Jessica Wins!!! ~ AsNTM

Yesterday night was the final episode of AsNTM. Only 3 girls left, Jessica from Thailand, Kate from Taiwan and Stephanie from Philippines. Can you believe, Stephanie is top 3! She was not really a strong contender throughout the journey but she always save and showed some improvements towards the end. I missed half of the episodes as my husband was playing PS3 & I didnt remember it was the final night. I only managed to watch half and got to know the result.

Jessica was actually 27! I only got to know her age at this point. They never mentioned it before. They were not doubting her talents but they were quite hesitant on her age. She told the judges that she started at a late age because she had no chance, how her grandma passed away leaving her with no one and she had to take care of herself.

Obviously during the result discussion I already knew it would be Jessica based on the judges comments. Tyra Banks was also there! I was ecstatic to see her. Omg, the pioneer herself was there to celebrate the result of AsNTM.

So as soon as the result was being announced, Jessica stepped forward and cried. She deserves to win and there is certainly no doubt in everyone's mind. She is a humble contestant, never even once speak full of herself. I secretly think that she actually supposed to win all challenges but they dont want to make it so obvious, therefore they had to pick some other winners from time to time. Wow.. they rarely make the right decision but this time it's the best one :-)

Really enjoyed watching this show and satisfied with all the phases. I will upload the recap of final episode later! It's still not yet in Youtube. Hang in there!:)

AsNTM~Fast Recaps on Ep.7,8,9 & 10

Episode 7~
Following Rachel's elimination on the 6th week, Kate was very heartbroken. She felt like she lost a best friend. Everyone comforted her & again Helena showed the bad side of herself & commented on that situation.
During a make-up challenge, Sophia had the most advantage on that area. She was some sort like an expert and won the challenge. I also agree with that. She was very calm and done her make up pretty well. The worst was Melissa, she started to blush her face all pinkish till it became red. Kate being playful, asked who was the second runner-up, and the invited judge answered it was Helena. For a split second, she was angry with Sophia and everyone thought that was funny and kinda pitied on her. Again, she showed a bad side of her and it kinda overshadowed her talent. Sophia won a spa treatment & chose Kate as the partner. Meanwhile the other girls in the house sabotaged her other 'prizes' for the challenge by replacing the real prizes with random things such as toilet papers and everyone cracked with laughters including me while seeing her opening the prize. She was all for the game but suddenly she went upset cos her present was opened without her permissions and she felt that was unrespectful. I kinda agree. During a nature challenge,  Steph nailed it while Jessica showed a perfection once again. Sophia again gave a blank expression and didnt manage to post well. During the elimination, Helena was being harshly critique by the judge Nadya but I kinda agree with what the judge said. Helena had a panic attack and broke down in front of the girls. Melissa was out this time.

Episode 8~
The girls talked about Helena & Sophia moved to Steph's room. Helena said she wasnt affected by it. During model lunch challenge, Nadya said to Helena about the previous incident. She told Helena to shake it off. The girls were presented by some food and had to eat with chopsticks. Aastha was the worst, she didnt know how to use chopsticks at all. Jessica on the other hand was so cool and calm,  and ate her food very delicately. She won the mini challenge and went to a spa with Nadya. During a red carpet event, the girls wore Farah Khan dresses. Helena eyes were both very sore due to her crying a lot the other night.Again, Jessica was pulling it off & was great in socializing. She was really calm & cool talking to random strangers. But Helena was the best and she won the challenge, bringing away a Farah Khan dress. She was absolutely natural in socializing. The strangers were like her friends. She deserved to win. Back in the model house, Sophia confronted Helena but her accusation was quite weak, she said Helena was attacking her the other day but I thought she was doing the same thing now so that means she was also the same kind of person.  The girls later went to a historical building in Singapore & make a photo shoot wearing the same heavy red dress. Helena shot was the best but I thought Sophia's one was more better, she didnt touch the dress but it was flying up like a bird. So beautiful. Nadya praised Helena & supported her again. At the end, Sophia and Steph were at bottom 2 but both were saved and no elimination this week.

