Eagerly Awaiting the ANTM FINALE

It’s that time of year again. Tomorrow night a new America’s Next Top Model will be crowned and too-sweet-for-comfort Whitney’s unmerited stint as the reigning champ will finally come to a much-appreciated end.

With such a weighty decision looming on the horizon, there’s one question on our minds: Why can’t we shake the weeknight guilty pleasure that is ANTM? We really should have quit watching when controversial celebrity judge Janice Dickinson left the panel, taking most of the show’s fun with her.

Now all we’re left with is off-the-rocker host Tyra Banks, whom you might recognize from her recurring role as comedic fodder on E!’s The Soup. Oh, and she also found some success as a supermodel.

But seriously, who is going to be America’s…Next…Top…Mo…del?

Unlike past cycles, we’ve noticed that a clear winner has yet to emerge. This might, however, be due to Tyra’s striking ability to squash all our favorites early on in the Amsterdam phase. Let’s rewind…

First, we fell in love with Sheena, the urban-fabulous Kimora Lee Simmons-in-training, and we seriously died a little bit when they booted her. Hilarity ensued when that girl was around, and frankly the show has been a bit drab ever since.

Then we thought Elina might take the crown after churning out what we thought were stunning shots at the natural vs. full face of makeup photo shoot. The judges felt otherwise, and by the end of the episode, they’d had enough of her “stiffness” and sent her packing. Fair enough.

So then, who’s it gonna be? Samantha—the one with the most personality and a slew of solid shots? Analeigh—the sweetheart, ex-figure skater who can deliver those cheesy CoverGirl commercial lines like nobody’s business?

We’re leaning towards McKey, who splendidly contorts her body into some pretty ugly (or is it ugly-pretty?) high fashion poses. She also seems like the sleeping giant-type who used to win ANTM in the pre-Whitney era. But then again, when the crucial fate of the modeling world rests in the hands of the always “Bankable” Ty-Ty, you never know…

America’s Next Top Model, season finale, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 8 p.m. (EST).

—MIA GANT