#cycle22week8

Nyle was the biggest surprise for me this week. His sense of rhythm might have been the best out of the contestants despite him being deaf and he was on beat the entire time. I loved that he signed all of the lyrics with so much passion and energy, it brought a ton of life to his take. His connection with the camera was strong pretty much the entire time, and I especially loved the way he rushed through the hallway with confidence and swagger. He gave a lot of intensity with his facial expressions but never lost his model look like Devin did. The only tiny problem is that I could sense his anticipation before signing “B-O-O-T-Y” and it took away some of his momentum. Nyle had an awesome performance all around in this music video and for that he earns the top spot this week.

The comeback contestant being Dustin was definitely a choice, clearly done as he posed no threat to the others, but I just don’t get what it benefited the show to bring him back at all. There was no clear storyline to tie up, nor drama to reignite. Why not just skip the comeback entirely if they weren’t going to bring anyone worthwhile back? Anyways, this shot is alright. It is definitely one of the better shots of the week, but I don’t see why the judges raved about it. Dustin’s face does look great from this angle, and the connection with the dog is great, but there is nothing incredibly special. The shot feels cohesive, and looks like a fashion shot, but it isn’t the most eye-catching photograph. It should have been enough to get him a relatively high call-out, but the top 2 should have been reserved for others. Also, it annoys me so much that the photograph doesn’t line up with the panelling on the wall. It is just off, and is not doing wonders for my OCD.

If I had to see anyone return, Ava would have been my choice. While not the only questionable elimination, she is probably the only one I’d say who deserved to still be competing. At least she got a better end to her story. This photo is a divine final addition to her portfolio: the strength in her bone structure, the animosity in the expression, the delicacy of the hand and wrist…all divine little elements that create a fashionable photograph, dripping with a backstory. She hasn’t linked to the dog physically, but has created an emotional connection better than anyone else. I feel like I know this woman. The one detail I am not loving is the way she is holding the cup; call me a cliché, but I would have just lived for a little finger sticking out. It would be another perfect detail to sell the shot.

Side note: okay I hate myself for saying it, but this song is kind of a bop, even though the lyrics are painfully bad and it sounds like 3 or 4 different songs stitched together like some Frankenstein monster.

This is exactly the type of performance I expected from Devin. He was so fucking extra the entire time but it fit the ridiculousness of the video perfectly. His hallway scene was one of my favorite moments of the week and his dancing was totally on point! Devin was originally my FCO for the week, but he comes second because I don’t see a model in this video. He’s a fantastic dancer and entertainer, and the music video did call for something crazy. However, his expressions were so over-the-top and contorted that nearly all of his still frames were a mess. If he had kept things just a bit more reigned in towards the beginning he would’ve inched into the top spot for the week. Devin was one of the standouts in the music video and this performance is one of his greatest successes in the competition!

Mamé had some better moments in the full music video for me, but her “best” takes here were still very good. Her split second of dancing at the start was strong, and she really nailed the hallway segment as well; she was serving a ton of sass with her movements and the hair flipping was terrific. I almost put her in my Top 2, but the ending shot with her on the runway was lukewarm. I wanted a Chelsey Modelli Folli runway moment from her, but her strides were too short and she lacked presence. However, the rest of Mamé’s footage was great and kudos to her for keeping a good balance between maintaining her model composure and letting loose.

I find Lacey a bit hard to judge this week since her segments weren’t exactly like anyone else’s. I really liked her beginning shots! She definitely knows how to act and she convincingly pulled off the curious but slightly insecure character. She moved well in the sphere, and while her runway walk wasn’t the best it was still cute and full of personality. Lacey doesn’t crack into my Top 3 because I wanted a bigger transformation; she kept the cute innocent vibe the entire time, but I wanted her character to change into something fiercer and more confident since that was sort of her assignment. She did a really good job overall though.

Why was Mikey called first for this? The opening shot of him forcefully slamming open the door was pretty cool (and a little terrifying) and I liked his energy as he ran down the hallway. Unfortunately it went downhill from there. His runway walk was fine but nothing special, Hadassah stood out more than him during the kiss, and what the fuck was that ending with him bopping his head aimlessly side to side? He looked flat out stupid and a little tipsy due to his slack expression and unfocused eyes. Mikey’s opening was great, but I can’t ignore how underwhelming the rest of his footage was.