Episode 9~
6 girls left. Sophia couldn't accept that she was at bottom 2. She said she couldnt understand it. Kate and Jessica was backing her up. Meanwhile, Steph and Helena talked with each other.
During a playboy fragrance challenge, Helena nailed it and won. I thought everyone was doing great. Back in the model house the girls swam together. Steph told that she had drown once before and quite afraid of water. During an underwater photoshoot, Helena was overdoing her shots, even thought she had some ideas in mind and sort of creative, but the judges didnt think so. I thought she made a great effort even though it didnt delivers very well. At the elimination, Helena was at bottom 2 and she was eliminated. I dont think she deserves that, theres so much in here that she still hasnt give to the audience and the competitions. But all the other 5 girls deserves more and maintain in their places.

Episode 10~
It was a motion editorial for Subaru XV. Steph was sad as she thought she was the weakest among all the girls. Her motion editorial was just fine but not special. Jessica on the other hand pulled it off and really impressed everyone including the judges. She won the challenge and the client also liked her editorial. She was assigned to be a sophisticated woman having a tea at a cafe.
During a studio photoshoot, Jessica again won the challenge. She started to show off all her talents and impressively brings all her talents out from herself. It was really effortless and she really deserved to win. On the other hand Aastha was doing badly. I dont think they should keep her any longer. There is zero self confidence in her. She thought she was giving the best but she didnt. Her eyes look tired and she didnt show any sign of seriousness. It was like she was pull back and down. At the elimination, she was finally chose to be eliminated and leave Sophia, Kate and Jessica for the finals.

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 6

Not sure how many times already, again, I disagree with Helena on Melissa's issue. But Helena is still my favourite nevertheless. When Melissa was selected as one of the contestant in asntm, it shows that she got some potentials that were recognised by professionals. People should respect that and give her a break. It was not her fault that she was chosen despite her height, so it was unnecessary to give her a hard time. Plus, Melissa is a very nice person, she didn't do or act anything nasty to anyone in the model house. To look down on other people, that's quite normal but to critic about one's physical like height, is something uncalled for. "So Helena, plsss don't do it again to other people in the future. Hope never got to see you being bitchy again k! Hehe.."

I really do adore Helena. To me, she should continues keeping her high determinations which is great but at the same time she should improves her social skills. It doesn't matter if you don't like being around people that much but instead of saying nasty things, it's nicer to keep rude comments to yourself. To me, that is not being hypocrite. Humans have feeling and it is a must to show respects with each other. Her comments could be facts, but they were not constructive. And you cannot succeed alone especially in the modelling and fashion industries. Not that I know much about these industries but obviously you are working with people and getting people happy to work with you is all that matters.

During the salon challenge which they had to make a script on their own commercials for Tresemme's product, Aastha was the winner but I don't really agree with that. There was no enthusiasm on her face and there was no confidence in her voice projection. I think if Melissa could bring down just a little bit of her high enthusiasm, she could win the challenge. She had potential in it but kinds of overdoing it.

I was commenting unfairly about the girls based on my observation during my first time watching this show which was already at episode 9. But now after I've seen from the beginning, I think I like each and every girl that was selected as the contestant. Each of them have their own unique personality which appears quite pleasant.

The girls were given the chance to call their loved ones and Jessica spoke with her bf. OMG, her bf was so sweet, I was so touched hearing their conversation. She confided in him and let her feelings out about her struggles, and her bf kept on saying 'You can do it, baby' and after the phone call, she became much better and stronger. If she wins, she should thank her bf for giving a great support.

Kate and Rachel were in bottom 2- they formed a tight friendship with one another and it was quite sad to see both of them in bottom 2... At the end, as I guessed, Rachel was eliminated and Kate was save. Quite sad, I even shed tears, tsk tsk...

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1 - Episode 5

The girls found out that they need to share beds now. Helena had to share it with Aastha and Sophia, leaving both of the girls with rage. They plainly distaste Helena and it obviously showed on TV.

