" Aren't you glad you won't ever have to see Nicole in a commercial again?" -- Five minutes after the show ended, I WAS THINKING THE EXACT SAME THING! Nicole is absolutely the WORST Top Model ever!

Danielle and Joanie were both wonderful young ladies. Danielle does have that extra something, a personable-ness that makes it easy to love and root for her. I hope we hear from her for years and years. Joanie, another genuine soul, came a long way. We'll be hearing from I'm positive that we'll be hearing from her as well.

All in all, it was a pretty decent cycle. I'm a totally straight guy, but ANTM is my secret guilty pleasure. Mainly because I am so in love with Ol' Fivehead, Ms. Bankable herself!!!

Oh, I'm sorry Jade. Did I forget to mention you? Awwwwww, I'm SO sorry. Hmmm, what can I say about Jade? Hmmmmmm.....nothing.
Wait a minute, I know!

Seeya on "The Surreal Life"!!!

And what was that weird, off-rhythm, finger-snapping thing she was doing as she left? Jade, Jade, Jade. Quirky to the end. BTW, your confidence was not mistaken for arrogance. It was understood for what it was. A super-annoying sort of false confidence. She'll find work somewhere, I'm sure of that. We have not seen the last of this woman.

I liked both girls so it didn't really matter who wins so I'm quite happy. However when they showed all the pictures side by side, it really did show that Danielle had one look so I thought they were gonna go for Joanie. Oh didn't someone say that Joanie had one look last week? But when they showed the pix she really was more versatile than Danielle.

I hope they become best friends. LOL. And that dance they did was funny.

I forgot to mention Jade too. BITCH is crazy! I thought she was losing her mind there on her exit. She was laughing and snapping. I didn't get it.

As much as I hated Jade, having her in the final two would have at least added drama. This year was very 'feel good' once it got to the final two because the girls were neck and neck and both pretty cool young women.

Loved me some Danielle, though. All the talk about her accent was ridiculous and kinda proved they had nothing else to critique. Once you've GOT a contract with a modelling company, they can take care of your accent. SO silly.

Glad Danielle isn't a tool like Nicole was.

Yay! Danielle took gorgeous pictures, but what endeared her to me the most was the fact that she was so damn funny! Finally, a winner that I was actually pulling for.

Oh J-Unit, you are so cute with your not being able to look and shouting out loud. Love that!

I am so ecstatic!! Truly, it was a win-win situation because they're so great but I love Danielle. And that final picture of the two of them says it all - Joanie looks awesome baring her legs but Danielle is basically wearing a sack and she still looks like a model.

"The highest plateau of me" has got to be the stupidest line of all time. Does she know what plateau means???

I thought it was weird that they didn't call Jade out for using cue cards. But I was glad the bitch was gone. What an annoying ego maniac! She and Omarosa should have a show together.

Better yet...they should have a special edition of The Surreal Life only featuring sassy black girls who speak about themselves in third person...like Coral from the Real World, Zulema from Project Runway, Ciara from Sweet Sixteen and Cami from Laguna Beach.

All I have to say about Jade is there was PLENTY of airbrushing that had to be done in that close up for the Cover Girl shoot. Glad she was taken down.

I am so glad for Danielle. She really is lovely. It is good when a nice one who deserves it wins these things.
I think I spotted Jade in a commercial for something the other day. There were several young ladies in the ad but I don't remember what it was for now. A snack or a drink. Her hair was in the 'fro and dark as it was at the start of the show. I could be wrong but it certainly looked like Jade. She didn't speak so that was a good thing.
Anyway, yeah for Danielle!

"After she said her poem, was she laughing or crying. I know I was laughing because it was all kind of stupid, but did Jade actually show some emotion?"
J-Unit - closed captioning said she was laughing. Proves she really is CRAAAZY!
Even though I was rooting for Joanie (she's from PA like me), I'm glad Danielle won, she is absolutely beautiful.
Can't wait for next season!

Okay, Tyra seriously looked awful on this episode? I mean her makeup and hair, and especially the outfits... it was almost like a drag queen!
I'm so so glad Danielle won, she is so funny and did great the whole season, can't wait to see her later!

It was my dream final 2 and my fave won! Tyra broke my heart a little when she told Danielle how she hated her commercial. And Danielle stood there, taking it all in like a champ. She was awesome and she looked gorgeous at the final panel! I'm happy she won. I'll admit I teared up when she was announced the winner. Can't wait to hear what she sounds like next season for those My Life as a CoverGirl spots :)

Oh and I gotta comment on Joanie. That girl's got so much class. She was disappointed but there were no tears, no whining, just straight 'Best girl won'. You go Joanie! If she continues with modeling, she will be able to get work. She's a great model!

oh man, i literally WEPT when danielle won. i think she's my favorite top model winner ever.

