A.J. ELIMINATED FROM "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL" ON THE CW

October 19, 2006 (Burbank, CA) -- A.J., a student from Sacramento, Calif., was the fifth girl eliminated during the seventh cycle of The CW's hit dramality series "America's Next Top Model," reducing the pool from 9 girls to 8.

"Entertainment Tonight" correspondent Mark Steines greeted the girls for a crash course in interviewing. When A.J. was unable to come up with a single question during her simulation interview, Mark asked A.J. if she suffered from stage fright. "I break out in hives when I'm nervous," A.J. responded.

The next evening, their interviewing skills were put to the test as they each were challenged to act as real entertainment correspondents and interview Janice Dickinson at a red carpet event. The girls wore ear pieces so Mark Steines could give behind the scenes coaching, but A.J.'s nerves got the best of her again. "I'm screwed at this point so I'm not even going to pretend to try and fix it," A.J. said.

The following day, Tyra surprised the girls at home for a chance to speak one-on-one. A.J. revealed that she was having a difficult time being herself as tensions were continuing to rise in the house, especially with Melrose. "It's a lot harder when you're stuck in a place trying to do your best and not being around people who understand you" A.J. said.

The girls met Jay the next day for their photo shoot, where he assigned each girl a celebrity couple to portray. They each participated in two shoots, posing in one as the female celebrity and the other as the male celebrity. While most of the girls had fun with their characters, A.J. was not able to embody the personas of Marc Anthony and J Lo. Jay thought she was a little scared to let go. "A.J. isn't really being as creative as I would like her to be," Jay said.

During the judging, the girls were asked to be impromptu correspondents and give their best commentary of red carpet footage featuring the ANTM judges. When A.J. froze and let her self-consciousness get the better of her, the judges began to doubt her desire to be a model. "Being a model is more than just looking like one, it's about wanting to be one too," Tyra told A.J. before eliminating her from the race to become "America's Next Top Model."

In addition to a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant CoverGirl, this year's prize package for the winner of The CW's "America's Next Top Model" will include a contract with Elite Model Management and a cover and six-page fashion spread in Seventeen magazine.

Making its debut on The CW, the seventh cycle of the dramality series "America's Next Top Model" follows 13 young women as they attempt to prove they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress world of modeling. Banks, who created the show, also serves as executive producer along with Ken Mok ("Making the Band") and Anthony Dominici ("The Amazing Race").

"America's Next Top Model" airs Wednesdays, (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on The CW. For more information about "America's Next Top Model" log on to http://www.cwtv.com/.