Filantropi wrote a goodbye-letter mentioning every girls in it. For Helena, she wrote a reminder and tell her to not be mean to the other girls especially Melissa. I seriously think it wasn't necessary to embarrass her like that, especially she was still in the model house and still had to face everyone. Earlier, some of the girls were reading the letter in the kitchen and was focusing at Helena's part of the msg. Then she walked in when the girls were laughing about her, and Kate gave a little jump when she saw Helena was behind her. I felt sorry for Helena, she realised that the girls were obviously talking about her. To cover the awkward situation, Rachel asked Helena to read the note - She unnecessarily had to deal with the note in front of all the rest. Filantropi should not do that.

The 1st challenge was a group challenge, whereby the girls were divided into groups based on their roommates. Each group was given a theme & need to symbolize the theme in their clothing and overall looks. 1st group was Rachel, Melissa & Step and they need to give a sexy look. 2nd group was Trang, Jessica & Kate and they need to give an edgy look. The 3rd group was Helena, Aastha & Sophia and they need to give a quirky look. Overall, the 2nd group was the winner but as an individual winner it went to Jessica. She got some cash prize for shopping & bought a little something for the girls. mmm That was very nice of her too, just like Trang.

For the 2nd challenge, the girls were brought to Nongsa Point Marina, Indonesia to have photo shoots. The theme was top model vacation and was won by Kate for the first time. She was very ecstatic. For the first time, she won a photo challenge best shot. Good for her.

I did agree with the judges, she look really stunning in this pose. Didn't seem to show a playful lady that she is.

Helena had a conversation with Stephanie and expressed her feelings about the situation she was facing right now. Steph said Helena was alone and it appeared as mean to the other girls, but no one ever got close with Helena, so they dont really know the person she is. Helena was having a hard time to get a friend and constantly tried to make some friends but always misinterpreted by the other girls especially Sophia who thought Helena was being manipulative. I cant deny that Helena was a bit mean, when she spoke about Melissa.That girl should give Melissa a break.

Trang was eliminated due to her poor in communication in English. Everyone was surprised, and it proves that English is very important, regardless the look.

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 4

11 girls still remained in this episode, Aastha was saved when Bei Si was eliminated. However, she was still complaining & crying about her new hair-style. Luckily for her, Trang was there to be a shoulder to cry on.

I just couldn't seemed to understand why she didn't move on, her hair wasn't that bad. But Helena said Aastha is the kind of person who loves to complaint a lot, so I guess there's nothing to wonder about.

This time, Joey visited the model house & gave them a challenge of photo shoot - being sexy.
In this challenge, Helena and Jessica were both excellent, they had use their prop very well. Helena posed very sexily with her telephone prop and was the winner of this small challenge, leaving the girls fuming due to her success of winning too many challenge in a row. Aastha said, "She just won because she got a perfect prop". Someone being jealous, huh?

As the prize, Helena got to pick 2 of the girls for a dinner with the judges - Nadya, Joey and Todd. She picked Rachel and Gee, but they were both disappointed with her as she was too controlling on the conversation with the judges during the dinner. She was the only one speaking too much and asking too many question, leaving the other 2 girls out of chance to speak. To me, what was their problem? It was Helena's prize, and she got every rights to enjoy her prize more. She was doing the right thing. The 2 girls were just being ungrateful.

Earlier before the dinner, Helena invited the girls for swimming, but they all ignored her. Again, Sophia misinterpreted Helena's intention. I was very tired of Sophia too.

Later in the episode, Helena spoke with Jessica, she tried to win Jessica to be her close friend. But as I expected, many of the girls seemed to think that Helena was being manipulative. I actually understood her situation and felt for her. She certainly didn't try to control anyone, all she was doing was just trying to find a close friend. Someone who could actually see her as a friend, not an enemy.

The second challenge for the girls was a boxing photo shoot. Kate was being too playful with the boxing props and judge Daniel scolded her, leaving her feeling too embarrassed. During the shoots, Helena was overdoing her sexiness, pulling her clothes here and there while Melissa showed some good progress. She was praised by the judges as they could recognised her hard work. I personally thought Sophia's shot was the best and yes, she did won the challenge.

