America's 11th Season of Next Top Model Ends; Winner Announced

Fourteen girls were narrowed down to 1 tonight on Tyra Bank's show

America's Next Top Model: Season 11. So who was it? Before I tell you, let's take a closer look at the 3 finalists:

McKey - Her real name is Britney, but Tyra asked her to come up with a new name seeing as their were too many Britney's this season. Her interesting choice of name should tell you a lot about her interesting personality! McKey has been sailing to the top most weeks, especially since her makeover which had her cut her hair very short and darken it to black. McKey was a star at the go-sees, if only she wasn't five minutes late! She has consistently gotten better from week to week and would almost be a shoe-in if it wasn't for her few mishaps.

Analeigh - My personal favorite. This 19 year old student has a sweet and friendly personality, but can still bring out the fire in her photos. She's been excelling from week to week, but has done better since she's learned to bring her figure skating background too her photos. Analeigh has likeability on her side, and did a stellar job in the commercial shoot. However the judges think her strong facial features may hold her back. With her flowing brownish-blondish hair and friendly face, it's a wonder so many of the other models took her for granted in the past.

Samantha - This somewhat tomboyish girl sure knows how to have fun, however the judges think she may be a little too "every" girl for them. Samantha has done some awesome photos, but she can't seem to break out of the commercial image. The good news is that she can take a great photo, it just takes her awhile to get there sometimes.

The Semi-Finals: 3 become 2

Tonight's show began with the standard Cover Girl commercial, but this time with a twist. The girls had to memorize a few lines in Dutch AND shot their commercial in a boat. On the plus side, the girls received their lines the night before which is different than previous seasons. I think the producers are realizing that it's not realistic for them to memorize the lines in a stressful situation. In addition, it was time for their print ad which the winner would get to see on billboards and in WalMart stores. The models got to spend some time with Whitney, winner of cycle 10, before diving in to their final photo shoot.

Samantha started off her commercial a little rough and couldn't seem to let her natural energy out. McKey was extremely nervous, not being able to forget her last commercial, and this nervousness came across for sure as she tried to perform. Finally, Analeigh blanked instantly when it was her turn, even though she had the lines memorized the evening before. Considering her great job on the last commercial shoot, it was surprising to see her have trouble this time around.

The Cover Girl Photo shoot was next and this is always interesting as you finally get to see what the winner will look like on the magazine. Samantha seemed to have a hard time with it, Analeigh did well, and McKey seemed to be the photographer's favorite. However, does the photographer choose the winner? I don't think so!

When it came time for judges' to deliberate, they felt Samantha did ok, but not great. Analeigh's performance was definitely disappointing to the judges who loved her first commercial. McKey turned out to have the best commercial of the three which amazed the judges after her last failed commercial. Of all the photos, the judges loved McKey's photo the best. After this, I was 99% sure McKey would stay, but who would go home? Between Samantha and Analeigh, the judges seemed torn, but eventually eliminated Analeigh saying she should be an actress instead of a model.

The Finals: 2 become 1!

Now it was all down to the final runway where McKey and Samantha had to strut their stuff on the winding twisting runway for Dutch fashion designer "Addy Van Den Krommenacker", try saying that 3 times fast! The runway, created by Jay Manuel, was perhaps the most challenging runway ever on the show with stairs, hills and lots of twists and turns. Whitney from season 10 also appeared in the fashion show.

McKey definitely came out strong in her first walk, but Samantha looked to be lacking in her first run. It was even worse when she was running behind and almost not ready for her second walk. In my opinion, neither girl really rocked the runway, however McKey was better than Samantha. I watched the rest of the show knowing she would win. They really should have put Analeigh in the final 2 as I believe the final competition would have been much closer.

Let's get on with the formality. The judges deliberated and they said basically the same thing I thought, McKey was better on the runway, but could have been a little bit better. As the judges reviewed the girls photo shoots from episodes passed, it was easy to see that both girls have grown a lot since the first day. In the end it was decided that McKey had grown more. As I had predicted, McKey was named as America's Next Top Model.

Prizes

The winner receives a $100,000 contract with Cover Girl cosmetics, a contract with Elite Model management and a cover and spread in Seventeen magazine.

Judges

America's Next Top Model is determined by a combination of Tyra Banks, Jay Manuel, runway coach J. Alexander, fashion photographer Nigel Barker and supermodel Paulina Porizkova. Each week, a different guest judge appears who usually has something to do with the most recent challenge.

Auditions

Cycle 12 is coming soon and you could be among them! Visit The CW's website today to apply: http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/topmodel-cycle12-Casting