America's Next Top Model (cycle 7)

America's Next Top Model (cycle 7)

Cycle 7 cast
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 13
Release
Original network The CW
Original release

September 20 (2006-09-20) – December 6, 2006 (2006-12-06)

Additional information
Judges
No. of contestants 13
Winner CariDee English

The seventh cycle of America's Next Top Model started airing on September 20, 2006 as the first to be aired on The CW network. The season's catch-phrase is "The Competition Won't Be Pretty." The season's promotional theme song is "Hot Stuff (I Want You Back)" by Pussycat Dolls.

To date, this cycle is the most watched season in The CW, averaging 5.13 million viewers per episode. In addition, a new opening was made, different from the last three cycles. J.Manuel also was added to the final judging panel, for a total of five judges deciding on the winner.

The prizes for this were:

The following prizes have been removed:

The international destination during this cycle was Barcelona, Spain.

The winner was 21-year-old CariDee English from Fargo, North Dakota.

Contestants

(ages stated are at time of contest)[1]

Contestant Age Hometown Finish Place
Christian Evans[2] 19 Columbia, South Carolina Episode 2 13
Megan Morris[3] 23 San Francisco, California Episode 3 12
Monique Calhoun[4] 19 Chicago, Illinois Episode 4 11
Megg Morales[5] 18 Los Angeles, California Episode 5 10
A.J. Stewart[6] 20 Sacramento, California Episode 6 9
Brooke Miller[7] 18 Keller, Texas Episode 7 8
Anchal Joseph[8] 19 Homestead, Florida Episode 9 7
Jaeda Young[9] 18 Parkersburg, Iowa Episode 10 6
Michelle Babin[10]1 18 Anaheim, California Episode 11 5
Amanda Babin[11]1 18 Anaheim, California Episode 12 4
Eugena Washington[12] 21 Palmdale, California Episode 13 3
Melrose Bickerstaff[13] 23 San Francisco, California 2
CariDee English[14] 21 Fargo, North Dakota 1

^1 Amanda and Michelle Babin are identical twins; however, they competed individually.

Episode summaries

The Girl Who Marks Her Territory

First aired September 20, 2006

This season premiere was a special two-hour episode. The 33 semi-finalists started at Los Angeles International Airport and they met with J. Alexander and Jay Manuel. Their task was to shoot a photo above the runway. Later, the girls met Tyra and the Aswirl twins (runway challenge–Cycle 6) and they started off with the auditions. A girl named Cyndel, who referred to herself as an entertainer and told the judges that she worked at a strip club, said she considered that stripping "was another part of modeling". Anchal also stood out, principally because of her blue contacts. When asked why she had them in, she said that in India, they found girls with lighter eyes more beautiful. The 33 "semi-finalists" were reduced to 21 girls who would go on to the next round. The 21 girls participated in a nude photo shoot, which caused some of the more conservative girls to struggle choosing between their ambition and upbringing. This episode also introduced Jaslene Gonzalez, who failed to make the final cut down to 13, however successfully auditioned again in the next cycle which she won. Some of these pictures were used and shown (heads only) in this cycles opening credits as well as the first photo shown of a contestant who just got eliminated.

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. Monique and Christian did not get a bed each. Monique poured water on Eugena's bed saying it was "pee" in order to take it for herself. Eugena wanted to fight Monique for stealing her bed.

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
A.J. Casting couch model
Amanda Anorexic model
Anchal Narcissistic model
Brooke Back-stabbing model
CariDee Dumb blonde
Christian Model-turned-actress
Eugena Black girl-turned-white girl
Jaeda Plastic surgery model
Megan Diva Model carrying a dog
Megg Drug-addicted model
Melrose $10,000 a day model
Michelle Bulimic model
Monique Phone-throwing model

At judging, Michelle received the first call-out. The judges also liked CariDee, Megg, Anchal, Megan, Amanda and A.J.'s photos however questioned Monique, Eugena, Brooke, Jaeda, Christian and Melrose's. The judges felt that Melrose looked old in her photo and put in a weak performance given what she "had to work with". This combined with her bad attitude on set (where she argumentative with the people on set, late for the shoot and the worst performer of the day) saw her in the bottom two with Christian, who was criticized for being "boring" in person and showing no variations in her shots. Melrose was seen to have more potential than Christian. As Tyra handed in the last picture to Melrose, warning her never to "be a diva" again, Christian was the first girl eliminated.

