Asia's Next Top Model season 1

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1
Season 1
File:AsiaNTM1 promo.jpg Cycle 1 cast
No. of episodes	13
Release
Original network	STAR World
Original release	November 25, 2012 (2012-11-25) – Present
Season chronology

Asia's Next Top Model, Cycle 1 (abbreviated as AsiasNTM) is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of Asia's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry. The show will feature aspiring models from the entire Asia-Pacific region.

The winner of the first season will be offered a contract with Storm Model Management based in London and appear on the cover of Harper's Bazaar Singapore. She will also receive 100.000 SGD, a 3-month all-expenses paid working trip to London, the opportunity to be the new face of Canon IXUS 2013, and a brand new Subaru car.

The first international destination for the cycle was Batam, Indonesia. The second international destination will be set in Hong Kong.

Episode summaries

Episode 1: Which Girl Can Handle the Limelight?

First aired November 25, 2012

Globally aired December 14, 2012

The chosen fourteen girls were met by host Nadya Hutagalung at a high-end shopping district along Orchard Road in Singapore where she introduced the cycle's judging panel. Nadya then revealed that the girls would immediately get the competition started with a runway challenge. Some of the girls struggled with their outfit and walk, but ultimately it was Trang that was declared the winner, winning a $5,000 shopping spree from Wisma Atria for a new wardrobe.

• Reward challenge winner: Thuy Trang Nguyen

After the challenge, the girls then move to their new house where they start to choose rooms and settle down.

The next day, the girls were brought to Little India for their first photo shoot where they were greeted by judge Daniel Boey along with designers Afton Chen and Louis Koh from Reckless Ericka. The girls were then ecstatic upon finding out that judge Todd Anthony Tyler would be their photographer for the shoot. They were then asked to model clothes from Reckless Ericka while working a prop and being quirky. While Stephanie, Rachel, Jessica, and Helena impressed Tyler, most of the girls struggled to be quirky while working their prop.

After the shoot, Trang goes on a shopping spree as her prize for the challenge. Upon returning back to the house, she brings presents for all the girls, to everyone's delight.

At panel, most of the girls received negative feedback from their shots. Stephanie, Rachel, and Helena impressed the judges for embracing the point of the shoot. Melissa expressed how she lacked experience in the industry but planned to absorb as much information as she could. Kyla was criticized for posing awkward instead of quirky during the shoot. Nadya asked Kate to present herself more properly when being called forward for critique. Ultimately, Melissa's inexperience and Kyla's flat performance landed them in the bottom two. In the end, Melissa was deemed to have more potential, and Kyla became the first girl to be eliminated.

• First call-out: Helena Chan
• Bottom two: Kyla Tan Rong Ying & Melissa Th'ng Mei Ling
• Eliminated: Kyla Tan Rong Ying
• Featured Photographer: Todd Anthony Tyler
• Special guests: Afton Chen, Louis Koh, Lauren Clarke Jensen

Episode 2: Which Girl Can Stand Out?

First aired December 2, 2012

Globally aired December 19, 2012

The remaining girls were greeted by runway coach Joey Mead King and runway trainer Adam Williams for a runway tutorial, then the girls were introduced to their challenge which is a fashion show for Singaporean designer Thomas Wee at the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon located within Resorts World Sentosa. Although some of the girls improved their walk, Trang emerged victorious and won the reward challenge, which is a gown to be made especially for her by Thomas Wee and dinner with two friends at the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. She chooses Aastha and Stephanie to join her for the reward challenge dinner which disappoints Helena who was celebrating her birthday at that time.

• Reward challenge winner: Thuy Trang Nguyen

Back at the house, tensions were flaring when the girls from the reward challenge return as the other girls are celebrating Helena's birthday. Some of the girls expressed that it was unfair for them to have Trang, who had prior modelling experience, to compete with them in the competition.

The photo shoot takes place at former Tanjong Pagar railway station, the girls worked in groups wearing Prada while portraying virtual princesses. The best group photo would have their photo featured as an editorial in Harper's Bazaar.