During the elimination, Kate wrote a letter to the judges to explain herself and to prove that she too, was a serious contestant. She read the letter out loud in front of the judges & they looked satisfied with her effort.

Filantropi and Gee were both eliminated as the judges thought that there was no more rooms for improvement for the both of them. I kinda agree with the judges, but if either 1 should stay in the competition, it would better be Gee as her talent outshines more than Filantropi.

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 3

Rachel was back safe & sound. So, this week the girls had to do some hair make-overs!
Almost everyone was freaking out and wondering what kind of hair make over would they get for themselves. Just like American Next Top Model, all the girls were anxious and some were excited.

Some turned out having great hairs that really suited them, while others got an okay styles. There were also some whose faces were totally changed after the make-overs.

First of all, I absolutely love my favorite Helena's "Victoria Beckham Bob-cut style". But it was so sad to lost those gorgeous long hair of hers. I prefer longer hair but short hair suits her all the same. But I thought hers was a bit longer than Victoria's Bob-cut.

Here's Helena with her new hair:-

I thought Melissa's hair was the best. Before the make-over, she had a black chest-length hair it looked so boring. They colored her hair brown. She looked more sophisticated in her new hairstyle with bangs.

Here's Melissa with her new hair:-

While everyone kinda likes their new hairstyles, Aastha on the other hand cried with her new look-they cut her hair really short making her look like a guy. She made such a big fuss about it even after they were back at the model house- I thought it was kinda okay looking but her original ones was better. I seriously hate very short hair.

Back in the model house, they talked about Melissa. She was such a food lover & was eating too much even in front of the camera. I envy her for still having a model figure despite her eating habit.

The 2nd challenge was a photo shoot representing animals from the Chinese's zodiac. They each have to dress & pose like the animal from the Chinese zodiac which was assigned to them. I thought everyone was doing well but I personally think the most outstanding shoot were Helena's (Tiger) & Gee's (Ox).

Filantropi showed a bit of an improvement during this challenge.She was a dragon.

Gee appeared like she was very off at the set, but her photo turned out great and was praised by the judges.

During the elimination, Helena was criticized by Nadya for her tops- the judge said it looked like one giant-square & that it didn't suits her at all cos she is busty & has no shape. I still think she looks great and sexy.

Bei si (who portrayed a dog in this challenge) didn't make a satisfactory progress and she was eliminated during this episode. I couldn't agree more with the judges. She was just an ordinary classic face of China & doesn't really shines among the other girls.

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 2

Moving on from my previous post, there were 13 girls remained. Last episode, Kyla from Singapore was eliminated.

I could not really recognize her most of the time. She was not really a model-like type in my opinion. Her face was almost blank in all her shots. So I quite agree with the judges.

This episode, for the 1st challenge it was also something to do with runaway catwalk but this time, it was in a dining restaurant and again, the judges were presented to scrutinize the contestants.

Trang, who was the most experienced in catwalk was generous & kind enough to all the girls for giving them a bit of a catwalk lesson & help to improve them. Sophia was a bit unsure about the lesson, she said something like, "Everybody thinks Trang seems to know runaway better, so I guess I would also need to join the girls & learn some lessons from her." But she was such an ignorant person & couldn't really agree with Trang's comment on her catwalk style.

Earlier in the model house, Joey gave a surprise visit with a celebrity runaway coach, Adam William & taught the girls on a proper catwalk. Adam was really funny & I enjoyed his presence. He really likes Sophia's catwalk & praised her, making her said "Trang definitely made me kind of doubt myself, so .. not anymore.." - Seriously? Trang was just helping out.

The winner for this challenge was Trang & she got to pick 2 of the girls to go for a dinner. It was Helena's birthday & she was upset that Trang didn't choose her but her disappointment was redeemed back by a surprise gift from the other girls in the model house - she got a card, cake & kisses from them. Aww that was nice!

2nd challenge was a group shoot for Harper's Bazaar magazine. Filantropi was the worst, she had a very blank face although everything else about her were working quite ok.

She & Melissa were both kinda weak in this challenge. 

The best individual shot was won by Aastha while for group, was won by Group 2- Aastha, Bei Si, Sophia & Trang. I thought Sophia's one was the best.

