photo by chris morgan courtesy of the cw ©2014 the cw network, llc. all rights reserved

Fashion

will’s world: get an exclusive recap of antm cycle 21, the finale

see what will jardell really thought of the winner!

by will jardell

It’s the finale! I can’t believe that after everything that has happened this cycle we have now reached the end. What a journey we’ve had. The final four still remain, and by the end of the episode, only one will rise to be named “America’s Next Top Model Cycle 21.”

Right off the bat we have the sob stories from the final four giving you reasons why each of us deserves to win this competition. Let the waterworks begin.

“Beauty-tainment” is the newest word created by the fabulous Tyra Banks for her new cosmetics line, “Tyra.” The teams consist of Lenox, Ben and Matthew; Will, Ivy, and Raelia; Keith, Mirjana and Shei; and Adam, Denzel, Chantelle, and Kari. First off, I need to get me some Tyra makeup stat! It’s awesome, y’all. And getting to see the eliminated contestants was a huge mood booster for all of us. I was able to be with my bestie, Raelia and catch up with all of the cast. Plus, after living with Keith, Adam, and Lenox for a few weeks, it’s nice to have a break from them. No shade!

We meet up at an amazing mall in Korea and my absolute favorite model to ever exist, Allison Harvard, is there with us to be in our commercials. I think I may have been more excited about her than the actual finale of the competition— oops, I said it.

Let’s get this party started! Keith is up first and can’t seem to rely on that shimmy to impress Tyra. The girls on his team are called in to take over. Uh oh, this is not the time to choke. Adam looks hot as hell in his outfit. Wait, I said the drunk-ass was hot? Something is in that Korean water! I am again shirtless and not feeling it, but when I get that boom boom boom painted on, I am living for the moment with my bestie, Raelia. Lenox killed it. Did you ever have any doubt should wouldn’t nail it? These commercials looked smoking hot, and I’m really impressed but also glad I didn’t have to speak in Korean or make out with a random girl. Maybe I’ll take the top spot from this performance.

Next up is our mysterious Tyra mail in Korean. Yeah, don’t ask me what it meant, I still don’t know. I’ll give you one GUESS.

Pause, I cried again.

It’s the GUESS shoot for the $100,000 prize! Time to give it everything you got. Adam once again looks amazing. But does he really think he can take the crown from me by becoming so dang attractive?! Drool. My turn, and I am taking everything Yu Tsai tells me and doing it. GUESS is the brand that built his career, and I think he may know a thing or two about what they want. Bring on the strong jawline and masculine swag. Let me go grab my purse and get my swag. Keith looks great in the clothes but once again it’s the same face, the Keith face. I hope he doesn’t rely on this one face for his entire career! Lenox is sexy, and she doesn’t even know it! God made magic happen when Lenox was born, but I think he forgot to leave the magic inside of her. Where is her confidence!?

Group shot! Just kidding! Surprise elimination. Are you kidding me, can I just enjoy one damn day on this set? Hopefully when I win ANTM I can enjoy!

We each get our final critique from the judges to see who will make it into the final panel, which is where the winner of ANTM is announced. Adam gets best photo, I come in a close second. Phew! Thank you, lord baby Jesus for that one. I was so nervous. We had no idea what our scores were so we had absolutely no clue what was going to happen. We are left with Keith and Lenox. Who do you think should have stayed? Well, regardless, Keith ends up rounding out the top three and securing the fact that a male will win America’s Next Top Model Cycle 21! Wow, what an awesome and record breaking panel. Bye bye, Lenox! Please find some confidence, but if you can’t, steal some from Adam— he has enough to share.

Three men. Only one can be America’s Next Top Model!

Time for that final runway with the winner of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 20, Jourdan Miller. It was a huge deal to be able to talk with Jourdan about her experience on Top Model and also about what comes next. I think it gave us so much more hope for our future, and confidence while walking away from the competition.

Jourdan opens the show and slays it out of the park! Adam has improved so much throughout the competition, and I am so proud of him. By the way, he looked hot again in the blue suit. What is happening to me?! Keith has a great walk that makes everyone watch. My turn, and I am just living for this moment. This is the performance of a lifetime, and I can’t worry about the competition. I just enjoyed every second of that final runway. With the rest of the cast from Cycle 21 right behind us, we all rocked it out on the runway. Having the cast there made me so emotional! I don’t know if you can tell, but I cry a lot in this episode (#oops) only this time it was tears of sadness for the fact that this whole journey was coming to an end, and I would have to say goodbye to my family. My cast mates on Cycle 21 are some of the most amazing individuals I have ever met, and I am so blessed to call them family.

I cry again.

Panel and I think my heart fell out of my chest on the walk in. I have never been this nervous in my entire life. Seeing our Tyra cosmetics commercials was awesome. We all looked great in them, and I don’t think Tyra could give anyone a “1” for their performance. Lord knows we were trying our hardest. Whose commercial was your favorite?

We speed through our bodies of work from the entire competition, and I agree Adam has improved the most out of all the contestants. I also agree with Miss J that Keith gave the same face the whole competition, but when that face is that gorgeous, I think you’re doing fine. Kelly called me a star. That’s it, we can go home now! The “Dream Crusher” just called me a star. What is this life? Over it.

Can you feel my heart beating through the page? I think I caused some seismic activity with the beating of my heart: flashing numbers, social media scores, judges scores, Tyra’s gold dress, Miss J’s hair, Kelly’s cute hat, and Yu Tsai’s million attempts to say ANTM correctly, and we lose one contestant, Adam. Adam receives third place, and I couldn’t be more proud of him. He did an amazing job throughout the cycle!

Now the moment. The moment that can change your life forever. America’s Next Top Model is…

KEITH!

Congratulations, Keith! You are a stand-up man and someone I am proud to lose to. Throughout the competition we became close friends and I am honored to lose to someone who I think so highly of. Keith performed every week—maybe not winning the football game each week—but in the end, he still got the championship title. What an amazing ride he had. I cannot wait to see what the world has in store for you, my friend! Oh, and yes, your father is definitely staring down at you saying how proud he is. Love you, bud.

Hard feelings? Nah! What an amazing journey I was able to be a part of. I followed my dreams and look where it got me: second place among some of my favorite people of all time. I now join the ranks of the other runner-ups including Reina Hein and Allison Harvard, two of my favorites to ever grace ANTM. I am so blessed to have had this experience and so happy that you joined me for the ride! I truly hope you enjoyed these recaps and that you will continue to support my fellow cast mates and I on all of our future endeavors. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter! I love each of you so much and can never thank you enough for supporting me the entire way!

Think you have what it takes for Cycle 22? Wow, it’s already happening?! Follow ANTM on Twitter and Instagram to get more information. You can also log onto cwtv.com and look over the full application and requirements. Remember there is no height requirement for Cycle 22! You can also be like me and re-watch Cycle 21 over and over again. Nostalgia or obsession? Who cares, I loved every second of this journey and this is not the last you will see of me ;)

Until we meet again, toochers and boochers.

photo by chris morgan courtesy of the cw ©2014 the cw network, llc. all rights reserved
photo by chris morgan courtesy of the cw ©2014 the cw network, llc. all rights reserved
photo by yu tsai / ©2014 pottle productions inc. all rights reserved.
photo by chris morgan courtesy of the cw ©2014 the cw network, llc. all rights reserved