Group	Models
One	Filantropi, Helena, Kate, Monica
Two	Aastha, Bei Si, Sofia, Trang
Three	Jee, Jessica, Melissa, Rachel, Stephanie

Trang's shoes dragged her down on her shoot, Jee and Stephanie both got bad critiques on their shoot, and Filantropi was told that she was the worst of the bunch. After the photo shoot, Monica received news that her father was ill and she had to go to him, which led to her withdrawal from the competition.

• Quit: Monica Benjaratjarunun

At panel, group 2 received the most praise, specifically Aastha and Sofia, while Trang received nice. In group 1, Helena shone while Filantropi was heavily critiqued. In group 3, Jessica received praise while Jee and Stephanie both received bad feedback. Although Rachel's picture received praise as well, she was taken out of the panel after collapsing to receive medical attention.

Ultimately, the second group won and their picture was chosen to be featured on Harpers Bazaar. Jee and Stephanie landed in the bottom two for their lackluster photographs, but Nadya then announced that no one would be going home since Monica had decided to leave the competition, sparing both girls from elimination.

• First call-out: Aastha Pokharel
• Bottom two: Jee Choi & Stephanie Retuya
• Not called out at panel: Rachel Erasmus
• Eliminated: None
• Special guests: Adam Williams, Thomas Wee, Junita Simon, Kenneth Goh

Episode 3: Which Girl Can Own a New Look?

First aired December 9, 2012

Globally aired December 24, 2012

After being in the bottom two, Jee celebrated her birthday. Stephanie, who was also in the bottom two, revealed that she already had a daughter. The girls were surprised to find out that they would be having their makeovers. At the salon, Jessica and Rachel embraced their new short hair, while Aastha complained about it. Kate received honey blonde hair, Jee received very fiery red hair, Helena received a Victoria Beckham inspired look, while Trang and Filantropi both received a similar haircut.

For the photo shoot, the remaining models traveled to Hong San See temple and embodied the twelve Chinese zodiac animals in the Chinese calendar.

Model	Chinese Zodiac
Aastha	Rat
Bei Si	Dog
Filantropi	Dragon
Helena	Tiger
Jee	Ox
Jessica	Rabbit
Kate	Monkey
Melissa	Pig
Rachel	Horse
Sofia	Snake
Stephanie	Rooster
Trang	Goat

Jee and Stephanie impressed everyone during the shoot, Helena got into her wild character, while Aastha, Bei Si and Trang struggled. At panel, most of the girls received good critique. Helena received a second first call-out, while Aastha and Bei Si landed in the bottom two for their mediocre photographs. Aastha was saved and Bei Si was sent home.

• First call-out: Helena Chan
• Bottom two: Aastha Pokharel & Bei Si Liu
• Eliminated: Bei Si Liu
• Featured Photographer: Akif Hakan
• Special guests: Saksit Pisalasupongs

Episode 4: Which Girl Exudes Sexy?

First aired December 16, 2012

Globally aired December 31, 2012

The girls were taught by model mentor Joey Mead King on how to pose sexily in pictures. At the challenge, Joey asked the girls to dress up sexy for their challenge, which was to bring any object and make sexy poses with it. Aastha and Jessica impressed Joey, but it was Helena who won the challenge. As her prize, she was able to go out to dinner with Joey and Todd Anthony Tyler. She choose Rachel and Jee to accompany her for the dinner. The girls thought that Helena's poses were not that great, and they all agreed that she simply 'got lucky' because she had chosen a phone as her prop.

• Reward challenge winner: Helena Chan

At the photo shoot, the girls were asked to pose with celebrity and hot host Jason Godfrey. Trang had a wardrobe malfunction, as she forgot to bring tampons during her period. Some of the girls excelled in the shoot, Jee found it awkward, Filantropi struggled, and Helena pushed her sexiness too far. Kate was castigated for being too jolly and stiff at the shoot.

At panel, Sofia received the best photo for achieving the sexiest photograph. Aastha redeemed herself after being in the bottom two the previous week. Although Kate received good feedback for her photo, she was noticed for being uptight at the panel and slowly losing her personality. She read a personal letter aloud to the judges in order to prove that she was serious about the competition. Filantropi and Jee found themselves in the bottom two. In a shocking twist, Nadya announced that both of them would be eliminated, saying that there was no more time for either of them to improve.

