#cycle23week6

Most of what I remembered from this cycle has stood true during these initial rankings, but Binta is the one surprise. She stuck out as overrated for me during my initial watch, but here she is almost grabbing her second first call-out. Binta is back to giving us stoic strength, and doing it flawlessly. Her face looks incredible, and there is conviction in her pose. It is a very strong showing. What stops it topping this list is actually the reason she got her topped the crowd surfing shoot; the fashion. Because her arm is right across the jacket, I just feel wrong putting it ahead of Cody.

Courtney shines best for me when she isn’t really doing much. The stance is simple, but just serves us with confidence and power, while the clothes all look gorgeous. Her face looks stunning though. Effortless beauty, strong bone structure and different from the aesthetic Courtney had been giving us since week 1. My slight issue is the connection between the two. I just find Chanel so extra, and wish Courtney had tried harder to interact with her more, rather than just one extended hand.

Honestly, I’m not sure if finessing a kicking shot or jumping shot is harder, but I feel Tatiana must have faced the same perils as Paige. She definitely managed more successfully, but still not quite perfect. The body is sensational. Tatiana’s legs look long, gorgeous and the shoes are the prime feature; they look so good I am willing to forgive the fact they cover the shorts entirely. The face looks good, if a bit tight. You can feel the tension in her mouth, most likely from the exertion of nailing the kick. I will admit it makes Tatiana look slightly older in this photograph, but not to the point I’m worried.

The difference in quality between first call-out and bottom two this week was closer than normal. No bad shots, but no great ones either. I think this shot just resurfaces my initial problems with Kyle. Her face is naturally rounder, but her soft features don’t really work with her androgynous aesthetic. The expression and pose all scream tough, and edgy, but her rounded cheeks, and soft jawline dampen that. Kyle gave us more than she has in the past, but I am not convinced the raw materials are there for Kyle to succeed.

I used to be ambivalent about India’s FCO and thought that CoryAnne or Paige deserved the top spot, but I’ve definitely come around. India was stellar from start to finish. India was not the best dancer but she did a fantastic job of masking that by being committed to each and every movement while also bringing her personality to the forefront. She worked the living daylights out of the clothing as well! Her performance struck a perfect balance between video girl and a model feature in a music video and for that she tops the list for this week!

CoryAnne’s take started out a bit iffy (due to that stilted little walk) but she got stronger and stronger with every passing second. I loved the walk/spin she did  in the middle part of her take and how focused she was on the camera. That ending dance sequence was killer and she hit that final fierce pose with a ton of conviction. Her given outfit was pretty shitty but I loved how aware she was of the garment and knew how to pose and dance in a way that drew attention to it and made it look good. CoryAnne really nailed this performance!

Paige did an amazing job of bringing tons of personality to her music video. Her energy was infectious and I loved the way she switched between being serious and playful, preventing her take from feeling one-note (although I wasn’t crazy about the repeated over-the-shoulder head turns). Paige’s video is excellent, but what keeps her from landing in my top two is that I don’t necessarily see a model in this video. She’s a terrific dancer and really seems at home in the music video setting, but she didn’t bring a fashion edge to her take like the two girls ranked above her.

I like that Tatiana went with the vibe of her outfit and gave a very cutesy and playful take. She hit a lot of poses while still keeping them connected through her movements. My only complaint is that she didn’t finish strong and just sort of faded out. It’s a good take overall though!