shoot. Tyra was generally positive about all the girls' performances, but she showed concern over Renee's identity crisis and Bianca's stiff poses. The shoot concluded with a final group shot to see which girl stood out the most.
At panel, all the photos were greeted with positive reviews, and Tyra confessed that her opinions about the girls have changed after photographing them. Melrose' ability to stand out in the group photo, and Danielle's creativity in the shoot advanced them to the final three. Renee explained that she was homesick, but cared greatly about the competition, and Bianca argued that she had consistently improved. In the end, Bianca was eliminated for not demonstrating the same innate talent as the other finalists.
- First call-out: Melrose Bickerstaff
- Bottom two: Bianca Golden & Renee Alway
- Eliminated: Bianca Golden
- Featured photographer: Tyra Banks
- Special guests: Kevin Lee, Ann Shoket
Top Model Is...
The final three shot their CoverGirl commercials. Renee was criticized for her lack of facial expression on film but her overall commercial was deemed the best by panel. Melrose forgot her lines but managed to deliver a convincing commercial, while Danielle's nerves took their toll on her as she fumbled through her lines. Afterward, the girls shot their CoverGirl print ad.
Melrose was called first for her ability to capture her beauty in a photo due to her stunning picture, despite her average but believable commercial. Renee's inability to photograph with facial variety disappointed the judges once more, though her commercial was the strongest of the three. Danielle's photo granted her universal praise once again because she managed to appear sultry and maintain commercial appeal, but she was lambasted for her uninspiring performance in her CoverGirl commercial. Renee's inconsistent portfolio and Danielle's dismal commercial landed then in the bottom two. But the judges deemed Danielle's portfolio was strong enough to save her, thus sending Renee home.
- First call-out: Melrose Bickerstaff
- Bottom two: Danielle Evans & Renee Alway
- Eliminated: Renee Alway
- Featured photographer: Jim De Yonker
- Featured commercial director: Jay Manuel
The final two shot their Seventeen magazine cover tries where they both excelled and impressed Ann Shoket. Later, for their final performance, Danielle and Melrose arrived at Ibirapuera Auditorium for competed in a Rosa Chá swimsuit fashion show where they had to strut a sultry walk, dance in samba movement and crawl provocatively at the end of the show.
At panel, Melrose was commended for her significant improvements throughout the competition as well as for her strong walk, which also improved immensely from being the worst of the bunch. Danielle's walk was criticized for looking somewhat robotic, though she was still praised for her stellar photos. The judges felt that both finalists had their own strengths; Danielle was lauded for her versatile portfolio that translated into booking ability, creativity during photo shoots, and genuine personality while Melrose' high fashion and editorial look could book her international fashion shows.
The girls were called back, and Tyra announced Danielle as the second winner of Wanna Be On Top?.
- Final two: Danielle Evans & Melrose Bickerstaff
- Top Model: Danielle Evans
- Featured photographer: Nigel Barker
- Special guests: Amir Slama, McKey Sullivan, Maíra Vieira, Fernanda Motta, Ann Shoket
Summaries
Callout Order
| Order | Episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Renee | Fo | Danielle | Renee | Leslie | Fo | Alasia | Melrose | Melrose | Danielle | Melrose | Melrose | Danielle | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Bianca | Danielle | Felicia | Leslie | Danielle | Bianca | Bianca | Fo | Renee | Melrose | Danielle | Danielle | Melrose | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | AJ | AJ | AJ | Fo | Melrose | Danielle | Fo | Alasia | Bianca | Renee | Renee | Renee | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Leslie | Jessica | Renee | Alasia | Alasia | Alasia | Danielle | Bianca | Fo | Bianca | Bianca | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Melrose | Kyle | Fo | Felicia | Kyle | Kyle | Kyle | Danielle | Danielle | Fo | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Alasia | Felicia | Victoria | Kyle | Renee | Leslie | Renee | Renee | Alasia | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Victoria | Victoria | Bianca | AJ | Bianca | Melrose | Melrose | Kyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Kyle | Bianca | Alasia | Bianca | Fo | Renee | Leslie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Danielle | Alasia | Kyle | Melrose | AJ | AJ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Gabrielle | Renee | Leslie | Danielle | Felicia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Fo | Leslie | Melrose | Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Felicia | Melrose | Jessica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Jessica | Gabrielle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- The contestant won the reward challenge
- The contestant was eliminated
- The contestant was CoverGirl of the Week
- The contestant was CoverGirl of the Week and won the reward challenge
- The contestant won the competition
