America's Next Top Model
News

No major news on the America's Next Top Model front, but we have learned the following two pieces of information regarding season 11, currently being filmed:

• Five models, as opposed to the usual six, will go abroad with the show's judges. Their destination? Amsterdam.

• Once there, it's being reported that the final five will participate in a photo shoot with pieces from jewelry designer, Rodrigo Otazu. He has provided pieces for runway shows for everyone from Christian Lacroix to Jean-Paul Gaultier. Otazu He has also had his jewelry worn by celebrities such as Britney Spears and Aretha Franklin.

For all the attention America's Next Top Model champion she has received for being the first plus-size model to win the competition, Whitney Thompson has a message for readers:

This isn't valid.

"I'm not really plus-size in real life, I'm regular," Thompson recently told reports. "I'm the weight I'm supposed to be and that's considered plus-size, and what kind of message is that sending to girls and boys all over the world?"

As for the goals she has for her newfound fame?

"No one from the generation behind me has anyone to look up to. Truly all of their role models are in rehab or have eating disorders, and I feel like it might be a lost generation because of that," the model said. "I'm not saying no to anything. I really want to work and work and work and just get everything I want to out there."

Take advantage of those 15 minutes while you can, Whitney. It's a solid strategy.

Fatima Siad doesn't think Whitney Thompson deserved to win the tenth cycle of America's Next Top Model. And she's not shy about saying so.

"When [Claire Unabia] and [Lauren Utter] and [Katarzyna Dolinska] got kicked off, I was just like this whole thing is a joke," Siad told reporters during a conference call yesterday.  "They look like models.  If this supposed to be a modeling competition, one of them should have won or [Anya Kop] should have won.  But it goes to show you that it might be about politics."

Would you consider Whitney Thompson to be a plus-sized model?

Siad reached that conclusion because Thompson is considered the first-ever full-figured woman to win the show's crown,

"Whitney took great pictures and she definitely knows how to conduct herself - she's very outspoken and she speaks really well," said Siad. "I think that's why she won over Anya, otherwise I wanted Anya to win.  Anya has that high-fashion look and she really knows how to model.  But she lacks the confidence and speech skills that Whitney has."

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Congratulations, Whitney Thompson!

In what was seen as an upset in the eyes of many viewers, this plus-size beauty won America's Next Top Model last night.

"There's definitely times I've looked in the mirror and looked at other girls and thought, I wasn't like them," said the the 20-year-old Florida native. "I want other women in America to feel good about themselves…It's amazing to be America's Next Top Model. This is exactly what I want. This is what I've always wanted!"

Winning America's Next Top Model means Thompson will be on the cover of Seventeen magazine. She also receives a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics.

Here's a photo montage of the model. Click on each thumbnail now for a larger version...

Sarah VonderHaar was a contestant on cycle eight of America's Next Top Model. Now, she's a budding solo artist.

The former hopeful model recently released her solo debut album.

"I've been writing songs since I was 12," Sarah told the Shaumberg Review, a local newspaper in her home state of Illinois. "You know how you get the guitar in a boxed set with a little amp and a book? I learned a few chords and would sing along and play my guitar, really poorly."

The name of Sarah's album is "Are You Listening Now" and the title track was written about her father, who died of a drug overdose.

"He started doing drugs when I was about 14 and died when I was 17," she said. "It took me four years to get ready to write that song, and when I finally did, I wrote it in 20 minutes."

The former reality TV star still lives with her parents and holds down a job at a local Pizza Hut. She also refuses to call music her day job.

"I never consider music a job," she said. "I love creating something from nothing."

Here's a recap of three reality TV shows from last night, one focused on models, one focused on a farmer and one focused on cooks. Such diversity...