I was a little surprised that Danielle won, just because I thought their pictures were equally good all through the show, so I thought Danielle's accent would be the one negative thing that would make her come in second. Also, during the judges' comments while looking at the pictures, they said Joanie had many looks while Danielle had one... I guess that was a set up for Danielle winning. I think Joanie will be fine though.

Also, Jade is crazy. Finger-snapping, bad beat poetry, and maniacal laughing do not a top model make.

J-Unit, I was also disappointed in the fashion show. The runway looked so cool, but they had to walk for so long that they only got two outfits. I think they should switch back to a more traditional runway show next cycle, amped up a bit like the water one for Naima and Kahlen in cycle 4.

I was happy both Danielle and Joanie made it to the final two; they deserved to be there. However, this episode reminded me of the elimination round when Mollie Sue and Jade were the bottom two contestants. Based on everything we saw on that episode, Jade deserved to go home. Compared to Mollie Sue, Jade’s photos were sub-par and she was absolutely dreadful in her “commercial” – she didn’t even speak in one of her takes! The judges/Producers choice of Jade over Mollie Sue was a blatant example of their choosing entertainment for television over talent and the show’s namesake.
Based on what we saw during the finale, I question their choice of Danielle over Joanie. The judges themselves said (and we as viewers could see) that Joanie was more of a chameleon in front of the camera, providing very diverse looks – where as Danielle seemed to have one particular look – a very beautiful look - but still, as they went through her “book”, her face had almost the same expression in each shot. Diversity and being able to “mix it up” is key in modeling, and characteristic of most successful models.
In regard to the other challenge, all season the judges have been talking about Danielle’s combination of accent and “ghetto-speak”. Not a marketable combination for a spokesmodel. Joanie wasn’t phenomenal as a spokesmodel, but comparatively, she was better than Danielle. Yes, Danielle said she would take classes and work on it, but the point of this competition isn’t what you’re going to do, it’s what you’re already bringing to the table, and how you’ve grown throughout this competition.
I’ve been watching ANTM since the first season, but I think this is going to be my last.
I never found myself rooting for any one particular girl this season, and based on previous seasons, I was surprised that most of the contestants were even chosen for the competition.
I suspect the Producers have decided to choose commerce over art – which makes me question the name of the show, is this really America’s Next Top Model?

InNYC:

It appears that Joanie was your favorite and you seem to be extremely disappointed in her not winning. Speaking from experience, that shouldn't be enough to force you to stop watching.

Last cycle, I was EXTREMELY perplexed and marginally annoyed by the choice of Nicole. I won't list all the reasons here. But you know what? The beauty of this medium called television is that time marches on. Next cycle is probably already in the can. Soon you will be introduced to a whole new crew of girls and past disappointments will fade.

My unsolicited recommendation? Enjoy it for what it is: Entertainment. Junk food for the brain!

did anyone go out and buy covergirl cosmetics because naima or nicole told them to?

didn't think so. i think the phrase "spokesmodel" only applies to star search.

i'm so damn happy danielle won i might just brave the next season.

Tyra Banks really drives me crazy sometimes. I know she is a woman who wants to wear many hats, but diction coach is not one of them. You don't just "lose" an accent, and you don't just turn it on and off. National newscasters take diction lessons for that kind of thing - to gain a more standardized accent.

I am so glad that Danielle was not penalized for her accent in the end. They bought Joanie new teeth, why couldn't they get Danielle a coach if the problem was so unbearable?

I'm usually not so serious, but that bugged me the whole season.

what a great season. I really enjoyed all the eps and I am SO HAPPY with the winner. This makes up for the last two seasons when I almost swore I'd stop watching because I hated the winners so much. The person who really needed a voice coach is nicole. she needs instructions on how to talk with any affect. hope i never have to see her on my tv screen again.

buttercup (#19) - i completely agree with everything you said. enough about danielle's accent already.

joanie and jade were on power 105 this morning (ny station) and i missed most of it--but basically jade was going on and on about how she had no idea the editors were going to make this season "the jade show" but she's happy they did and how bitter joanie is, and joanie was denying being bitter and saying the show made fun of jade thru-out the whole season--which jade denied, of course. she's so clueless.

Most of the past contestants, even the past winners, aren't exactly dominating the industry. Some will have okay careers as models, and there might end up being a small handful from the course of the entire series with truly good careers. It will be interesting to see if Joanie and Danielle, the best top 2 they've ever had, can get into that upper echelon.