Sophia was standing in the middle

During the elimination, my favorite Helena was a number 4 person being called by Nadya. Gee & Steph were in bottom 2 but fortunately they were both save as Monica from Thailand had left the competition due to her father's health condition.

Didn't really have much chance to see her talent... Mmmm...

I feel it wasn't fair that Thailand got 2 representatives.

Anyway, Rachel fainted at the end of the elimination & she was brought to the hospital. Apparently it turned out it was due to her heart unusual fast-beating.

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1- Episode 1

I had planned to catch up with all the past episodes of AsNTM which I had missed, from episode 1-9 and finally managed to watch all of them yesterday and the day before. I am soooo head over heels with this TV show & enjoyed watching them so much. I can't wait to watch the future episodes & finally to find out who is the winner.

I really hope it would be Jessica, who represents Thailand.

Remember my past entry on this topic, how I highly praised Helena?

As I had already watched the full episode, it turned out I kinda understand now why all the girls felt the way they did towards her. I admit as I was watching the show I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed with her myself BUT that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to win! I still think she should be the winner all the same, based on her pure determination and talent. Oh! and she was representing Hong Kong.

So on this 1st episode, I got to learn the 1st prices!

Just a recap-they include a modelling contract covering UK & Europe with London base Storm models including a 3-months all expenses paid working trip to London, cover shoots for Harper's Bazaar magazine,

a cash price of Sing.Dollar 100,000, a contract to become the face of Canon campaign 2013 & drive away a new Subaru XV.

Wow! That's GRAND!

Meet the Judges 

❤"Singapore Most Gorgeous Woman"- Nadya Hutagalung

❤Fashion photographer- Todd Anthony Tyler

❤Model mentor- Joey Mead King

❤Fashion Director- Daniel Boey

Meet the Contestants

❤Aastha - Nepal

❤Sophia - Japan

❤Melissa - Malaysia

❤Bei Si - China

❤Stephanie - Philippines

❤Jessica - Thailand

❤Trang - Vietnam

❤Kate - Taiwan

❤Jee - Korea

❤Rachel - India

❤Monica - Thailand (2 person representing Thailand - is it fair?Mmm..)

❤Filantropi - Indonesia

❤Kyla - Singapore

❤Helena - Hong Kong

~The 1st challenge was a runaway challenge which put Trang as the winner. As the reward, she received a 5000 Sg dollar to buy a whole new wardrobe. Oh God, I would be so ecstatic if I were in her shoes! So she went shopping & generously bought some things for the rest of the girls - wow that was very nice of her. And I thought she is beautiful too, she has this very unique model-like face & her runway catwalk-it was phenomenal. Unfortunately her English was very bad & it didn't really help her that much. Btw, she was representing Vietnam.

~On the 2nd challenge, the girls were instructed to give some quirky looks in the photo shoots. Quirky to me was never before heard, and it was not use that often so I was also confuse as much as most of them. Lucky for Helena, she got it right in her shots & won the challenge - she knew what quirky means, alright :-)

I thought her shot was the best & agree with the judges for their decision. The others just had some normal model-pose & didn't really deliver quirkiness.

Check out my updates on the next episode! ^_^

I beg to differ!! ^Asia's Next Top Model^

I know some of u might not fancy the famous tv series Asia's Next Top Model. I've a friend who looks like she might be crazy about the modelling world, as she adores fashion so much & her life evolves around lots of girlfriends, those kind of girl who likes drama, being the centre of attention and looking for popularities. Plus, she has a very nice figure like a model herself. But she never even once watch such shows. And I thought she would love it, given the fact that her life got so much similarities with the models from the show, but I thought wrong.

Who could have expected. Me on the other hand loves my own company and hate a bunch of pretty girls who act lame & always have attitude problems. Surprisingly, I love this show despite the person I appears to be. I once heard from another friend of mine, about the unfairness result produced by the judges when comes to the elimination part. They always save the wrong girl & eliminate the one who should stay longer in the competition. And because of that many have stop to watch this show. I totally agree with my friend, but despite all the criticism, I really do fancy this series. I love the drama, the excitement, the attitudes, the challenges, the pretty faces and the talents. Ahhh I just love this show ^_^ It's just soo exciting!

