Sometimes pursuing your dreams can be a lot harder than you expect. For Danielle Evans (right - photos courtesy UPN), who dreamed of being a "Supermodel" since she was 12 years old, the pursuit to become the newest America's Next Top Model was marred with dental surgery, a sprained toe, constant criticism about her southern accent and a stay in the hospital for dehydration and exhaustion (brought on by the long flight to Thailand). And all of that was just during the competition on America's Next Top Model. The 20-year old from Little Rock, Arkansas told bloggers last night during a teleconference that the last obstacle was definitely her hardest. "It was my first time ever in my life being in 
a hospital and I was in Thailand," she remembers. The next day, she was still feeling a little quesy as she posed on top of an elephant in one of her most highly praised photo shoots of the competition. "I have a really high tolerance for pain," she explains. And when she wasn't focusing on the pain, she was thinking about her mother who suffers from rheumatiod arthritis. "My mom goes to work everyday without complaining," she says. If the elephant shoot was her least favorite, then the shoot on the beach in Thailand was definitely her favorite. Danielle says that she would like to be a Sports Illustrated model in the future, so the shoot really appealed to her. Interestingly enough, what didn't appeal to Danielle was the idea of going on America's Next Top Model. She had seen the show before, but it took her brother convincing her to give it try in order for her to audition. "I was always that girl who was like, 'I want to model, but not reality show model'," she explains. And in the end, she feels that the way this reality show portrayed her was accurate. "They portrayed me in the light that I am," she concedes. Although, she says that she is extremely quiet, but not shy and she's also a "tremendous fighter" when the topic is something that she feels passionate about.
If a dehydration and exhaustion-induced hospital stay weren't enough, Danielle also underwent an elective dental procedure to close the gap between her two front teeth after the judges pressed her. She fought the procedure because she liked the space, but she now believes that it helped her. "I can't say it made my chances of winning any better, but it kept me in the competition longer," she explains. The judges also wanted Danielle to work on her southern accent because they believed that with it, she wouldn't be able to do her CoverGirl commercials. Danielle says that it was "hard to work on" because there was no dialect coach in the house. Even though she seemed to have a few obstacles in her way, the 20-year old says that she had a lot of fun on the show. She became close with most of the girls in the house, and she continues to keep in contact with a lot of them. "No one stepped on my toes," she explains. She and fellow contestant Mollie Sue even made up nicknames for each other. "Mollie named me 'Kitty' and I named her 'Petey'," she says with a laugh. The girls invented the names after their makeovers. Danielle got "Kitty" because she looked "soft like a cat" after hers, and Mollie Sue got "Petey" because her haircut resembled Peter Pan's. Danielle says that she got along with Jade as well. In the finale after Jade was eliminated, Danielle says that a moment transpired between them that viewers didn't get to see. "I hugged her 
goodbye and she whispered, 'Go win it'," she says. And win it is exactly what Danielle did after wowing the judges in her first runway show, but she says that her favorite moment of the entire competition came when the girls visited the tsunami ravaged area of Phuket. "We had a moment to distance ourselves from the competition. It was peaceful." Since the competition ended six months ago, Danielle has been home preparing for her soon-to-be hectic schedule by sleeping a lot. "I've been laying low, trying to act as normal as possible," she explains. That means spending time with her mother, with whom she's very close. "She's not interested in the whole celebrity thing. She's more happy that I'm able to live my dreams." Danielle's CoverGirl print ad is in magazines now. America's Next Top Model will return this fall on the new CW network.
The final performances are in the history book, so it all comes down to your votes. I thought that last night's performances from both Taylor and Katharine were pretty even. Unlike the judges, I thought that Katharine's repeat performance of K.T. Tunstall's "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" was just as strong as the first time. For me, Katharine and Taylor tied the first round and split the second and third rounds. Katharine absolutely blew me away with her rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," even more so than last week, so she was the clear winner of round 2. The final round went to Taylor for, if nothing else, having a better song. Katharine's song had to be the most difficult thing ever! It was so low and so high and just all over the place. Taylor managed to infuse some of his winning personality into his song, but not until the last 1/4 of it, but he gets the edge for doing that much. I still think that Taylor will win tonight, but I'll be happy either way. And speaking of American Idol, my girl/last year's winner Carrie Underwood brought the house down last night at the Academy of Country Music Awards. She won two awards and delivered this amazing performance:And since we're on the topic of the ACM awards last night, I snagged these pictures of presenter Kathryn Morris from Getty Images:
You can see more pictures of Kathryn at the event at Kathryn Morris Online HERE and HERE, and you can see tons of pictures from the event over at Yahoo! News.
About Last Night...Fox won the first hour of the night with American Idol, followed by CBS' broadcast of The Academy of Country Music Awards and ABC's movie Desperation. At 9, Fox stayed in front with House, followed by hour 2 of the ACM awards on CBS and ABC's movie. The final hour of the night went to the last hour of the ACM awards on CBS, followed by ABC's movie and the conclusion of 10.5 Apocalypse on NBC. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.
~Primetime Pass~ (NOTE: Tonight marks the end of May sweeps)
@8 p.m. - CBS airs another Dr. Phil special.
FEATURED FINALES!!
American Idol (8 p.m. Fox) - We'll learn whether it's Taylor or Katharine in tonight's 2-hour 5th season finale. Carrie Underwood will perform her newest single.
Lost (9 p.m. ABC) - After discovering something odd just offshore, Jack and Sayid come up with a plan to confront The Others and hopefully get Walt back. Meanwhile, Eko and Locke come to blows as Locke makes a potentially cataclysmic decision regarding the button and the hatch on the 2-hour 2nd season finale.
To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.
QUICK CUTS
*The WB's Gilmore Girls is getting a new creative force, but she should be familiar to fans of the now cancelled Everwood. Rina Mimoun, who served as an executive producer on the family drama, is jumping onboard as a consultant with the mother/daughter dramedy according to TVGuide.com's Mike Ausiello. The news should come as a relief to Gilmore fans who are still reeling over the news that wife/husband creator/executive producer team Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino will not be a part of the show's upcoming 7th season after contract negotiations broke down. As Ausiello says, Mimoun "has an unparalleled aptitude for nuanced characterizations and — more importantly — satisfying story arcs." Maybe all hope is not lost in Stars Hollow after all.
*Yahoo! Movies has pictures and a trailer for Kristen Bell's upcoming thriller flick Pulse. The movie, about a girl (Veronica Mars' Bell) who starts receiving emails from her dead boyfriend and enlists the help of a hacker to discover that the dead may be using our electronic devices to enter our world, also stars Ian Somerhalder and Christina Milian. It hits theaters July 14th. Click over to Yahoo! Movies to see the trailer and more production stills from the movie.*And finally, it's Nielsen Wednesday! CBS once again won the week in total viewers and Fox won it with the 18-49 year old crowd. The Eye was led by CSI (#3), Without a Trace (#7) and CSI: Miami (#9). American Idol (#1, #2), Desperate Housewives (#4), the Monday finale of Grey's Anatomy (#5), House (#6), Will & Grace (#8) and ER (#10) rounded out the top 10. To see a list of the top 20 shows from last week, click on over to USA Today.
To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.
That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a special Finale Blowout edition on Lost and the regular edition with thoughts on tonight's Idol results. Plus, all the latest television news!
To get more television coverage, including the network's new fall schedules and a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote with a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.
1 comment:
Thanks for the Carrie Underwood video. I didn't watch the acm awards so I didn't get to see her. Enjoyed it!
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