Top Model Rounds Out Cycle 10

Thu., Jan. 17, 2008 6:19 PM PST by Natalie Finn

Make way for the newest crop of girls who want to be on top.

Tyra Banks and Co. have selected the 14 finalists who will stand before the former cover girl when the 10th cycle of America's Next Top Model kicks off Feb. 20, the CW said Thursday.

This season of the CW's highest-rated series finds the aspiring catwalkers, who fall between the ages of 18 and 24, starting off in New York instead of Los Angeles, now that Banks tapes her syndicated talk show from the Big Apple.

As usual, the wannabes will be under the tutelage of resident drill sergeant Jay Manuel (the Tim Gunn of photo shoots) and a series of guest photographers, artists and fashionistas.

In addition to the change of scene, Paulina Porizkova has replaced Twiggy as the judging panel's requisite former supermodel. The Czech beauty will be joined by the usual suspects—Banks, runway expert J. Alexander and lensman Nigel Barker.

Initial promo pictures featuring the ladies in waiting don't give much away, other than the fact that they're good-looking and leggy (surprise, surprise), it will be interesting, as always, to see who distinguishes herself from the pack.

In fact, the search for the next big little thing might be the most interesting thing on the CW, at least to people with TV sets. The show's ninth cycle attracted nearly 5.2 million viewers each week, making it the network's most-watched show of the fall season. (And the spring, actually—5.5 million got into cycle eight).

The winner of the competition will receive a contract with Elite Model Management, a $100,000 deal with CoverGirl cosmetics and a six-page fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

Here's a quick rundown of the fresh faces hoping to take the modeling world by storm:

Aimee, 18, hostess, Spanaway, Washington
Allison, 19, hostess, Waunakee, Wisconsin
Anya, 19, retail sales, Honolulu
Atalya, 18, student, Brooklyn
Claire, 24, production coordinator, New York
Dominique, 23, receptionist, Columbus, Ohio
Fatima, 22, student, Boston
Katarzyna, 22, finance, Roslyn, New York
Kimberly, 20, customer service, Worcester, Massachusetts
Lauren, 22, artist, Brooklyn
Marvita, 23, retail sales, San Francisco
Stacy Ann, 22, student, Miami
Whitney, 20, student, Atlantic Beach, Florida

Meanwhile, another group of lookers will be vying on Monday nights to become the next member of Girlicious, brought to you by the makers of the Pussycat Dolls.

The 10-episode Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, premiering Feb. 18 on the CW, will feature the trials and tribulations of 15 young women as they sing, dance and otherwise strut their stuff in hopes of being chosen to fill one of three spots.

Mark McGrath, who presided over The Search for the Next Doll last summer, will return as host, and Lil' Kim, choreographer Robin Antin and Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair will be back to judge.

One might think that weekly encore presentations on Tuesdays might be extraneous, but the first 'Cat hunt actually did better business the second night it was on last spring.