Americas Next Top Model :: Season 2 :: Episode 9
(Information Copied From The UPN Website)
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APRIL TAKES HER LEAVE
After weeks of working hard to become AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL, the girls finally let off steam in Milan with some cute Italian men. A night of uninhibited flirting leads Shandi , the 21-year-old Walgreen's clerk from Kansas City, Missouri, to cheat on her boyfriend back home. Somehow she is able to work through her crushing guilt and outperform April , the 23-year-old corporate business account manager from Miami Beach, Florida, who is sent home after not connecting emotionally with the camera.
ITALIAN SENSUALITY
The girls' second week in Milan begins with everyone realizing that with each girl who leaves, they are one step closer to their dream. Yoanna , the 23-year-old babysitter from Jacksonville, Florida, knows she needs to work on her body to step up the competition. According to April, being over analytical is a weakness for her. Shandi misses her boyfriend, Eric, terribly, but the other huge part of her wants to be AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL.
The girls get Tyra Mail and are off to start their next assignment. They walk into the showroom of Stephen Fairchild, a noted Italian fashion designer. He tells them that he is going to teach them about "Italian sensuality." They are going to concentrate on bringing out the girls' good assets and hiding the less desirable ones. Each girl is told to pick one outfit that she thinks is sexy.
April comes out with a white double-breasted raincoat. Stephen tells her to take off the jacket to show her shoulders. He also thinks she has great legs and they are too covered up. Shandi is told that she chooses clothes that are too large and Stephen explains she has much better legs than she gives herself credit for. Next up is Mercedes , the 22-year-old waitress from Valencia, California, who is dressed in a completely black outfit. "I think we need to elongate you. We need to lengthen your legs," he tells her.
Yoanna shows off her idea of sexiness and sports a pair of black pants, a black shirt and a black coat. Steven then asks her to take off the jacket, and it becomes obvious that Yoanna needs to work on her midriff area. Stephen says there are ways of hiding her stomach, but she needs to work on getting rid of the excess weight.
Stephen then picks outfits for them to showcase what Italian sensuality really is. Mercedes says that she gets it now, that it's about "clothes fitting to your body properly and having a little pizzazz." Their assignment for the next day is to take 200 Euros, go to the flea market and pick outfits that scream Italian sensuality. The winner gets to spend an amazing night with special guests at Stephen's Italian villa.
PARTY TIME
Back at the apartment, Yoanna decides to call the Italian men they met last week on the Vespas. They agree to come over and hang out with the girls. "I've been so testosterone deprived, it's not fair," the very single Mercedes confesses. Upon hearing men are coming over, Shandi says that she misses her boyfriend, and she has no doubts in her mind that she wants to be with him.
The men arrive and the flirting begins. Yoanna immediately starts to eye Niccolo, who she sees as very passionate and sweet and sincere. Yoanna invites Niccolo into her room, where they talk about music, and the flirtation continues. One thing leads to another and they share a kiss.
A meddling Shandi and April break up their alone time, the girls decide to all go in the Jacuzzi. Everyone but April, who has a boyfriend, goes in. Seven people in a small hot tub leads to very close quarters. April finally gives in and joins the hot tub for some extra-flirtatious fun. "These girls, myself included, have been like monkeys in a cage, and you drop big bananas inside, of course they're going to tear the peels off," April confesses. Shandi begins to tear the peel off of one of the men and it is clear to April that they are going to hook up. Eventually, Shandi gives into the moment and starts kissing the boy before leaving the hot tub and taking him into her bedroom.
Time passes, and the girls kiss the men goodbye when they leave. All but Shandi, who is in her room crying on her bed. "He was there. I had all this tension, and I let it go. I just let it go," she says. The girls try to come in to comfort her, but Shandi can only cry and try to go to sleep.
THE MORNING AFTER
The next day, as the "blood starts to return to the head," Shandi begins to realize that what she did was very hurtful. She says she just wants to go home. But, they have a task to do that day and they all embark on that challenge. At the flea market, Yoanna, April and Mercedes all seem excited to be shopping for "Italian sensuality." Shandi's head is in another place and she never cracks a smile while shopping.
After the shopping, the girls find out they are going to Lake Como, which is about 30 to 45 minutes outside of Milan. It is the site of Stephen Fairchild's villa. During the car ride there, the girls are trying to have a good time, but it only leads Shandi to wonder if this is how she is going to be now. She finally has someone who cares about her and is proud of her, and is worried that her lapse in judgment will destroy it.
FLEA MARKET FASHION SHOW
Stephen puts them right to the test and asks to see the outfits they bought. April has chosen a black miniskirt with long black boots, topped off with a long sleeve white shirt and a fur scarf. April says she picked the outfit to show off her legs. Yoanna dressed herself in black high heels, a pair of dark brown pans and a light brown jacket with a fur collar. Mercedes is wearing a light brown leather jacket with long black pants. Shandi wanted to show off her legs so she picked an uneven black dress with a sleeveless black top and jacket.
Stephen is happy that Shandi is showing her legs. He says that Mercedes has such great shoulders and now she is covering them up. Yoanna is told that the proportions of her jacket make her pants look off-kilter. April is showing the perfect amount of skin, but her miniskirt is conflicting with her scarf. Stephen chooses a winner and it is Shandi. Shandi picks Yoanna to join her for dinner.
Dinner is served and the girls are brought down. Yoanna and Shandi get to sit at the table with the guests. April and Mercedes have to sit at the children's table by themselves over in the corner. While Shandi and Yoanna chat with influential fashion people, Mercedes battles a bug that has crawled onto their table.