The Girl Who Hates Her Hair

First aired September 27, 2006

The girls met with the two Jays at breakfast where they discussed possible makeovers the girls might have. When they returned to the house, Tyra surprised them with their living room being turned into a makeshift salon, where they received flowery new makeovers. Megan, Megg, Brooke, Anchal, Eugena and CariDee embraced their new looks with gratitude. Behind the scenes, Michelle said she did not know how to work her new makeover and that she is bad at anything "girly" and Amanda stated she and her twin sister can no longer switch places and trick people due to getting two very different makeovers. Furthermore, Melrose, Monique, A.J., and Jaeda all voiced their disapproval. Jay Manuel lost his patience after the makeovers were done, saying that some of the attitudes were disrespectful and insulting to the salon management.

The challenge this week involved make-up application, speed and presentation. The models each raced against the clock to put together their entire look, from make-up to wardrobe, during very brief elevator stops on a trip to the top of a skyscraper. Megg and Monique did not get into the elevator at floors one and fifteen respectively and were eliminated and disqualified in the challenge before getting to present their looks. Eugena was determined the winner by CoverGirl, Queen Latifah and her make-up artist, Roxanna Floyd. Her prize was an exclusive photo shoot for the CoverGirl Web site, which she chose CariDee and Jaeda to share.

Back at the house, Monique took out her frustration of her loss and disqualification in the challenge on the all other girls by deliberately hogging the phone for more than three and a half hours knowing that other girls (particularly Melrose, who needed to speak to her landlord about potentially getting her deposit back) needed to use it. This caused an intense verbal confrontation with Anchal who criticized Monique for her bad attitude and tried forcefully to hang up her call.

The photo shoot required the girls to shine through quirky, extravagant wigs and hair pieces. Melrose turned the tables and delivered a powerful shot making up for last week's bad performance and receiving the first call-out whilst being told that this a model that should wake up for $10,000 a day. Michelle, Amanda, Anchal, A.J. and CariDee also impressed the judges. Both Jaeda and Megan greatly struggled, delivering incredibly weak shots, and they landed in the bottom two. Despite Jaeda's constant struggles dealing with her new short hair, she was saved and Megan was surprised to be the second girl eliminated as a result of her shrinking in front of the camera.

The Girl Who Goes To Texas

First aired October 4, 2006

J. Alexander prepared the girls with a unique runway exercise from atop a 1/2" wide tight rope. When they got back to the house, the rivalry between Melrose and Monique continued, as Monique barged in on Melrose using the phone demanding to use it. Melrose slammed the door on Monique, who then retaliated by taking her undergarments off and rubbing them on Melrose's bedsheets. The next day, their runway skills were put to the test in their rockiest challenge yet, with Bre Scullark (Cycle 5) appearing as a guest judge. The contestants were asked to strut across cobblestones in high heels while wearing masks which blocked their vision. The winner of the challenge, A.J., picked CariDee and Megg to jet off to work a star-studded Dennis Quaid Charity Weekend Fashion Show with some past seasons' contestants in Austin, Texas. Brooke was upset that she wasn't chosen as it would take place in her home state.

Later, the girls had to rock a catwalk suspended over water, however Monique's health took a turn for the worse and she landed in the hospital suffering from dehydration. She decided not to participate in the photo shoot and went back to the house instead. Some of the girls struggled on the uneven runway, especially Eugena, who lost her balance and slipped off the runway. At judging, A.J. was highly praised for winning the challenge and her high fashion look/photo and this gave her the first call-out. Jaeda's improvement from the last week, Melrose's "peeved off" expression and Brooke's "wind in the hair" walk were also complimented. Anchal, Michelle, Megg, Amanda and CariDee were also safe from elimination. In the end, it was Eugena and Monique who landed in the bottom two, both for the first time. Eugena for thinking that she was better than the girls in cycle 6 when she "was nowhere near their level" and Monique for not pulling through like other models in previous cycles (specifically Danielle Evans, the cycle 6 winner who did a photo shoot on an elephant deep in the jungle in Thailand after leaving the hospital where she was as a result of food poisoning and dehydration) and ultimately for both their inability to translate their beauty into film. While Eugena was saved, Monique was subsequently eliminated for her seeming lack of drive and enthusiasm after Tyra and her judge gang sang a blues song that Monique doesn't want to be here anymore. As Eugena joined the nine other surviving contestants, Monique left the judging panel without saying goodbye and she felt like her time on Top Model was a waste.

