Let's all give a standing ovation to our next judge. He's the reason we all are here tonight. The longest running Top Member host as of this season, he's a friend to all, loves being a ginger, is super tall, dedicated, and loves all his contestants despite the headaches they probably give him. Please, let's all welcome, Matty!
Matty, Matty, Matty, thirteen cycles. How does it feel? Do you feel like Top Member is aging well?
I feel old
Not really, but then yet again I do feel really old. I won Cycle 2 which happened during my senior year of high school and have been a judge for the game since Cycle 3 shortly thereafter; in which I'm almost a year out of college with my Bachelors. The dedication. I'm growing with it and it's growing with me essentially. With that said, and I hope, I do think it's aging well. If you look at views and posts, each cycle becomes bigger than the other (minus a few flubs and relocation). I also feel like another factor as to why it ages well is because of the quality it produces. The challenges can be/are real aspects that you see in a lot of top members, so you are really testing your abilities to see if you can be one.
For the first time, I think you had a judging panel of mostly Mods, do you think this affects how certain members do and don’t do?
Oddly enough this was the cycle where I was determined to have the judging panel not mostly of Mods, which it was at one point. Thanks Cupid for getting inducted to the squad and ruining it I do find it weird that you say for the first time when there have been cycles with mostly mods/senior members who were mods. Like I think every cycle I've done there has been at least two to three mods on the panel. Therefore hearing for the first time seems fairly off-putting; like they aren't getting their own recognition they deserve.
Back to the question though, I hope it doesn't affect how certain members do and don't do because they know the state of the game. They know the members here may not necessarily be mod material ever, but they could be staple members who can be popular and mean something to the forum. For past cycles I've always preferred having mostly mods because it seemed like more of a reassurance and back up to find actual quality top members. It hasn't been until recently a few people have kind of talked to me about not having that for the sheer purpose it can steer people away from the game and to an extent not help with providing an accurate representation of who would be a top member. I listened because for the most part they are right. Who is better than choosing a next top member than the people who are considered top members to the community. That's a big reason why I even looked into say judge Umich. I got to know him through Les 3 and it opened my eyes to his character and how much people really love him on the forum. After watching for a while after that, I felt he would be perfect to judge on top member and has not disappoint. Now I still look at the quality of the members too. If you are a popular on the forum for trolling posts/threads that are made for fun; I'm not going to ask you to judge. You're a top member for all the wrong reasons that way.
What were your overall opinions on this cycle? As always how did it compare from seasons past?
I felt like this cycle was really unique and really does stand out when compared to other seasons. Honestly, after a few challenges during the other seasons, you could always see who were going to be front runners and go far. There were always certain people who started with a bang, kept going with a bang, and would end with a bang. This cycle everyone seemed to be neck and neck for a LONG time. I mean there was a different top call out each challenge until after the comeback. Everyone was seen equally for so long that it kept everyone on their toes because you never really knew where you would really stand. It wasn't until towards the end and there were less contestants that you could tell who could possibly win, but even then it was still a slight blur.
Each of those two cases do present themselves with pros and cons though. If there is a visible front runner whom from the start you think is going to win: pros would be you know who you are to keep your an eye for it could be a fluke and too good to be true and the fact it would give the other contestants motivation to strive harder to beat them providing a better competition; cons would that if the front runner ever flubbed a little they would be judged harsh because we know they could do so much better and, to an extent, if there are front runners it can not have us really focus on everyone else for a much better equal chance. If ever one is equally for majority of the competition: pros would be everyone is given such an equal shot to impress us each week and there is an ever constant bar for each other to break; cons would be it can be a little boring because it could make us wonder if anyone can truly stand out from the pack and hold their own.
You’ve crafted Top Member what it obviously is now, and your now basically the longest running host. From when you started hosting to now, what do you think has changed in the game?
I think the game has changed for the better and gives a much better representation to who really is a top member with the tests that you are put through. I kind of touched on this in a post in ANTM, but even though people see Top Member as a game that I have really crafted and made what it is now; Angelo (the original) and Julian (chapstick) really helped in the process. Angelo started the game for what it is and brought the love for the game. The difference from then and now is that Angelo for the most part would do challenges based on aspects of your profile and just take things from there. You would not have any chance of defending what the challenge is; you were judged purely based on what it was. Username challenge, your name is DripDrip, you would be judged based purely on the name. Did the judges and people think it was the best and top member enough? You had no chance to defend why your name is the way it is to get a backstory as to why it is your username. That was the way it was. Angelo did towards the end of his hosting reign bringing in challenges in which the contestants would provide words with their entries, but it was nothing as lengthy as it is now. Julian is the one who you would really thank for how the set up is now. He basically started the entry writing aspect of Top Member that I kept. The difference from his cycle hosted to mine is that I feel like a lot of his challenges were mostly catered to the creative minds; it was a lot of story really. I did reuse a bit of what he did like the infamous Build-a-Challenge challenge that I ended up not doing this challenge. Sorry Kitt, I knew that upset you when you found out. Ultimately it has done a complete makeover since the first cycle and I think it's for the best. It is what is needed to do to grow for the game to be the best it can and for the game to find the best members it can.
