Both finished in the upper half of their respective seasons; both were a good mix of high fashion posing and commercial personalities; both could rock a runway; and both had inspirational stories that could make a Top Model win that much bigger than it would have been otherwise. I think that Kayla may be too fresh out of the show to be given another big boost (plus her new brown hair makes her blend in more with the crowd), though I could see her winning and Tyra making a big deal about the first openly gay winner of Top Model.
This leaves Sheena, someone with the swagger to keep up with the loud girls in the personality department but down-to-earth enough to remain relatable. It'd be pretty special to have an Asian woman in Italian Vogue and with a major media presence like Extra, plus you know how Miss Tyra loves her a feel good story and such.
All this could be complete poppycock, though; I just looked at the cast list and based my winner on watching some of these cycles dozens of times. (You never know the tone of a cycle until you're a couple of episodes in, so they may be willing to overlook slight deficiencies in one department if the other is too good.) Tyra and company love a good redemption story and seeing someone in the winner's circle who has conquered their demons, so someone like Bianca or Lisa could very well take the title, but the show's attempt at relevancy in the last few cycles makes me think they'll try for a more legitimate winner. (They have to please the fashion gods, of course.) I have a feeling they'll want a girl who has toiled in the industry long enough to appreciate the opportunity and who is capable of hitting the ground running, should she take home the title, which, to me, is Sheena.
Regardless of who wins All-Stars, the 17th (!) cycle of America's Next Top Model promises to be one of its most dramatic in years with high stakes and higher expectations. I think only one question remains:
You wanna be on top?
Going into All-Stars, who do you think should be the early favorite? Which girl from a past season do you wish was in the cast? What type of challenges would you like to see the girls go through this season?