The Girl Who Joined the Circus

First aired October 11, 2006

All the girls, particularly Melrose were relieved that Monique had finally been eliminated at the last judging panel. The contestants learned to strike an extreme pose from a contortionist, and model coach, Stacey McKenzie, where Anchal surprised herself with her flexibility. Back at the house, Anchal's newly found confidence took a knock when Anchal, Megg, A.J. and CariDee overheard Melrose talking about her in the hottub with Jaeda, Michelle, Amanda and Brooke and got very upset. The models then had a dinner at the restaurant with Twiggy. The next day, they took part in a challenge to show an extreme pose in designer Bao Tranchi's clothing and Erica Courtney jewelry. Eugena was chosen as the winner and won all the jewelry worn during the challenge, totaling $32,000. Melrose's self critique on how she could have done better annoyed the other girls, particularly Megg, who wanted Melrose to shut up and A.J. who felt that a lot of the girls would have liked to see Melrose eliminated. The following day, Tyra arrived at the house and had a talk with them.

The photo shoot this week was based on a circus freak show and the girls turned into various circus freaks as follows:

Model(s) Circus Freak
A.J. Cannibal
Amanda & Michelle Siamese twins
Anchal Giant lady
Brooke Rubber girl
CariDee Elephant girl
Eugena Bird lady
Jaeda Strong lady
Megg Bearded lady
Melrose Old face with a young body

During make-up, Jay called the girls to meet Seventeen magazine editor Atoosa Rubenstein. Megg and Jaeda struggled to convey their themes.

At judging, Melrose, A.J. and CariDee were hailed for their performances, with Eugena's huge improvement also noted, while Amanda, Michelle, Anchal, and Brooke were also safe from elimination. In the end, Jaeda landed in the bottom two with Megg, who was eliminated because of her inability to transfer her personality into her pictures and was losing faith in herself. A.J. was upset as Megg was her close friend in the house.

The Girl Who Punk'd Ashton

First aired October 18, 2006

A red carpet challenge with former judge Janice Dickinson left some of the girls speechless. Melrose's confidence won her the reward, which was to interview stars on the red carpet as part of Entertainment Tonight staff.

Back at the house, Michelle revealed that she might be gay or bisexual, to the surprise of her twin sister Amanda, who became noticeably more introverted after hearing this. While talking to Tyra, Amanda revealed that she was scared for her sister. She gradually came to terms with it and supported her sister when they revealed it to their mother over the phone.

The stars came out at a photo shoot where the contestants were transformed into celebrity couples, which were:

Model Celebrity Couples
A.J. Marc Anthony & Jennifer Lopez
Amanda Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore
Anchal Stedman Graham & Oprah Winfrey
Brooke Kevin Federline & Britney Spears
CariDee Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Eugena Jay-Z & Beyoncé Knowles
Jaeda Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston
Melrose Donald Trump & Melania Trump
Michelle Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi

Most of the girls embraced the challenge, but A.J. felt uncomfortable trying to portray the characters. During judging, the girls were asked to be impromptu correspondents and give their best commentary of red carpet footage featuring the ANTM judges, during which Brooke, Eugena and CariDee shone but A.J., Jaeda and Anchal let their self-consciousness show through. Brooke's fantastic photo and great performance at the judging test earned her a first call-out. CariDee, Amanda and Melrose also received praise for their overall performance as well.

In the end, A.J. and Jaeda were revealed to be in the bottom two, both because the judges weren't sure how much they cared about the competition. The call-out ceremony at judging concluded in a huge shocking surprise as Jaeda was saved for the third time over A.J., where despite doing consistently well throughout the competition, was eliminated as the judges felt that she had lost her drive.

