Top Contender

Washington Street resident Jennifer Brown told herself she wasn't going to cry.
But facing elimination on reality show ``America's Next Top Model,'' the Walpole High School graduate just couldn't stop herself from breaking down.
``I was kind of embarrassed that I cried,'' Brown said yesterday afternoon before her evening shift at the Krayzee Horse bar on Washington Street. ``But it was so nerve-wracking I couldn't help it. I really expected they were going to call my name.''
Brown was one of the final 20 contestants on the show, making it further than 15,000 who tried out for this year's version, which promises a modeling contract and photo spread for the winner.
Despite not coming away with the crown, the experience convinced Brown that she could make it in the competitive world of modeling.
``I am going to keep pursuing this as a career,'' said Brown, beneath the flickering lights of the bar's flat screen televisions. ``I am doing some runway shows in Boston and my goal is to be signed to an agency.''
Brown, 25, said she wants to take advantage of the opportunity the modeling show has given her before she is too old to pursue this dream. She said she spent a half-semester at Fitchburg State and realizes college ``wasn't for me.''
``I love Norwood and my job, but I don't want to be a bartender forever,'' Brown said. ``I would love to live in New York and work as a model. This (`America's Next Top Model') was a great experience and hopefully it will help me get there.''
She said she is not overwhelmed by the odds she faces. ``I think it's a risk either way, but it's definitely worth it.''
Before the show, modeling seemed like a distant dream to Brown, who is a bartender. She hadn't modeled since she was a teenager.
``I tried out on a whim. My mom kept on saying I should do it and I decided the night before the audition,'' said the nearly 6-foot-tall Brown. ``I waited in line for hours and just couldn't believe it when they told me I had been selected the next day.''
Unlike some reality shows, which place contestants in difficult living conditions, the models began their journey on a cruise ship touring the Caribbean.
Brown said the models enjoyed the ship's luxury, but found some of the challenges, such as modeling life preservers and trying to runway walk in high heels as the boat moved on ocean swells, difficult.
``They had us on this platform next to the pool and you can't tell how much the ship was rocking,'' Brown said. ``It was so stressful, we were hanging on for dear life.''
Brown survived the show's first cut, which reduced the field from 33 to 20, but didn't make it through a second set of cuts that shaved the field to 13 contestants.
Host Tyra Banks and the judges on the show, known for brutal critiques of the contestants, did not have anything nasty to say about Brown, but did have some fun with her Massachusetts accent.
``I never realized I had much of an accent until now,'' Brown said. ``Honestly, I think a lot of modeling is just having the right look at the right time and this show just wasn't the right time for me.''
The Norwood woman said the modeling industry tends to categorize women's looks into two types, the classical and the unconventional. Brown said most people consider her look classical.
Brown said the other girls on the show were nicer than she expected and there was less back stabbing than she anticipated. Brown said Banks ``was nice, down to earth. I was expecting she would act more like a celebrity.''
The never-ending presence of cameras, Brown said, made life on the show a challenge.
``You don't think they are going to follow you everywhere, but they do,'' Brown said. ``It's awkward. I think sometimes they look for girls who are going to be over-the-top, but that's not me.''
To keep the results of the show a secret, ``Top Model'' contestants are not allowed to tell people they were on the show, which was taped this summer, until it aired last week. Brown said a lot of her customers at the Krayzee Horse were shocked when they saw her on the show and she got ``a million phone calls'' from surprised friends.
She said although she enjoys being close to home, the taste of high fashion on ``Top Model'' has given her the motivation to look for something more glamorous.
She has words of wisdom for anybody about to pursue a dream. ``Just go for it,'' she said.
Daily News staff writer Patrick Anderson can be reached at 781-433-8336 or panderso@cnc.com.