There was some animosity between the judges, what goes through your head when you have two of your judges arguing like that?
I really dislike it. I know we all have different opinions which is what I love with top member and why there are five of us. The more opinions the better for everyone to grow. It's just that when it gets so heated to the point where there are arguments on the judging panel, it kills me. I want you to have different opinions and stand put on them, but I also want you to see the judges points of views. I think that last sentence is oddly enough what I think I sent to Cupid and Citrus in some phrase or another. But like I did with A Bomb, I even talked to them and tried to get them calm down and talk to each other about things. That's all you can really do though. I dislike it, but even the judges get passionate with you all! Feel loved dammit
Do certain people on the judging panel have more influence on your opinion compared to others?
Absolutely not. Rankings are determined based on total scores and average rankings. It is a complete collaborative effort. The rankings then determines the bottom two in which we then discuss of the two who should be eliminated. In that case majority goes. A lot of the time it was 3 against 2 for people, but majority would rule especially when there was no room to sway. There was really one time in which I had to make the sole decision, we all know which elimination that was. But, yeah, no judge has more influence on me or others; every one is equal. Also, I was normally the last one to submit rankings/comments and to provide my final thoughts on discussions. That was partially due to my work schedule, but I imply Tyra's thought process when it comes to eliminations. I, the host, essentially vote last and have the last say in discussions before giving the final post. I listen to what all the judges have to see and where they stand their ground on. It's all equal.
There’s been as always critique’s, that Top Member is starting to become more and more like a competition for “Future Mods” instead of Popular members, do you feel yourself like you’re intentionally doing this or are these statements for the most part, false?
I see where they are coming from, but for the most part the statements are false. Being a moderator should never be anybody's true priority; you should not strive and be this member in hopes that one day you would become a moderator. The reason why I kind of put a lot of emphasis on moderators is because, to me, that is one of the highest positions one can get on the forum. If you are a popular/top member and you become a moderator; you've essentially made it. Case in point, Retro or whatever his name may be this season. He was a contestant on a past cycle and during that cycle he became a moderator. Luckily it happened during a week in which he forgot to submit an entry, so he was in the bottom two, but he was essentially eliminated for reaching the mod position. Had he submitted an entry and not land in the bottom two, he'd still be eliminated. That would have been dramatic. It's also another fact that two ANTM winners became moderators, other contestants have become moderators, an actual FINALIST [Marq] became a moderator, and other contestants and finalists have strongly been considered for the position. Our purpose is not to find the next top moderator or future moderators, but more often than not who we are looking for in moderators or the qualities I see and us moderators see in top members. The key thing in all of this is quality. To not bring him into this, but still kind of need to since he has been vocal, lets just use Jax. Everyone knows him, people love him; he's a mess. He's a member who is known and loved for the most part for things he say that more often than not leads him to constant bans. *insert but the mods give warns for ******** reasons, they are out to get me, they are biased as hell, etc here* He is a top member, but not in the sense of what this competition is about. By no means are we looking for perfect and proper members. If that was the case majority of the winners since I've hosted should have their title revoked because they aren't perfect. Even most of the cast list for each cycle should not have been included if that was the case. If you get warning points here and there for posts, so what? It's all about how you represent ATRL for the community and looking like you can bring some quality onto this forum beyond the messy popular members.
I ask this every reunion, but what contestant really took you by surprise the most? Which let you down the least?
To extent the contestant who really took me by surprise was Jake. I've seen him around and, as he pointed out in the thread, asked him to guest judge on a challenge a few cycles back.... since it was related to Taylor Swift. That was where my thought process was it. He had a great casting application to get into the game, but I honestly didn't think he'd last long due to me thinking every entry would be catered to a shrine of Taylor and so much Taylor would be in his entries that Taylor Nation would shut down the thread He honestly surprised with his depth of character in who is and I really got to know him through his entries which is something that I love to experience in this game. He really surprised with his quality and depth to his beyond my original impression that he was nothing but another Swift stan.