The Girl Who Graduates

First aired October 25, 2006

Brooke received a box with a present from her parents, which contained her diploma from her high school graduation and decorations. Tyra then surprised the contestants in their backyard with a black-and-white beauty photo shoot where they would be wearing weird contact lenses to look scary yet retain their sex appeal. CariDee impressed Tyra with her confidence and expression, while Amanda and Melrose over-thought their poses. The girls had a lesson with Dita Von Tesse in burlesque at which Jaeda, Anchal, Michelle and Brooke struggled to be sexy, CariDee and Melrose were too sexual and Amanda and Eugena did well. The contestants were then put to the test by walking down the dinner table of Elite Models director Cathy Gould at her dinner party. Melrose won her third challenge and brought Amanda, Michelle, and Brooke for a Seventeen magazine editorial spread photo shoot as her reward.

To test their new sense about the fine line between 'sexy' and 'sleazy,' Jay Manuel met the contestants for a second photo shoot depicting romance novels with model Fabio.

Each girl had their own romance novel title, as follows:

Model Novel Title
Amanda The Other Woman
Anchal Love Pyramid
Brooke Don't Leave Me!
CariDee But... I Love Her
Eugena Oh No You Didn't!
Jaeda Nibble... In The Night
Melrose Lady Of The Night
Michelle Who's My Baby's Daddy?

At panel, Amanda, "Miss Most Improved" received the first call-out for her stunning profile shot with Fabio and high fashioned scary photo. Melrose, CariDee, and Anchal also shone. Jaeda and Michelle were called fifth and sixth as only their scary photos were deemed to be strong. Despite their bad takes at the photoshoot with Fabio, Eugena and Brooke were revealed as the bottom two. While the judges were irked at Eugena's mannerisms, they doubted Brooke's potential as a model thinking that she was more suited as a beauty queen and wondered whether she was just getting by on her vibrant personality. In the end, Eugena was saved for the second time because of her strong contacts photo and Brooke was ironically eliminated on the night of her high school graduation.

The Girls Who Made It This Far

First aired November 1, 2006

This episode recapped the process that the seven remaining models, including some never-before-seen footage.

One such scene was during the very first hour the girls entered the house, when they met their wardrobe stylist Charlie Altuna and makeup artist Sutan, who had with them a "Fashion Trash" bin, and confiscated whatever of the girls' clothing they deemed "unfashionable." However, after this abrupt event, the girls were brought to Skyla where they had five minutes to shop for "fashionable top model" clothing.

Footage included catfights between Melrose and Monique and then a number of girls (e.g. Megan, Michelle, Amanda and Jaeda) and Monique, after Monique had thrown almost every other foodstuff in the house into the trash can when she found out that her Doritos had been eaten. Annoyed to such an extent, Amanda then ran provocatively around the house opening every other closet that contained any remains of food, all the while shouting, "there's food there!"

Finally, the girls met with yoga instructor Shirley Archer for a relaxing time of meditation, and Jaeda impersonated Tyra when the girls staged a mock elimination ceremony in a dressing room. Right before announcing who was "going home," CariDee unexpectedly passed gas, which stopped all the girls and caused them to laugh.

The Girl Who Wrecks the Car

First aired November 8, 2006

The next day, the contestants headed to the beach where they met pro athlete and model Gabrielle Reece where she taught the girls the art of action modeling while they bumped, set and spiked to beach volleyball. Jaeda was excited to be doing something that she was already good at, while Anchal felt she looked unflattering in her swimsuit and was incredibly insecure throughout.

The girls got even more physical with NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett for a challenge where they had to take their own action shots using a remote controlled camera. Although accidentally denting Stanton's car, Michelle won the challenge and picked Amanda, CariDee, and Melrose to share her reward. Unknown to them, there was a reward challenge within the challenge prize, where the four girls had to race against the clock and don as many pieces of clothing within 30 seconds, as Eugena, Jaeda and Anchal who were not chosen to participate had to stand and watch. Melrose won the prize of $10,000 worth of clothing and jewelry.

