In one episode, America's Next Top Model British Invasion went from the top five contestants down to the final three.
'Top Model' Cycle 18 has revolved around seven novice American models competing with seven former contestants of Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model. The final six (four Brits and two Americans) traveled to Macau--an island near Hong Kong.
On the tenth episode, the girls were challenged to act out a fight-scene with Asian actor and pop star Nicholas Tse. He chose Laura as the winner, which means she's been invited back to Hong Kong for a role in Tse's music video.
Fellow Top Model contestant Alisha was certain she should have won and expressed her displeasure, “I’m pissed off, big time!” Then Alisha suggested that Laura had won the challenge by "seducing" Tse. (FYI Tse and Laura were never alone together no footage showed her trying to seduce her fight scene costar.)
Still, Laura did admit she'd consider becoming intimate with the hot pop star if the opportunity arose. This led to some of the other girls insisting Laura has loose morals and is somehow "sleeping her way to the top."
The episode's photo shoot was on the Macau Tower, a 764-foot tall building which is the base of the for the world's highest bungee jump. The models were photographed by judge Nigel Barker while strapped in harnesses and trying to keep poses in windy conditions. Some of the girls were afraid of heights and had problems with the shoot.
The models with the least successful photos were Eboni Davis--an 18-year-old from Seattle, Washington--and Alisha White--a 20-year-old from South London, England. After some debate the Tyra informed Eboni she needed to pack her bags.
That's when Alisha dropped her bombshell, announcing, "I can't stay."
"You can't stay?" Tyra asked.
"I can't be selfish," Alisha explained. "When I know I need to do things for myself. I can't do it. I'm not going to take it away from them and I'm not going to take it from [Eboni]. So I would rather walk away to get my spirit back and to just feel like Alisha again. I'm not being ungrateful..."
"I don't see it as being ungrateful," Tyra noted. "There's no wrong in you walking away. So you can leave--but Eboni is leaving with you," Tyra added (dashing Eboni's hopes that she might have gotten a last minute reprieve).
"My journey here on Top Model has been a lot more lows than highs when it comes to panel, which is unfortunate because America never got to see the person who I know is inside of me," Eboni said after her elimination.
Meanwhile, Alisha said, "Britain's Next Top Model was hard, but this is harder and I don't want to forget myself. Every time I see those pictures come up, I can't relate to it. I just feel like it's not me. I'm there but I'm not there. I'm pretending to be happy but I'm not, and I tried to be strong, but I physically don't feel strong. It's just too much. Like my mom said, 'If you feel like you lost your spirit, then you come home.' And I have."
With the two latest eliminations, only three finalists remain in the running to become America's Next Top Model:
- Once again Laura Lafrate, the twenty-year-old model from Scotia, New York received the first call out (as she has done two previous times, including when posing with silk worms). She has never been in the bottom two and is now the only American girl still in the running. Laura is likely to be in the top two. But can she win Top Model Cycle 18?
- Sophie Sumner is a 21-year-old model from Oxford, England. She was the runner-up on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model's Cycle 5. On America's Next Top Model Sophie has been in the top three a total of seven times, but only called first once. Still, Sophie has never been in the bottom two and she's the Brit most likely to win. Or will she be a two-time runner-up?
- Annalese Dayes is a 24-year-old model from London, England who came in seventh on Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model's Cycle 5. On America's Next Top Model British Invasion Annalese has been in the bottom three four times, and has never been the first to receive a call out. With that track record, she's the least likely of the remaining contestants to come out as the ANTM winner. But there's something magnetic about Annalese and we'll probably see her on TV again.
