Jourdan Miller smized her way to the top of the 20th cycle of "America's Next Top Model" - the first with male contestants - on Friday. She beat out Marvin Cortes, who was favored to win, for a contract with Next Model Management, a spread in Nylon and a $100,000 campaign with Guess.
Jourdan impressed all season long, winning Best Photo five consecutive times and stomping to the death in the finale runway. Tyra Banks even told the 19 year-old, “I wanted a boy to win so bad, but… you were undeniable!”
While she did model H2T and talked openly about her past abusive marriage, Jourdan lacked some serious personality. The Oregon native joins the ranks of recent “ANTM” winners who are interchangeable, without the spark of the first 10 winners who defined the show.
And though the introduction of male models this season is great, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Here are some suggestions:
1. Better Casting: The entire level of competition needs to be raised – no more stunt-casting bitchy pageant queens or 5'6” Zoolander wannabe's. Cast contestants who have unique personalities and can actually be great models!
2. Better Challenges: Remember the “ANTM” high-fashion era with Andre Leon Talley? Yeah, it was only 3 cycles ago. Those challenges were based on the real modeling world of runways, fashion and beauty. So, bring those back and stop with these ridiculous drag-queen challenges, please.
3. Improve Scoring System: Keep the social media, challenge and judge's scores a secret for the eliminations until Tyra starts handing out photos. There's nothing worse than knowing which contestant goes home, before they're even eliminated, through the simple power of addition. Plus, it'll make the eliminations suspenseful and unpredictable.
4. Replace Bryanboy: Unlike Kelly Cutrone's acid-tongued critiques or Rob Evans' insider modeling knowledge, Bryanboy adds nothing to the judging panel. Replace him with Johnny Wujek, who can bring a fun, knowledgeable perspective and also seems more than capable of talking about social media.
Jourdan follows 19 other previous "ANTM" winners, most of whom have not been able to break out into the fashion industry, though some – Eva, Naima, Jaslene, Whitney - have carved out somewhat respectable careers. Let's hope that Jourdan's incredible modeling skills will elevate her beyond obscurity. Congrats and good luck!
Click the 'Launch Gallery' above to see what all of the “America's Next Top Model” winners are up to now.