Back at the house, the tension between Anchal and Melrose reached a boiling point when Melrose accused Anchal of being childish and disrespectful to others, causing a visibly affected Anchal to retreat to her room.

For the week's photo shoot, the girls received their first Covergirl assignment, shooting for TruBlend whipped foundation, modeling as space-sirens. They flew at a skydiving training facility, where many contestants had difficulty expressing grace inside a wind tunnel.

During judging, the girls had to act out a scene derived from a verb and adverb randomly drawn from a box as follows:

Model Verb Adverb
Amanda Ski Sadly
Anchal Dance Aggressively
CariDee Hide Dizzily
Eugena Shake Flirtatiously
Jaeda Skip Sensually
Melrose Box Joyfully
Michelle Swim Frightfully

CariDee received the first call-out for the second time in the competition. Melrose, Amanda and Michelle had also excelled throughout this week's photoshoot, while the judges appreciated the effort that Jaeda and Eugena demonstrated during the judging challenge despite delivering bad shots. Michelle and Anchal landed in the bottom two, both for the first time ever and due to their apparent lack of drive. Although the judges were turned off by Michelle's lack of drive, they decided that she was the stronger model and Tyra warned Michelle to show more passion and drive before she gets eliminated. Anchal was eliminated for letting her lack of self-confidence consistently hold her back and not trying "to fake it until she makes it" if she was so determined to be in the competition.

The Girl Who Breaks Down

First aired November 15, 2006

The girls met with acting coach Tasha Smith at the Los Angeles Repertory Company for acting lessons. All took turns performing exercises to learn how to break down their physical boundaries, where CariDee emotionally revealed that she had once contemplated suicide. Each girl then shot their own silent film, acting out the direction given to them. After an emotional day, CariDee was chosen as the winner, earning her a guest spot on The CW's One Tree Hill. The girls then viewed CariDee's winning silent film, which Tyra used to surprise them with a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

Once the girls landed in Barcelona, they were excited 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 Jaeda 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. Eugena and Melrose adapted well to the language and to their surroundings, while Amanda and Michelle were incredibly awkward with their male model, and Jaeda and CariDee greatly struggled with their lines.

Melrose was praised by the judges as giving the best performance, much to the annoyance of some of the other girls, while Eugena was hailed for her huge improvement. Amanda and Michelle's attempts at convincingly kissing their male model incited laughter from the panel, but the judges were unimpressed by CariDee and Jaeda's commercials.

CariDee was warned for letting her confidence get the better of her, but the judges deemed Jaeda as the weakest girl remaining and felt she had been given enough chances, although they sympathized with her situation with her male model. However, CariDee was spared and Jaeda was sent home, on her fourth appearance in the bottom two.

The Girl Who Sticks Her Foot In Her Mouth

First aired November 22, 2006

Shaken from her near elimination, CariDee struggled to rebound from an off week. In order to relieve some anxiety, the girls invited their Spanish models from their last commercial shoot over for dinner.

The next day, Tyra visited the girls and had a sit down talk about the harsh realities of the modeling industry. The girls then met up with Pancho Saula, the director of Elite Barcelona, who set up 10 go-sees for them to attend all around the city. Eugena and CariDee teamed up, as did the twins to a certain extent, while Melrose decided to hit the streets alone, a strategy that seemed to pay off as she managed to attend the most clients. The twins got lost, split up and were disqualified for arriving back late. Melrose won her fourth reward challenge and chose CariDee to share in her reward – a catered dinner at their apartment which Eugena was pleased that she was not chosen for this reward.