I thought Tyra was BRILLIANT when she demostrated for Danielle how an accent can totally change the way you express yourself and people perceive you - she went from like OMG, totally valley girl to the MAX, then to just the right touch of soul, and then to a slurred and sloppy countrified drawl. I love how Tyra understands her business so well, she knows what it takes to succeed and she is sincere in wanting to help the girls on her show understand the complexities of the business of well.

Everyone made some really good points, and whether you favored one girl or the other, they both did very well throughout the season so I'm glad that it came down to those 2. I do admit to leaning towards Joanie as my choice, if pressed to make one. Aftr watching this finale, however, I do feel they ultimately made the right choice. By picking Danielle, they're giving her an extra boost that she can surely benefit from; now ANTM can provide (& pay for) a vocal coach for her. Surely she could do this on her own, but maybe this way, it's not solely at her own expense. I have a feeling that Joanie will do just fine on her own.

Glad to see Jade not make it into the top 2!! Weren't we all? I was actually worried there for a minute considering how much of a fuss they were making about Danielle's speech. I realized after the commercial shoot that the problem lies more in Danielle not pronouncing her words very well versus her having a southern accent. You can have an accent, although not a very heavy one, and still be understandable speaking English. For example, Heide Klum - the famous German Victoria's Secret model who is now married to Seal - speaks very well, yet her accent is obvious. It's safe to assume, however, that she had to practice her English for awhile to get to that point. Danielle will only have to work on not slurring her speech so much as well as toning down her accent a bit. She does not need to learn another language so she will do just fine. At least the judges recognized the fact that it was silly to eliminate Danielle based on her speech considering IT WAS THERE FROM THE BEGINNING when they picked the top 20!!!...J-Unit, yes I am SO GLAD I will not have to see Nicole in a commercial again! AMEN!

As bad as Nicole was in her commercials, I would much rather listen to her's than Naima's. Naima was an automaton trying to sell lipgloss.
And the minute I saw that runway I thought to myself that the only reason they keep getting longer and more complex is so that the producers finally have a shot of a model falling. Last year's water runway was cool, but also slippery. This one was not only extra long, with twists and turns, but they had to add the flower petals for the slip factor.

I loved Joanie, but Im still happy w/danielle. i think that joanie may go on to be more succesful, but both girls will go very far

Is Jade illiterate? Serious question, not being bitchy. J-Unit touched upon it in the recap a little but it was something that struck me while watching Jade prepare for the CG shoot and then seeing her actual performance. She never said the exact words from the script, even though Jay told them that they would have to repeat the lines verbatim. Jade kept improvising and making up her own script. At first I thought she was being a pain, as usual. But when they made up the cue cards and Jade STILL wouldn't say the lines, it dawned on me that maybe she wouldn't say the lines because she couldn't. Jade seemed inordinately stressed when they were first given the scripts, and she kept making up her own lines even after Jay expressed his impatience and told her to stick to the script. Knowing how much was at stake, even someone as deluded as Jade would have straightened up and said the lines, provided she had the ability to do so in the first place.

I know it's farfetched to think someone could make it on to a reality show without being able to read, what with all the contracts and so forth. But if Fantasia became the American Idol, it's possible Jade could have gotten as far as she did too. Plus if Jade's illiterate, it would explain her bad attitude, which serves as a defense mechanism. It might also explain why she's the 'undiscovered supermodel' since if she wasn't able to read the scripts for commercials, etc. that would have cut out of lot of work for which she might have been eligible.

I think it is absolutely possible that Jade is illiterate. And it certainly looked that way. Although it is also possible she has ADD and just can't follow simple commands and direction (that was my first thought, anyway).

Honestly, I am happy Danielle won...she is stunning. I would have been happy if Joanie won, too because she really did work hard the entire season and never really messed up.

I have to disagree with a statement that was made by someone who indicated that they felt Tyra is harder on black girls. I feel the exact opposite. I felt that this season, particularly, most of the challenges were almost designed around it being inevitable that a black girl would win (eg...the runway show in the black church...the krunk dancing challenge)...and the black girls DID win those challenges. I was annoyed the entire season by that. Also, the super high heel runway walk--many girls fell over and looked like they were hurt but Tyra laughed at the white girls but jumped out of her seat to help Danielle. She just seemed more compassionate towards the black girls in my opinion. Either way, I feel Danielle deserved to win.

I am thrilled to never see a Nicole commercial again!! Every time I see her mouse like face and hear that awful voice that sounds like she can't close her mouth I get pissed all over again that Nikki didn't win >:(

And I just loved Miss Tyra's impression of how you can still talk ghetto and be a model...the girl is talented.

