On Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 3 this week, the photo shoot theme is K-pop. Plus, the girls are in group photos. This week is all about coordination and working with your other models, much like a real K-pop group. Some groups successfully displayed their teamwork while others foundered because they didn’t work as a unit. If I were to rank the groups, this is how they would fare:
1. Loup (Wolf, 루) — Melissa, Gani, Celine
I commend the girls on their total transformation. They all really looked androgynous here. Gani is easily the strongest. Strong face, strong stance. Both Melissa and Celine improved a lot from last week. I do however feel that Melissa overdid the masculine thing with her legs-spread-far-apart pose. Celine’s face looks a bit angry. You can be androgynous but still keeping the pretty, which is what Gani successfully did.
2. Flipperinas (플립베리나스) — Amanda, Franchesca, Monika
They named their group referring to their favorite move, the hair flip. Did they really have to be in all pink, and in office attire even? The styling could have been less coordinated. Franchesca is really the star of this group. To borrow what Nadya said from last cycle, there’s a spring in her step, and air in her hair if there ever is such a thing. My OCD is kicking in a bit because Monika’s hair flip is going the opposite direction. (Nope, I won’t do it. I won’t put in a Zayn/One Direction joke here.) Amanda’s face looks awkward in the photo, aside from that blinking issue.
The other two groups are tied for last:
3. 4s (Force, 포스) — KB, Rani, Tahlia, Kiana
They were given the sexy-sporty theme, but not everybody embodied that in this picture. Tahlia is the saving grace of this photo. Her face is everything. I can’t believe the judges didn’t point out that KB is a no-neck monster here. Mother Tyra will be enraged. Rani is better this week than the last, but I’m still not seeing it yet. I agree with the judges that Kiana wasn’t even present in this photo.
3. 자매 (Sisters) — Loretta, Barbara, Aimee
Sisters they are definitely not. They look like they weren’t even at the same shoot. The clothes and the hair are all over the place. Barbara is giving me BoA realness here. If this was Barbara’s solo photo, this would’ve been really great. Loretta looked lost. I was waiting for more from Aimee in this photo, based on her excellent dancing skills from earlier in the challenge. Plus she seems to be the biggest K-pop fan among the girls.
If I were to rank the girls individually, this would be my ranking:
- Gani
- Tahlia
- Franchesca
- Barbara
- Melissa
- Celine
- Monika
- Loretta
- Aimee
- KB
- Rani
- Amanda
- Kiana
The photo shoot could have been better if each group were given a specific K-pop group as an inspiration. They could’ve let the groups watch K-pop music videos beforehand. Instead of the “street” brief, they could’ve assigned the group to emulate 2NE1 or f(x). Or the “girly girl” group with Girls Generation circa “Gee” or “Genie” as inspiration. Or they could have used a different set of “concepts” that K-pop groups actually use: retro (e.g. Wondergirls), quirky (e.g. Orange Caramel), military/strong, and of course cutesy.
Also, this would’ve been better post-makeover. K-pop artists are known for having hairstyles that are ahead of their time, in terms of color and cut. Right now, all of them have almost the same hair — long and straight — which makes for photos that are not so interesting when viewed side by side. Or they could’ve probably given them wigs?
On the execution of this shoot: disappointing. The photos looked overly saturated. The framing (or is it cropping?) is wonky. We can’t even see the shoes in full in two of the photos. Those LED screen backgrounds didn’t help either. What were they even supposed to display? Again, disappointing overall.
Which #AsNTM3 K-pop group had the best photo this week? Vote for your favorite in the poll. Poll closes an hour before the next episode premieres.
Don’t forget to catch Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 3 on STAR World Asia, with new episodes every Wednesday at 8:45 P.M. (PH time).