Model Designer Visited Designer Not Visited Model Booked End Result
Melrose out of Challenge Winner
Eugena out of Eligible
CariDee out of Eligible
Michelle out of Disqualified
Amanda out of Disqualified

For this week's photo shoot, the girls arrived at a bullfighting arena and met their photographer, Nigel Barker. CariDee was criticized by Jay Manuel in front of everyone for making an crude yet impulsive joke to Nigel Barker, asking him a stupid question, "Did you just remove that (referring to a large stick Nigel held) from your ass from the last panel?", which appeared to offend him and Melrose in the confessional said she could not believe what CariDee said (However, according to CariDee in an Entertainment Weekly online interview, it was edited to make him look offended when he actually recognized her humor and joked along with her). For the shoot, the girls had to pose as bullfighters in front of a live bull, though their bullfighting capes were edited in so that the girls were not genuinely harmed by the bull. At the photo shoot Eugena and Michelle (although tried to do worse) shone, while Melrose once again over-analyzed, Amanda struggled with her awkwardness and CariDee was distracted and worried about whether or not her comment to Nigel would affect her place in the competition.

At panel, the girls were asked to tell the judges who they felt had the most and least amount of potential to be the seventh winner of America's Next Top Model. Michelle's insecurities finally overwhelmed her as she broke down in front of the judges, conflicted by her doubts of whether she really wanted to be a model and stated that other girls (particularly Brooke Miller who was the sixth girl to be eliminated) "wanted it so badly". Eugena impressed the judges by acknowledging her improvement since the start of the competition and the "journey" she had been on. CariDee read out an apology letter to Nigel about her offensive comment to him which Tyra appreciated.

During deliberation, Eugena's picture provoked a hugely positive reaction and received the first call-out. Melrose and CariDee were called second and third, respectively. However the judges were torn between Michelle's identity crisis and questioned whether Michelle was sacrificing her place for her twin sister, Amanda, knowing that she wanted it more than her and would probably make better use of the winner's prize. Consequently, both the Babin twin sisters landed in the bottom two, where Tyra noted that Michelle (for the second time) had a natural talent however no passion, while Amanda (for the first time) had "all the drive in the world" although this was not seen completely in photos. In the end, it was Amanda's passion that won over Michelle's strong portfolio, and Michelle's lack of self-belief and passion got her eliminated.

The Girl Who Grates

First aired November 29, 2006

After returning from the last panel, Amanda received a note from her twin sister Michelle, who was the ninth girl to be eliminated from the competition. The girls traveled to a dance studio where they met flamenco dancer Nacho Blancho, who taught them the steps of the traditional Spanish dance. While Eugena breezed through the practice, Amanda's awkwardness once again became apparent.

Later that night, the girls shared a dinner with runway coach and judge Miss J. Alexander, before returning to their apartment to rehearse their dance steps. CariDee and Eugena repeatedly expressed their disdain for Melrose and wished for the two of them to be the Final Two. The next morning, the girls arrived at a majestic Spanish villa for their flamenco dance test, decked out in full flamenco attire. Melrose, who didn't practice earlier and said she would shine, was the only girl who made a mistake and later became tearful due to her frustration with herself. Nacho was impressed by Amanda's improvement however crowned Eugena the winner, who picked Amanda to share in her prize, which turned out to be three presents (Two for Eugena and one for Amanda) bearing clothes worn at the Custo Barcelona Fall 2006 collection.

For the photo shoot, the girls met with Jay Manuel who brought out Tyra Banks to assist. The girls were paired up to pose as nymphs floating on water as follows:

Group Models
1 Eugena & Melrose
2 Amanda & CariDee

While Melrose shone in the freezing water, Eugena delivered many blank shots and was unable to stay afloat. CariDee had to be pulled out from the cold water prematurely when she got hypothermia and started shivering uncontrollably, leaving Amanda to finish the remaining 50 frames by herself.

At panel, Melrose was the only girl to escape any negative critique from the judges and received the first call-out despite making a mistake during the challenged. They warned Eugena about her bland expressions, although her final photo was praised and she was called second. There were still reservations made about Amanda's stiffness and awkward posing, while CariDee was told about not speaking up and "listening to her body", although she was praised for not allowing the coldness to show on her face and producing numerous strong shots. After Melrose and Eugena received their photos during the call-out ceremony, Amanda and CariDee were revealed as the bottom two, both for the second time round in Barcelona; Amanda's look was edgy and high-fashion, however the judges worried if she was overly awkward and meek, while CariDee's look was classic, however she may not be able to handle the physical demands of being a model. Tyra ultimately handed the last photo to CariDee, congratulating her for making it to the final three and telling her to conquer her weaknesses. The remaining Babin twin, Amanda, was the tenth girl to be eliminated from the competition.