• First call-out: Sofia Wakabayashi
• Bottom two: Filantropi Witoko & Jee Choi
• Eliminated: Filantropi Witoko & Jee Choi
• Featured Photographer: Todd Anthony Tyler
• Special guests: Jason Godfrey

Episode 5: Style & Taste

First aired December 23, 2012

Globally aired January 07, 2013

Some of the girls tried to distant themselves from Helena. Particularly Melissa, who always felt attacked by Helena. The girls met Joey Mead King and Jeannie Mai for a challenge in Parco Next, where they were split up into groups of three, and were assigned to style themselves in different categories.

Models	Styling Theme
Melissa, Rachel & Stephanie	Sexy
Jessica, Kate & Trang	Edgy
Aastha, Helena & Sofia	Quirky

The quirky group became uncoordinated with their styles, while the sexy group went against the style they were assigned. In the edgy group, Trang told Jessica to change her pink outfit for a black one (since Kate and herself were wearing black), but Jessica ignored Trang and kept her style instead. The edgy group won the overall challenge, but it was Jessica who won individually.

• Reward challenge winner: Jessica Amornkuldilok

The girls traveled to Nongsa Point Marina and Resort located at Batam, Indonesia for their photo shoot, which was to embody a refined French Rivera woman. Kate excelled during the shoot, Stephanie had a hard time opening her eyes, and Jessica inspired the photographer with her performance. Trang struggled to understand the photographer which angered Daniel because Trang wasn't able to communicate well.

At the panel, Kate received the best photo. Aastha and Jessica followed her suit while Melissa and Trang landed in the bottom. Melissa for not looking like a model in person and Trang because of her poor communication with the judges and failing to improve as the competition progressed. In the end, Melissa was saved by the judges, and Trang was eliminated from the competition.

• First call-out: Kate Ma
• Bottom two: Melissa Th'ng Mei Ling & Thuy Trang Nguyen
• Eliminated: Thuy Trang Nguyen
• Featured Photographer: Chuck Reyes
• Special guests: Jeannie Mai

Episode 6

First aired December 30, 2012

After Trang went home, all of the remaining models were shocked. A close friendship brewed between Rachel and Kate. For the reward challenge, the girls were asked to write their own script and perform a commercial for TRESemmé. Aastha and Helena shone; however, it was Aastha who ultimately won the challenge, which made Helena jealous.

• Reward challenge winner: Aastha Pokharel

Later, the girls had a beauty shoot for TRESemmé. Most of the models performed well. Kate and Rachel struggled, while Helena was reprimanded for being overly sexy.

At panel, Jessica, Stephanie and Aastha were highly praised, while Melissa was told that she was beginning to improve. The judges deemed Sofia's photograph to be the best, and she received her second first call-out. Helena was warned about her over-sexiness in photos. Rachel and Kate found themselves in the bottom two, both for being plain. Ultimately, Kate was saved and Rachel was sent home because the judges felt she wasn't standing out and progressing as the competition went on.

• First call-out: Sofia Wakabayashi
• Bottom two: Kate Ma & Rachel Erasmus
• Eliminated: Rachel Erasmus
• Featured Photographer: Zhang Jingna

Episode 7

First aired January 6, 2013

When Rachel left, Kate felt that she lost some of her strength. Then the girls were taught all about runway makeup by some experts with Joey Mead King. After the tutorial, Joey announced to the girls that their challenge was to recreate the makeup they had seen during the tutorial. Sofia won the challenge, and she chose Kate to accompany for a spa treatment at Resorts World Singapore.

• Reward challenge winner: Sofia Wakabayashi

Back at the house, Sofia also received a gift, but some of the girls hid her prizes and replaced them with toilet paper and slippers which made Sofia feel disrespected.

For the photo shoot, the girls were asked to do an environmental campaign. Jessica and Stephanie both impressed everyone. Kate received remarks about her arms, while Aastha, Helena, Melissa, and Sofia struggled.