Since I think who took me by surprised and who let me down the least, I'm going to switch it up and tell who I think let me down the most. I have two people who let me down the most. One being Buddy. Such a loveable guy and everybody loves him, but during some of the challenges they just felt like let downs when I thought he would shine. I had him originally in my preconceived top three. The other one is none other than Brandywine herself, BeyRih. I feel like I mention her every single time in a game I'm judging in when it comes to the reunion and how she lost. The reason why though is because I know how much of a quality top member she can be and it kills me that she hasn't found it yet or hasn't found a way to translate it to others yet. It's coming down to the point that she really needs to find it on her own, possibly during her banned breaks to reflect, or maybe all-stars would be up her alley. It just sucks seeing all this potential and it's not translating. She's already a top member, but not in the quality sense I would like, and I think she can be bigger than where she is now.
There was a point where Subomie was in the Bottom 3, for three weeks straight. Do you think if you would have kept him, that it would have been fair? I have to ask, what’s the judging process at that point?
That was the week that it pretty much came down to me because the judging was basically split. A few had firm stances on one or other being eliminated, while the other two had stances but saw pros and cons to keeping one or the other. That was a really hard decision. To answer the question, why would it have not been fair? If he had continued on, then that meant that we saw more potential in him to move forward to the speech portion to hear his final word than A Bomb. Does your ranked positions get talked about in judging to determine if you'd be eliminated or not, of course. But also, at that point, bottom two discussion, numbers don't mean a thing. It's all about who we think has more potential to move on. Your bottom two appearances do speak loudly, but so do your top call outs. Like for my mentality and trying to see who would move on this week, they were equal chart wise. At that point Sub had two top call outs and three bottom two appearances, so I had that as a negative one. At that point Bomb had one top call out and two bottom two appearances, so I had that as a negative one as well. Neck and neck. It all basically comes down to potential, but the factors do come into deliberation.
What do you see JakeKill’s impact on the forum as his time as a crowned member comes?
It's hard to actually say what I see Jake's impact being on this forum during his time as a top member winner. I just know I see great things if he continues on the path he is going based on what saw entry wise and mentioned in his speech. I really just see him becoming an even more quality member than what he is now and more people witnessing it and falling in love with him for it.
You’ve had a few list of winners you’ve chosen under you belt, as time went on do you still feel your decisions on the winner were the right choices or has there ever been a time where you regret choosing one?
Here's the thing about Top Members, when a winner is crowned you really do not know the outcome. That is why there is a hence on Next and it being a probability. The game is basically a tool of lessons we put you through in hopes you use it to channel your inner top member and grow for yourself using it. There have been flop winners because shortly after winning they fell off the face of the planet. There have even been winners who have showed signs of not being a top member anymore due to actions. Even after all that, I wouldn't take their crown away from them. It was during those times where majority felt that they were the right choice in whom we saw taking the forum by storm as the next top member. It's all a game of chance in the outcome which is why in a sense, and speaking for myself here, hope the 'losers' keep following and use the tools of the challenges to become top members in their own rights and prove the judges wrong. There are two things that can make me happy with this game: one being that the winner actually does become that top member we saw and two, the 'losers' who we saw a lot of potential in become top members and prove us wrong. It's not about each individual stop, it's all about the progression/journey/growth/learning.
Where do you see Top Member going from now? A few people have commented on how the formula needs to change, and few people seem to like where its heading, what do you feel?
I continue to see Top Member growing slowly each cycle as it has been. Constantly improving and changing each cycle in hopes of making it better and adapting to what ATRL sees as a quality top member. I'm always up for constructive criticism and ideas on how one would think of to improve the game. I do think this cycle with the different challenges and a different way of discussing who is eliminated was really successful. The judging discussing was something I'm really proud of. I felt like it was an as good as we can get to judging together on an online forum as we could so that everyone was hearing what others had to say and what not.
As always, what can we look forward to next? All Stars? Cycle 14?
I mentioned this before, but as the way things are looking, Cycle 14 is next in line. I am planning on doing that sometime around March of 2016. Yes, a long time away, but I need a break. I'm also possibly doing a few other things during this break as well, so let me take a step back for a bit. As for All-Stars, I believed I promised it would happen after Cycle 14. There is just a lot to think about with all-stars because you need it to be different than actual cycle. You are under the assumption of having this cycle be the best of the best. The members who have lost and owned their top member potential and proved us wrong, or have been in the process and aren't there yet. You have to have different challenges for that, and it's slightly difficult to think about how to test that. I have a few ideas on how I think I can achieve that, but I'll need to get those judges input first; whomever those judges may be.