ONE MINUTE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
After dinner, Shandi has to do what she calls the "most overwhelming, stressful thing (she) has had to do." She feels she has to call her boyfriend, Eric, and tells him what happened. She starts off by saying that she has done the worst possible thing she could have. Eric screams, "You had sex?" Shandi simply replies, "Yes." After a lot of screaming and crying on both ends of the line, he says he can't be with someone that cheated on him and hangs up her. Shandi is rolled up in a ball on the floor just sobbing. "I just want to see Eric and look him in the eyes and just let him know that I care about him," she says.
A PROVOCATIVE SHOOT
The next day, they are greeted by art director Jay Manuel in the backyard of the villa for the next photo shoot. This time, the girls will be in pairs and will have two photographers, Alex Martinengo and Amilcare Incalza. Nole Marin will be their stylist. The girls will get long Italian straight weaves. Jay then tells them that to create the sexy Italian fashion, the girls are going to be posing nude together. This excites April, but Yoanna is completely surprised.
Out on the docks, Yoanna and Shandi pose together. Yoanna works hard on hiding certain things and sculpts her body around Shandi's. After talking to her boyfriend last night, Shandi's mind is in a different place and Jay notices. Mercedes says she is not comfortable posing with April, but she goes forward with the shoot. Jay says that April over directed Mercedes and kind of took over Jay's job…not a good thing in Jay's mind.
COMING FROM THE HEART
That night the girls go to dinner with Tyra, where they talk about everything from girl on girl shoots to April's crush on judge Nigel Barker. Shandi asks Tyra about cheating and if she's ever done it. Tyra says no, but that she's been cheated on many times and it hurts. Tyra finally gets to the heart of Shandi's question and asks if Shandi cheated on her boyfriend. She says yes. "Everybody's messed up Shandi," Tyra says, "I'm not judging, but I think we have to fight against our carnal desires." Shandi takes her words seriously, because she knows that when Tyra says something, it comes from the heart.
That night Shandi calls her boyfriend. He's had a day to think about what has happened. He asks her point blank if she wants to stay in their relationship. Shandi says "Yes!" and that is all he wanted to hear. He says he is still extremely mad at her, but he wants her to do well and win that contract.
BEING JUDGED
The next day it is time to meet the judges. The judges this week are Tyra Banks, Janice Dickinson, Eric Nicholson, Nigel Barker and Stephen Fairchild. Their test this week is to take the pants they are wearing and a blue t-shirt, and using only a pair of scissors, some ribbon and some safety pins, they are to make an outfit the exudes Italian sensuality.
When the test is complete, the judges ask Shandi about her outfit. She has fastened a black ribbon around her neck and made the blue t-shirt into an off the shoulder top. Tyra feels that she could walk down the red carpet dressed in her creation. Nigel says that Shandi is becoming his muse. Stephen says he is really proud of Shandi.
Yoanna has chosen a less revealing top with a bow on her arm. Janice says she looks like she is in a straight jacket. Nigel wants her to change it up a little. April says she wanted to listen to Stephen and show a little leg. Eric thinks it is too much skin showing and Stephen agrees. Mercedes says she wants to show off her shoulders and wanted a plunging neckline. Janice loves that she didn't take the neckline too low. She gets high marks from everyone because her creation looks like something a designer spent a long time creating.
Next, their pictures are shown. Shandi and Yoanna's pictures are displayed and the judges immediately let out a collective "Wow." Yoanna gets high marks for being completely versatile in her modeling ability, and Shandi gets compliments on her legs.
April and Mercedes' shot is put up on the screen and the judges love it as well. They say it is completely different than Shandi and Yoanna's shot, and Janice says that it could be used for any perfume ad. Tyra tells April that Jay thought she tried to control the shoot too much. Janice points out that sometimes it is really, really important not to overstep your bounds with the photographer.
The girls are led out of the room, and the judges begin to deliberate. Janice praises Yoanna for hiding the "rolls that hang over her jeans." Nigel is amazed that Yoanna looks like she has a butt. Shandi, Janice feels, is really becoming a top model-type of girl. Eric thinks April looks like a mummy in her picture, and Stephen points out that she thinks too much. Eric calls Mercedes' pose "brilliant". Tyra is excited because when she cut up her shirt at the judging challenge, she looked a lot more high fashion. Nigel still believes that the fashion industry just isn't going to get Mercedes.
TIME TO SEND SOMEONE HOME
The girls are brought back in to find out who is going home. Yoanna is given her picture first and is told that she needs to work on her sex appeal. When Shandi receives her photo, Tyra tells her that she gives hope to young girls hiding behind glasses. However, the judges wonder if she really wants this or is just along for the ride.
April and Mercedes remain. Mercedes is told that this is the first day that the judges have felt that she is more high fashion than commercial, but they are not sure yet if she can continue that trend. April is told that she poses better than all the other girls, but modeling is about more than being able to strike the perfect pose. She needs to emotionally connect with the camera.
With that, Mercedes is given her picture and April is asked to leave. April breaks down in tears and, after hugs from everyone, she leaves the room. "I don't understand. I always win everything. I'm not prepared for this," she cries. She says she can't go back to the business world because it was killing her. She says resolutely that she will go on to become a top model.
There are three girls left standing: Shandi, Mercedes and Yoanna. Next week, one of them will be crowned AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL.
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