At panel, few of the girls impressed the judges. Helena said that her bad shoulder was to blame for her poor performance during the shoot, but the judges did not believe her. Jessica received best photo for her stunning and believable shot, while Helena and Melissa were placed in the bottom two for their weak photographs. Before saving Helena, Nadya scolded Helena for her bad attitude at panel and she sent Melissa home. After Melissa's departure, Helena began to have a panic attack.

• First call-out: Jessica Amornkuldilok
• Bottom two: Helena Chan & Melissa Th'ng Mei Ling
• Eliminated: Melissa Th'ng Mei Ling
• Featured Photographer: Kevin Ou
• Special guests: Elaine Tan

Episode 8

First aired January 13, 2013

The episode starts with Helena's panic attack issue, but unfortunately it is revealed that she's alright all along. She then commented on how she didn't need the judges' advice because she knew what she did. Later on, both Nadya and Joey dropped on their house to invite the girls to join them in a mini-challenge about how to act gracefully as a model in an event. They are taught how to do a good model, either at photoshoot or at an event. Aastha struggles with chopsticks, Helena is surprisingly calm after her whole issue last panel, but ultimately Jessica won the challenge for being the most graceful from the remaining girls. She won the reward of spa treatment with Nadya.

• Mini-challenge winner: Jessica Amornkuldilok

Then the main challenge is up, which is a red carpet event for Farah Khan. Kate, Aastha, Helena, Jessica and Sofia all shone, while Stephanie struggles all alone. In the end, it was revealed that Helena won her third challenge, and her prize was a Farah Khan dress she wore for the party. All the girls seem happy for her except Sofia. This lead Sofia to confront Helena in front of the other girls back at home, and while Helena thought Sofia is mean, Sofia herself thought that Helena is fake. The discussion ended shortly after, which left Sofia in disgust of Helena's attitude.

• Reward challenge winner: Helena Chan

The next day, the girls were brought up to the Universal Studios Singapore, where they greeted by Daniel Boey and their photographer for the day, Toons. The photoshoot was about a haute couture red dress, with length approximately 100 metres and weight 15 kilograms. Helena was first, and was noted by Daniel by looking like a ballerina but not a model. Aastha was concerned about her dead-eyes habit again, while Sofia manages to posing with her armpit facing the camera all the time. Jessica owned the dress and consistently kept her strong facial expression, while Stephanie was an epic fail, both the dress and the expression. The last one, Kate, brought so much humor and energy to the set, and getting better after falling down the stairs.

During the judging panel, all the girls except Stephanie received praise from the judges. Helena was told she looks like a Bird of paradise, but was warned that is was only a lucky shot. Sofia was told she looks like an Angry Bird, while Kate was universally praised for her outstanding photo. Jessica received similar praise as well, for owning the dress and her face, while Aastha was told she need to keep her energy during the shoot. Stephanie, however was told that she has slipping down and her photo is clearly the worst out of the sea of amazing photos this week.

In the end, Jessica received her second consecutive best photo, and she was quickly followed by Kate. Aastha was surprisingly called third, and Helena joins them after. Which leaves Sofia and Stephanie in the bottom two, Sofia for her inability to master her angles and Stephanie for performing the worst the whole week, in the challenge and the photoshoot. In the end, the judges thought that both still have many things to prove and they were saved. This marks Stephanie's second time in the non-elimination bottom-two, after episode 2.

• First call-out: Jessica Amornkuldilok
• Bottom two: Sofia Wakabayashi & Stephanie Retuya
• Eliminated: None
• Featured Photographer: Toon Liang
• Special guests: George Young, Yuan Sng

Episode 9

First aired January 20, 2013

• First call-out: Jessica Amornkuldilok
• Bottom two: Helena Chan & Stephanie Retuya
• Eliminated: Helena Chan
• Featured Photographer: Aaron Wong
• Special guests: Cinco

Contestants

(Ages stated are at time of contest)