The Girl Who Becomes America's Next Top Model

First aired December 6, 2006

The final three met Jay Manuel to shoot their commercial for CoverGirl Outlast Double Lip Shine, where they met last cycle's winner Danielle Evans (Now known as "Dani"). First up was CariDee, whose natural enthusiasm shone through. While Eugena started off with many bland takes and took a while to warm up. Melrose came to set too over-prepared and faltered many times. During their CoverGirl print ad shoot, CariDee shone once again with her blissful look, Eugena managed to produce some passionate shots, but Melrose, affected by her earlier performance, once again stumbled.

At panel, CariDee redeemed herself with a strong CoverGirl print ad photo and commercial earning her the first call-out for the third time, leaving Eugena and Melrose in the bottom two to face elimination. The judges were disappointed that Melrose had failed to live up to her past performances, while there were still questions about Eugena's passion and overall performance. Ultimately, Melrose joined CariDee in the final two as Eugena was eliminated in her third bottom two appearance. Melrose was the first and the last girl to be in the bottom two this cycle and survived both times.

In preparation for their final runway challenge, Tyra had a sit-down talk with each girl along with life coach Dr. Michelle. Next, the final two met Jay Manuel at the final runway, where they had to play ghostly brides in wedding gowns designed by Victorio & Lucchino. The final show would be set in Antoni Gaudí's world-famous Park Güell.

As night fell on Barcelona, Danielle began the show while Melrose and CariDee kicked off their catwalk face-off. The second walk required the girls to stop and stare down each other halfway down the runway. An incident occurred when CariDee accidentally stepped on Melrose's train and ripped it in the middle of the runway. After a brief moment of shock, Melrose recovered quickly and continued her walk confidently. However, the drama escalated backstage as Melrose blamed CariDee for the torn gown. The final segment began with Jay Alexander dressed in a black wedding gown running out on the catwalk, screaming theatrically while Tyra, Twiggy and Nigel impressed, and the girls followed suit. The show ended with CariDee and Melrose's final walk at the runway, together with their last face-off pose before vanishing from the runway.

Back in the judging room (with Jay Manuel present as a fifth judge), the judges were torn between CariDee's strong CoverGirl photo but over-the-top performance in the fashion show and Melrose's superior runway walk but weak CoverGirl photo. The judges appreciated Melrose's fashion knowledge and persistence to win the competition, but she came off as too clinical and perhaps not likable. Meanwhile, CariDee was lambasted for her sometimes too loud personality and lack of focus, although she had the much sought after "x-factor."

The girls returned and Tyra announced CariDee as the seventh winner of America's Next Top Model upsetting Melrose.

Summaries

Call-out order

Tyra's call-out order
OrderEpisodes
1234567910111213
1 MelroseMichelleMelroseA.J.CariDeeBrookeAmandaCariDeeMelroseEugenaMelroseCariDeeCariDee
2 JaedaCariDeeAnchalJaedaEugenaMelroseCariDeeMelroseEugenaMelroseEugenaMelroseMelrose
3 MichelleA.J.AmandaBrookeA.J.AmandaAnchalJaedaAmandaCariDeeCariDeeEugena
4 EugenaMeganMichelleAnchalMelroseCariDeeMelroseAmandaMichelleAmandaAmanda
5 BrookeAnchalA.J.MichelleMichelleMichelleJaedaEugenaCariDeeMichelle
6 AnchalMeggCariDeeMelroseAnchalEugenaMichelleMichelleJaeda
7 A.J.MoniqueBrookeMeggAmandaAnchalEugenaAnchal
8 ChristianAmandaEugenaAmandaBrookeJaedaBrooke
9 MeggJaedaMeggCariDeeJaedaA.J.
10 MeganEugenaMoniqueEugenaMegg
11 CariDeeBrookeJaedaMonique
12 AmandaMelroseMegan
13 MoniqueChristian
     The contestant was eliminated
     The contestant won the competition

Photo Shoot Guide

Other Cast Members

Makeovers

Post-Top Model careers

References

External links

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