wanna be on top

C1-E5: The Girl Who Everyone Thinks Is Killing Herself

First aired June 17, 2003

The girls were taught how to answer interview questions in this episode, and they had one-on-ones with a coach. While Elyse was being interviewed, the other girls gossiped about her weight and talked about incidents which they believed proved that she had an eating disorder. At the challenge, the contestants tried to impress a tough interviewer, and Elyse's candid and outspoken remarks won her the opportunity to invite one of her loved ones to New York for a brief visit. She selected Adrianne to share her prize, who broke down into tears, stating that her mother had never been to New York and that her family never had enough money to travel.

At the photo shoot, to which Elyse's boyfriend Martin Crandall and Adrianne's mother showed up, each model was pictured in Reebok shoes with NFL Rookie of the Year Clinton Portis. At panel, Elyse was criticized for being too thin and being a know-it-all, and Giselle was sent home at panel because she was not able to overcome her self-confidence issues, despite her modeling talent and phenomenal photo for this week.

First call-out: Adrianne Curry
Bottom two: Elyse Sewell & Giselle Samson
Eliminated: Giselle Samson
Featured photographer: Daniel Garriga
Special guests: Cindy Berger, Jon Silverman, Clinton Portis, Christine Curry, Derek Kahn, Steve Santagati

C1-E4: The Girl Who Drives Everyone Crazy

First aired June 10, 2003

The seven remaining contestants were challenged to polish their acting skills. The reward challenge, a line-reading challenge, was won by Robin, who took Kesse and Shannon to get a spa treatment. The other girls were left to clean the apartment while the spa experts came to them and gave them their spa treatments in the apartment. Ebony was angry with Giselle after she exhibited laziness by not helping the others clean, and asked the masseur for an impromptu massage instead. Ebony's girlfriend, Ka visited her and although most of the girls were polite and introduced themselves, Shannon and Robin chose to stay in their room and read the Bible, which Ebony took offense to.

The commercial was for Fresh Look contact lenses. At panel, while Kesse excelled, several girls were given harsh criticism for their performances. Adrianne was told that her accent was too strong, and that the judges barely heard her and Shannon was admonished for her awkward smile and lack of sexiness. However, she was safe from the bottom two, where Giselle and Ebony found themselves. The panel said that although she had amazing model potential, Giselle needed to become more self-confident. However in a shocking elimination, Ebony, the early frontrunner to many of the girls, was eliminated due to her awkward performance in the commercial and that the judges felt she had a chip on her shoulder.

First call-out: Kesse Wallace
Bottom two: Ebony Haith & Giselle Samson
Eliminated: Ebony Haith
Featured commercial director: Loren Haynes
Special guests: Jon Silverman, Alice Spivak, Tracy Staus

C1-E3: The Girl Who Gets Rushed To The Emergency Room

First aired June 3, 2003

All eight remaining contestants were given makeovers. Giselle irritated her roommates because she overacted during it, while both Robin and Ebony were dissatisfied with the way their hair was handled. After a lesson on how to achieve a clean look, the reward challenge involved doing the best job picking out and putting on makeup, which Elyse won, and got to meet some famous fashion people, including Max Tucci. She picked Adrianne and Nicole to thank them for help and wound up picking Robin by draw. Nicole decided not to go because she was "sick", but it was really because she wanted to talk to her boyfriend.

Later it was announced that each contestant would be posing with a guest model in the week's shoot — a snake. Robin, especially, was terrified by the snake, but most of the girls managed to take strong pictures. The day after the shoot, Adrianne was rushed to the hospital with severe food poisoning, and she later forced her way out of the hospital and back to the competition so as not to be automatically eliminated, impressing the judges. At panel, Ebony was criticized for the texture of her skin, and Nicole was ousted as she was deemed not committed enough to the competition.

First call-out: Shannon Stewart
Bottom two: Ebony Haith & Nicole Panattoni
Eliminated: Nicole Panattoni
Featured photographer: Troy Ward
Special guests: Kim Lepine, Jon Silverman, Max Tucci, Janice Combs, Constance White, Anand Jon, Derek Kahn

C1-E2: The Girl Is Here To Win, Not Make Friends

First aired May 27, 2003

Tensions erupted in the loft between the Christians - Robin and Shannon - and several other contestants, especially concerning Elyse's atheism and Ebony's homosexuality. After a runway lesson with J. Alexander, Giselle won the reward for doing the best on the runway. She got to meet Wyclef Jean, and she picked Adrianne, Nicole and Katie to accompany her much to Ebony's dismay. When Ebony decided not tell them about the Tyra Mail which arrived while they were out, the Christians went down to the hotel's lobby and told the other girls about the Tyra Mail. The next day Robin, to ease the tension among the girls, decided to make a group prayer, irritating Elyse, who went to the confessional and vent about her anger towards other contestants.

The second photo shoot was another bikini shoot, but this time for Stuff magazine. At panel, the girls were challenged to walk while removing their coats. Katie's photo was again criticized for being pornographic, while Kesse became very emotional while critiqued. This landed them into the Bottom Two. Ultimately, it was Katie's overt sexual appeal sent her home.

First call-out: Shannon Stewart
Bottom two: Katie Cleary & Kesse Wallace
Eliminated: Katie Cleary
Special guests: Wyclef Jean
Featured photographer: Barry Hollywood

C1-E1: The Girl Who Wants It Bad

First aired May 20, 2003

Twenty semi-finalists arrived to casting and were told that only ten would move on to the finals. After the auditions however, Tyra revealed that she and the producers only could agree on eight. The eight contestants selected arrived in New York City and were escorted to the loft apartment in the Flatotel. In one room, they discovered pullout mattresses underneath their beds. Two additional contestants, Giselle and Tessa, were soon added to the group after being scouted at a separate audition, filling in for the missing two finalists.

After Brazilian bikini waxes have been administered to the contestants, and initial weights were recorded, the contestants headed to their first photo shoot; modeling JLO by Jennifer Lopezbikinis atop a Manhattan skyscraper in frigid weather. At the first judging session, the judges felt that Elyse was too thin, and that Tessa had been taught how to pose incorrectly. They also remarked that Shannon looked much better in her pictures than in front of the panel, and perhaps she has tanned too much. Finally, the judges decide to eliminate Tessa, because even though she had a strong high fashion look, they thought that she lacked the personality to be a model.