From	Contestant	Age	Hometown	Height	Outcome
Singapore	Kyla Tan Rong Ying	23	Singapore	1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)	Eliminated in Episode 1
Thailand	Monica Benjaratjarunun	19	Chang Mai	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	Quit in Episode 2
China	Bei Si Liu	24	Pudong, Shanghai	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Eliminated in Episode 3
South Korea	Jee Choi	27	Seoul	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)	Eliminated in Episode 4
Indonesia	Filantropi Witoko	24	Jakarta, Indonesia	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Vietnam	Nguyễn Thị Thùy Trang	23	Đắk Lắk	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Eliminated in Episode 5
India	Rachel Erasmus	22	Ajmer	1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)	Eliminated in Episode 6
Malaysia	Melissa Th'ng Mei Ling	21	Malaysia	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	Eliminated in Episode 7
Hong Kong	Helena Chan	23	Hong Kong	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)	Eliminated in Episode 9
Indonesia	Aastha Pokharel	20	Jakarta	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Thailand	Jessica Amornkuldilok	26	Thailand	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Taiwan	Kate Ma	22	Taiwan	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Japan	Sofia Wakabayashi	24	UK	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Philippines	Stephanie Retuya	23	Philippines	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)

Summaries

Call-out order

Nadya's Call-Out Order

Order	Episodes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	Helena	Aastha	Helena	Sofia	Kate	Sofia	Jessica	Jessica	Jessica
2	Stephanie	Sofia	Stephanie	Aastha	Aastha	Jessica	Stephanie	Kate	Sofia
3	Rachel	Jessica	Jee	Stephanie	Jessica	Stephanie	Kate	Aastha	Kate
4	Trang	Helena	Rachel	Kate	Helena	Aastha	Aastha	Helena	Aastha
5	Jessica	Kate	Filantropi	Melissa	Rachel	Melissa	Sofia	Sofia	Stephanie
6	Aastha	Trang	Sofia	Jessica	Stephanie	Helena	Helena	Stephanie	Helena
7	Monica	Bei Si	Melissa	Rachel	Sofia	Kate	Melissa
8	Filantropi	Melissa	Jessica	Helena	Melissa	Rachel
9	Bei Si	Filantropi	Kate	Trang	Trang
10	Kate	Jee	Trang	Filantropi
11	Sofia	Stephanie	Aastha	Jee
12	Jee		Bei Si
13	Melissa
14	Kyla

  The contestant was eliminated

  The contestant was part of a non-elimination bottom two

• In episode 2, Monica withdrew from the competition due to family issues, while Rachel was evacuated due to a medical emergency and was not part of the call-out that week. Jee and Stephanie were saved due to Monica's departure.
• Episode 4 featured a double elimination.
• Episode 8 featured a non elimination bottom-two.

Photo Shoot Guide

• Episode 1 Photo Shoot: Quirky Girls in Little India
• Episode 2 Photo Shoot: Wearing Prada in Groups for Harpers Bazaar
• Episode 3 Photo Shoot: Chinese Zodiac Animals
• Episode 4 Photo Shoot: Boxing with Jason Godfrey
• Episode 5 Photo Shoot: French Riviera Women in Nongsa Point Resort
• Episode 6 Photo Shoot: TRESemmé Beauty Shots
• Episode 7 Photo Shoot: Environmental Campaign for WWF
• Episode 8 Photo Shoot: Wearing Couture Red Dresses in National Library Museum
• Episode 9 Photo Shoot: Nymphs in Michael Cinco Couture

Makeovers

• Aastha: Rihanna inspired short asymmetrical cut
• Bei Si: Dyed jet black, shoulder length hair
• Filantropi: Dutch boy haircut
• Helena: Victoria Beckham inspired bob cut
• Jee: Fiery red hair with fringes
• Jessica: Dyed deep chestnut brown, pixie cut
• Kate: Dyed honey blonde
• Melissa: Kimora Lee Simmons inspired big wavy curls, dyed lighter and fringes added
• Rachel: Dyed dark brown, Selita Ebanks inspired pixie cut
• Sofia: Dyed jet black
• Stephanie: Dyed deep red, curls added with extra volume
• Trang: Bowl haircut

Criticism

The show has been criticized by fans for favoring Eurasians, rather than Asians. Most of the contestants have western features and some of the early exits have been contestants with pure Asian blood.

External links

• The official site of Asia's Next Top Model
• Asia's Next Top Model on Facebook page
• Asia's Next Top Model channel on YouTube
• Ice-TV's official site