Asia’s Next Top Model Recap: Wi-Fi Doesn’t Always Make The World Go Round

And…it’s that time of the week where we bring to you a recap of everyone’s favourite sass fest: Asia’s Next Top Model. But before we dive into the dirty details of episode six (which aired last night on StarWorld), let’s keep you up to date with what’s been happening so far.
The previous episode saw plenty of theatrics once again (not that we’re surprised of course, each phase of the competition packs more drama than a Korean soap opera). But b*tch fits aside, it was clear that the main highlight of the previous round revolved around the Maybelline makeup contest, where the ever-annoying (but talented) Clara was riling Maureen up for taking an eternity to get her make-up done.
All that set the stage for an intense elimination round, where it was between the duo of Clara and Alicia to see who would get the boot. The latter, for her part, was gracious in defeat, and caused a torrent of tears to flow from Clara’s eyes; which if we’re being honest, are not entirely sure if the salt was genuine or more of the crocodile variety.
Ah, that doesn’t matter now. A new week calls for a new round of drama, and drama was certainly what we saw as episode 6 started off with a bang, namely because of a photography challenge under Model Mentor Cara G, along with celeb model Fiona Fussi.

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Fiona Fussi

So what was at stake? Well, nothing much…just a freakin’ one year supply of acuvue lenses. As for the challenge, girls had to take photos of each other with an instant camera, and needless to say, the contestants that impressed the judges most with their pictures, would win. Of course, this led to a not so unexpected bout of drama between the contestants.
For instance, hot favourite Tu was pretty damn pissed with Philippine’s Maureen. Her reason? She took fabulous shots of Maureen while what she got back was “crappy”. Maureen, ever the funny personality, had the cheek to agree with Tu, even reassuring her that she’s a talented photographer. Hmm…we’re not entirely convinced about that Maureen, but we definitely like your style.
We also liked the style of Thai contestant Dorothy, who in our honest opinion passed this challenge with flying colours, using props like paintbrushes and overalls to spoof up her outfit. And guess what? It paid off. She was declared winner, but not everybody was pleased. Case in point: the Indonesian twins of Valerie and Veronika who were bitter about not winning (damn, they’re getting snarkier with each passing week).

Who we weren’t impressed with was Singaporean rep Nametha. Instead of taking on the challenge head-on, her remark stating that the contestants weren’t “photographers” and that they were “models” was disappointing to say the least. Gurl, all we’ve got to say is that if you want to look good in a picture, you’ve got to understand how a picture works first.
Moving along though, the main part of the show was of course the photoshoot, where Judge Cindy and Creative Director Yu Tsai took to the stage to find the new face of Neutrogena. Asia’s Next Top Model’s season 3 finalist Aimee Cheng-Bradshaw was also present to give everyone some useful tips on how to rock the challenge.
Those tips were much needed for everyone who took part, as the challenge consisted of submerging themselves in a bathtub filled to the brim with water. That was the easy part. The hard part was that they had to keep their faces peaceful the whole time. Don’t laugh, it’s a lot harder than it sounds – they aren’t floating in an infinity pool after all.

We’re not going to spoil too much for you over here (simply because it’s more fun to watch the drama for yourself), but the key figure of the photoshoot was Cindy. The Taiwanese model for the love of God just couldn’t get her shots right, and that set off a bomb in Yu Tsai, who stomped the ground repeatedly in frustration. It worked out for her in the end though, as Cindy walked away as the new face of Neutrogena.
But the photoshoot wasn’t actually what caught our attention. Our Singaporean rep Nametha – yes, her again – violated her contract by using Wi-Fi (no internet access was allowed for the duration of the contest). After which, Judge Cindy asked contestant Dorothy (Nametha’s BFF) in the elimination round if Nametha should be punished. To Nametha’s horror, Dorothy said she should be kicked out, and that’s when we started re-stocking the popcorn for what was about to unfold.
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Dorothy burst into tears but the damage was already done. In the end, all the credit went to Cindy (the contestant), who won best performance of the week. Judge Cindy rained praise on her photoshoot performance, stating: ““I don’t know where the water ends and your body begins. On point. On brief. On brand.”
As for Nametha, she didn’t have such a happy ending, instead going through a tumultuous rollercoaster of emotions. First, she was informed that this week was going to be a no-elimination week, but jeng jeng jeng. She was eventually disqualified because of her Internet violations. Remember kids; the Internet isn’t everything.
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Nametha facing the music

In the end, while we’re mad disappointed that there’s no one left to represent Singapore, we believe that this week’s elimination choice of Nametha was the right one. Let’s just hope that next week’s round is just as entertaining. Till then, check out the teaser for next week’s episode:

Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 airs every Wednesday at 9pm, only on Star World (Starhub TV Ch 501/Singtel TV Ch 301). asntm.com