Top Model 14 Exit Interview: Alasia
Marietta, Ga., native Alasia Ballard was the youngest America’s Next Top Model contestant on Cycle 14 - she hadn’t even finished high school. But, even without modeling experience, she managed to make it to the off-shore locale before being eliminated last week. In an exclusive one-on-one exit interview, Alasia talks about how the other girls treated her, running late on go-sees and her mystery fascination with … vampires?
Check back early next week for the interview with this week’s eliminee, Jessica.
————————
Real Blogger: You seemed to really be at peace when you got to New Zealand, staring at the rainbow and the sky, after you got eliminated.
Alasia Ballard: (laughs) I kind of felt it was my time, that it was supposed to happen. I was just thankful I had even been on the show. I got the exposure and experience.
RB: How’d you end up auditioning, especially since you have no modeling experience?
AB: A friend of mine … I was in a class with her when they were having casting calls, and she said, you need to sign up … I went it and it took off from there.
RB: Were you nervous about auditioning because you hadn’t done it before?
AB: I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what they were going to ask me. When I get nervous, I try not to think of things too much. The more I think about it, the more nervous and the more nervous and the more nervous I get.
RB: So on photoshoots, then, you must have tried not to think about things.
AB: Exactly, yeah. I just wanted to learn. I was going to eat up anything they told me. I literally wanted to suck them dry for information. Tell me everything, even if it’s bad … be straight up with me, that’s what Ineed. If you gotta be ugly about it, be ugly about it.
RB: Sounds like you learned a lot.
AB: Oh yes. Not even just about about photoshoots, but about the industry as a whole … about myself, as a person, about other people. That you have to punctual, you have to be on time, be professional.
RB: Speaking of punctual, you committed the cardinal sin of “Top Model.” You were late to go-sees. What happened?
AB: (laughs) I didn’t know I didn’t have to go to all of them! I felt like I should have known that. So when I arrive at my last go-see, I could have been on time … And this whole map thing drove me crazy. (Ed. note: She forgot her map at the last go-see site) It was like, ‘Dang Alasia, you so stupid!’ I was moving so fast before that, like, let’s go on, finish now, I can still be on time, not even realizing I didn’t grab the map.
RB: At lesat you weren’t the only one late. I think three girls were late.
AB: I hate to say it, but I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. I know that’s bad.
RB: During that photoshoot (with the sheep and black dress), did you feel more pressure because you had been late on the go-sees?
AB: I felt the same amount of pressure at any photoshoot. I’m thinking to myself, I don’t want to be the first girl to go home in New Zealand. I things didn’t go the way I planned. So, I’m going home, but … i learned a lot. Even though I did not win, I can’t say I lost.
RB: It must have felt nice to have Andre Talley pulling for you early on.
AB: You know, I’m so blind. I did not know he liked me, that he had taken such a liking to me until after I watched. Honestly, I don’t know. It made me feel really good he talked about me like that. He said I can be successful in this industry, and that’s just unbelievable, because I want to model so bad.
RB: What do you think was your best photo shoot?
AB: The vampire photo shoot. There was something about not being able to see that was so sexy to me (laughs). It was weird. Just the whole vampires thing. I love vampires. I love all of it. I watch all those vampire shows.
RB: And I bet you like Twilight.
AB: Twilight, yeah! Those movies were off the chain. Vampires are just so sexy. They’re mysterious.
RB: OK, so what was your least favorite shoot, then?
AB: The nude photo and the last photo shoot, awkwardly. It’s weird, I don’t know. That one, or the water shoot- water skimming across your eyeballs. With the last photoshoot, I liked it, I like animals. Prince (the sheep) was adorable. I wanted to take him home with me and feed him grass (laughs). He was so sweet.
So I guess the water photo shoot and nude photo shoot. (In the nude shoot), Jay Manuel is right there, and it’s like, you can see all my goodies. It was awkward.
RB: And then you had that photo of your behind that they chose.
AB: It was so funny how they picked that. I can still look at that picture, and say if I did this that and that it would have been off the chain … Maybe I did have a better picture, but maybe Tyra though instead of choosing a better one, I’ll choose this one so she can learn something.
RB: What did you think of how Jessica, Raina and Brenda were acting? There’s one point where they sound like they are mocking you outside of your confessional, like they are being rappers.
AB: For people who were not in the situation, it’s a lot more stressful than it looks. You have to imagine, we’re filmed 24/7. There’s a lot of stress coming from them. People handle their stress differently, and lack of self esteem differently. (They mocked me) in order to fell better about themselves. But you know what, it’s a dog eat dog world, so I can’t even be mad at that. I don’t know why I’m such an easy target. I’m not that type of person, I care about people’s feelings. It’s kind of hard for me to, literally, think like them. I’ve never been like that.
But they had to do what they had to do to be better in the competition. I don’t have a problem with them. I’m sure a lot of things contributed to the way they were acting. As children, they were privileged a little bit more than me. I’ve never lived in a house before. We came from two totally different worlds.
RB: So what’s up next for you?
AB: I have to graduate! I graduate high school May 22.
RB: Hey, congratulations.
AB: Thank you. So I’m at high school all day. I leave at 7:45 a.m. and get back at 3:45 p.m. And I have a job at a department store, to make some extra money. So as far as agencies and going to go-sees, I can’t commit to it yet. I don’t have a flexible schedule. After I graduate, then I’ll be looking for agencies. I want to commit to it. I want to go to hundreds of go-sees. I’m just going to wait til I graduate.
I’m really interested in runway. I don’t mind photoshoots, but I like my personality to shinte through. I think that’s important. I’m really interested in commercials and runway. I’m dipping my toes in everything.
RB: Just remember to take a map to go-sees.
AB: (laughs) I have a cell phone with GPS now.
    |