I really liked both girls and I went in thinking that I wouldn't care who won, but Joanie was robbed! I think she's a much better model when you compare the two.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the Nicole backlash... (you know, not going with the fan favorite).

I really liked Joanie but I'm especially glad Danielle won. It seems to be that whoever does the runway best wins. When it was Nicole vs. Nik, I thought Nik was clearly the better model in the challenges, but Nicole really rocked the runway. So glad I don't have to hear her again:

This is my life? As a Cover girl? I use Lash Exact mascara? It's really great?

My thought on Jade was that she's probably severely dyslexic. But don't you think she would have used that for one of her many excuses?

God yes I am happy that I never have to see Nicole's crooked ass smile on my tv ever again.
She was freakin horrible in her commercials.

As for Danielle winning.. YAY! Although I would be cheering if Joanie had won it as well. They were both just awesome.
Hell I was wishing there would be a twist and they both would be declared the winners b/c they're just THAT good.

Saw on ET last night, they were talking about Tyra and Danielle posing for pics and Danielle talked a little bit.. and whatever vocal coach they got for her is working wonders!!
She still has an accent, but definitely not as prominant as it was.

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Guess what that was?

Proctor & Gamble stock after Nicole started doing commercials for Cover Girl...

(rimshot goes here)

i like both of them so i wasnt too worry about who was going to win. i really enjoy watching this show but they seriously need to get some better cameras. if laguna beach can get them, top model should be able to, especially now that they are on the cw.

ps can someone post the lineup for the cw schedule?

I think they should switch back to a more traditional runway show next cycle, amped up a bit like the water one for Naima and Kahlen in cycle 4.

Lisa,

EXACTLY what I was thinking. That fourth cycle runway was the definition of fierce. :I guess since they couldn't make a huge specatacle in London (the runway show actually took place in Los Angeles because the London bombings occurred during shooting), I guess they really wanted to go big.

I have to disagree with a statement that was made by someone who indicated that they felt Tyra is harder on black girls.

I have to disagree with your statement. I don't think there were any challenges that favored black girls. There was nothing inherent in the church runway show that favored any skin color; they could have been twilring on the beach and the results would have been the same.

The krump dancing didn't require any sort of skill that couldn't be acquired in any cheesy club across the land.

Besides, Jade won both of those challenges. Maybe you believe she identifies herself as black and urban but was rased by a new age caucasian mother. You may have a point, but I don't think you've actually proved anything.

I liked the final two. Glad Danielle won. She has a striking look, and she seemed always laid back and funny. I did get mad when Tyra constantly probed her about her accent. How in the hell could she change 20 yrs. of an accent overnight. Anyway, Joanie was pretty and classy too. How ironic the two that had dental work, reach the final two.

I was sort of rooting for Joanie, but I can't complain about Danielle winning either. I like both of them, but I also think a blonde girl should win sometime.

And call me crazy, but I actually think Jade's CoverGirl ad picture was the best. Sorry, but she looked quite pretty.

I'm kind of ticked that Danielle won. Don't get me wrong, I know she's talented, but I was really rooting for Joanie. I mean, she's overcome a lot of pain to get here (closing a gap just doesn't compare - sorry) and I would have loved to see her get it, especially because I can't understand a thing that Danielle says. I have to give her props though, because she sounded a lot better in her commercial than she usually does, but I still wish that Joanie would've won. I'm not too angry though, not like I would've been had Jade won. I have such bad luck with top model. My favorite always comes in second (Kahlen, Nik) and it makes me mad. I was so pissed last year that Nicole won that I was actually swearing at the TV. Danielle isn't a bad choice, I was just rooting for Joanie. Oh well. She'll do fine anyway.
On another note, I'm sad that America's Next Top Model is over. That means that Canada's Next Top Model (blech) is premiering in a week or so. I'll probably watch it anyway, since Jay Manuel (who I believe is a native Canadian) is supposed to be making a guest appearance, but *sigh* it'll just be another American knock-off that sucks *cough* Canadian Idol *cough*. However, there is someone from my teeny-tiny hometown of Sherwood Park that is a finalist, so I'll watch it to support her I guess. Too bad I won't have hilarious recaps though. *sigh*

I was a Joanie fan all along too. Though, like everyone else I can't complain at Danielle winning. Girl overcame those awful shoes and that food poisoning thing. You have to admit they were two of the nicest girls. Danielle stayed by Joanie's side through her dental ordeal.

As for Nicole, I actually liked her last season, not as much as Nik. But this year - ugh. When did her eyebrows get so out of control?