And it's not as easy as everyone thought it would be. It's not just all about catwalks and posing for photo shoots. There are so much more which includes tough challenges that most people couldn't do. I've always adore those models from this Tyra Bank's shows and appreciate their hard works. I could see that the road to the modelling success are so tough and they still work hard to achieve it. They are definitely not lame. Somehow they inspire me to work hard in achieving whatever my dreams are.

I followed some seasons in America's Next Top Model, but ever since I got to know that they are adapting to Asia's version, I was so thrilled. However, sadly I never got the chance to watch any of the episodes as my husband is not really into this shows. Every time the show was on, my husband was always there conquering the remote control and switched to other channels. I always missed my favourite shows (some of the less good part in marriage life haha)

So today I was alone at home and I got the privilege of owning the remote in my hands and I finally got to watch this show which was already at the 9th episodes. It's better late than never right? I got so excited with this shows that I googled it up and found their website!!! That means I got to catch up with all the episodes that I'd missed. ^_^

Check this out to see their full episodes, the judges, the contestants and all u need to know about Asia's Next Top Model ^_^

http://www.asiasnexttopmodel.tv

There are 14 contestants in this shows but as of today, there are only 6 contestants left. Check out the website to know all the contestants but here are the top 6:

1. Aastha Pokharel, from Nepal

2. Jessica Amornkuldilok from Thailand

3. Stephanie Retuya from Philippines

4. Helena Chan from Hong Kong

5. Kate Ma from Taiwan

6. Sofia Wakabayashi from Japan

My favourite was Helena Chan from Hong Kong, but unfortunately she was eliminated in this episode. I strongly disagree with the judges decision to eliminate Helena. To me, she is very talented in the sense of her creativity and confidence and so much more. She was also the strongest contender in the competition. I thought she would at least be the second runner up. I bet all the girls were surprised too, I could see their expressions after hearing the result delivered by the judge Nadya.

Earlier during this episode Helena won 2 of the challenges; Playboy Fragrance Video Challenge and Red Carpet Challenge. She excelled in both challenges and outshine others in the competition. She carried herself with confidence despite the criticism thrown her way. Throughout her existence, they always seemed to highlight Helena's attitude problem which to me was unfair. That seemed like a decision influenced by personal and emotional's sides, not a professional ones. She was there to win the competition, not to make friends, so, the hell with attitudes.

To me, as long as she delivers her tasks well, that's more than enough. I thought the judges knew better. But I was wrong. We know there are a lot of girls who have attitude problems, but she is different from others, she only reacts to those girls who step on her foot. She never act sucks for nothing. I believe many people can see that. She is very competitive & wanted to win the competition so badly since day 1. Prior to that, she had taken all challenges seriously & always think out of the box when given a challenge, but at the end the judges didn't appreciate it & told her she was putting a lot of pressure on herself. It feels sucks when someone that determined being accused of putting to much pressure on herself. Like seriously? In a competition if u always relax u will definitely loose. Have u heard the story about the slow turtle and the proud rabbit? I guess u got my point.

So anyway, I won't watch the cycle 1 anymore cos I don't have any favourites left. All of them are not as talented as Helena & I am so frustrated with the judges being so biased to save up an obviously weak contestants like Stephanie and Sofia. I will definitely want to know who's the winner at the end and I hope it's gonna be Jessica from Thailand. She is such a nice and soft-spoken girl.

Check out their shots~

From left up: Aastha(Nepal), Bei Si(China), Filantropi(Indonesia), Helena(Hong Kong), Rachel(India), Jessica(Thailand) & Stephanie (Philippines)

From left bottom: Kyla(Singapore), Melissa(Malaysia), Sofia(Japan), Kate Ma(Taiwan), Jee(Korea), Trang(Vietnam) & Monica(Thailand)

Aastha



Kate Ma

Sophia

Stephanie

Jessica

*****And~ my favourite Helena Chan*******