America's Next Top Model: We start out this week with Whitney in confessional and voiceovers. She is stunned that she was allowed to remain as Katarzyna was sent home. She realizes that she has to relax and not be to posey. She has to bring it on to make it to the final two... -- Reality News Online

Farmer Wants a Wife: On this episode, Matt has the girls get down and dirty with some pigs, then takes them out on the town for a wild night of playing bingo with the elderly... -- BuddyTV

Top Chef: Speed and stamina were two ingredients the eight remaining chef-testants needed to stay in the competition this week. Dividing into two teams of four and with immunity no longer offered in the Quickfire Challenge the relay race was on... -- TV Guide

Last night, reality TV took us to a farm, a kitchen and a runway. How dare people say this genre is a sign of cultural decline?!? It brings viewers into a series of world with which they previously were unfamiliar. It's educational!

Farmer Wants a Wife: Series premiere. We first meet Matt Neustadt, an evenly tanned 29-year-old who pensively shucks corn and is a decent catch by most standards. Not only is he educated, respectful and owns land, but he's not half bad in the looks department... Zap2It

Top Chef: Lisa was told her Rice, Corn, Black Beans and Peppers with Avocado Crème and Grilled Shrimp was unoriginal and Mark's Miso Glazed Turkey Breast was tough, dry and needed sauce. On the upside, Richard is spotlighted again with his "well-balanced" Tuna Steak and Tomatoes with Yuzu Vinaigrette... -- TV Guide

America's Next Top Model: Whitney, who we really like but doesn't often take the best pictures, won the photo shoot challenge and got to split some shopping prize money with Anya... -- Shiny Style

The members of Girlicious were announced on the series finale of Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious last night. Aren't you just dying to see who comprises this new band? On to the results!

Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious: As the episode begins, Charlye still can't get over herself.  She's not sure that she can handle being in a group with Natalie and Chrystina, but Nichole tells her that she's going to have to adjust to the idea... -- Buddy TV

America's Next Top Model: The girls touched down in Rome and were blown away by what they've accomplished thus far. Lauren, as she tends to do every week, explained how she never expected to make it to this point and how she was blown away by it... -- TV Guide

Stacy-Ann Fequiere was voted off of America's Next Top Model last week. But the wannabe beauty isn't going quietly.

She recently spoke with TV Guide about the elimination, referring to it as "unfair." What else did she have to say? Here are a few highlights:

TVGuide.com: How did it feel to be beaten by "the invisible woman," Fatima?
Stacy-Ann Fequiere: I was pissed and devastated at the same time. It was freezing cold, so I was really struggling, and Fatima didn't have to do it! Since she didn't have her paperwork, of course we had been sympathizing with her. But then she had to take time out to do her own thing, and that showed a little

TVGuide.com: Did you think it would go the other way when Tyra Banks was being so hard on Fatima during the judging session?
Stacy-Ann: No. I kinda knew how it was going to go. Even though they were chastising her for not having paperwork, once they said they were going to judge her based on her body of work, I knew. That's why I started crying before they'd even announced which of us was staying.

TVGuide.com: Do you think the judges thought of you as kind of a joke after you hummed your own musical accompaniment to your stripper dance?
Stacy-Ann: Yeah. They kept bringing that up, like it was my theme song! I think they really liked my personality, because that was the reason I got into the house. But when it comes to modeling, I guess I didn't have that strong, dramatic element that they were looking for. I was too happy.

What, did you think our recaps of Big Brother, The Real World and American Idol completed the review of last night's reality television?!? Puh-lease! America's Next Top Model and Top Chef take exception to that notion...

America's Next Top Model: Camera pans to a body on a pile of crumpled white sheets. It's Dominique, she's just waking up, and she looks like...well like Dominique. We get a montage of shots as Dominique diligently applies various CoverGirl products to her face... -- TV Squad

Top Chef: Beer! Whoo-hoo! The cheftestants sample a bunch of frothy brew, then pick one variety and make a "simple pleasures" dish that pairs well with said beer. Spike continues to annoy by saying that all beer tastes the same to him... -- Zap2It