(I’m not sure how the contestants would feel, though. Perhaps it’s time to turn the tables and have them judge the judge. That would definitely be a learning experience.)
I'm up for judging the judges, just let us know when Sup! But it's been fun I thought you did well. Sadly I didn't go far but I'm still on the forum so no love lost
One being Buddy. Such a loveable guy and everybody loves him, but during some of the challenges they just felt like let downs when I thought he would shine. I had him originally in my preconceived top three
Aw
Well thanks papa. I won't disappoint you next time
Umich's comments were too positive for everyone. Perhaps positive is the wrong word but just too broad. I think your comments were more constructive and would personally prefer more judges like you on the panel. Even when you dragged me (or others), I knew it was coming from a good place and it felt very helpful. Maybe more detailed is the right word.
Thank you! This is what I was most worried about this cycle, that some of you would think I disliked you.
(I’m not sure how the contestants would feel, though. Perhaps it’s time to turn the tables and have them judge the judge. That would definitely be a learning experience.)
Can this be a season 14 challenge? Make all the tables turn. One second the contestants are judged, then suddenly the contestants are judging.
Here we are ladies, gentlemen, Subomie, Citrus, Cupid. Twinks named Buddy! This contestant came through a pulled a win under our noses, starting out the competition very low key and then rising to the top quicker then his faves CD. He's our winner. Please lets all give a standing ovation to JakeKills everybody!
So JAKE, our cycle 13 winner, what was going through your mind, what did you feel when you scrolled down and saw your name there?
I was feeling rushed because the final results were revealed like five minutes before The Flash started, and I wanted to have time to react without missing my show. To say that I was shocked to see that I won would be an understatement. I was seriously expecting Super to win, either in his own right or because I got Boyonced. My initial reaction post (of Taylor's infamous surprise face, of course) was actually pretty accurate in capturing the feeling of the moment. A picture's worth a thousand words. I posted four pictures.
You were often seen as the under study to Super and Era, always grouped with them as members with lots of potential and class, what do you think was the drive that pushed you to the win?
Era and I were already friends heading into this (he even got a shoutout in my application), and Super emerged pretty early on as one of my favorite players—in terms of both personality and entries. It was really great fun to be in this game with them—and for all of us to make the top 5 was just spectacular. There isn't anyone else I'd rather be grouped with.
Funnily enough, I never really felt like I was fighting to win a challenge, or to win the game itself. Maybe that's why it took me until the eleventh hour to snag a Top Call Out. I'm a firm believer in the idea that all that you can ever do is do the best that you can, and that's how I played this game—by doing the best that I could, or at least trying to, anyways.
You really pulled it out with your finale speech, what gave you that lash inch of power to really pull out all the stops and make a great speech?
Writing is and always has been my greatest strength as a student, and as a person. So really, I just lucked out that the final challenge was to write. Even before the challenge was posted, I had some ideas of what I needed to address—my stats, my stanning, my blunder in the branding challenge... Aside from that, the fact that the challenge required us to reflect on our journey as an ATRL member was really just icing on the cake, considering how much I had to say on the subject. I have to admit that I can be pretty pretentious about my writing, and I honestly would have been a bit disappointed if that speech hadn't been well-received because it was fantastic.
Often times you were just seen as “a generic _____ stan” and weren’t seen as exciting or new as compared to Bomb or Super, did these comments ever effect how you saw yourself in the competition?
I touched on this briefly in my speech, but I feel like my entries for the presentation and branding challenges were a really big misstep for me. At that point in the game, I didn't really know that presenting yourself as an avid ("devout" lol) stan was decidedly not the way to ensure your continued existence in ANTM. I feel like my over-the-top entries in these challenges really left a lasting impression, and not the kind that I wanted to make.
It did get a bit frustrating that people would say that "all of my entries were about Taylor" when that really wasn't the case (post-branding, anyways). Taylor was one of many artists mentioned in my entries for Trends, Musicality, Receipts—other entries made only the barest mention of Her, if any. I never felt like She was truly the focus of any of my post-branding challenges, and it felt like sometimes people would just see a Taylor gif in one of these entries and then generalize to say the whole thing was about Her. Honestly, I knew that there was nothing that I could do to stop people from seeing me as "the Taylor stan." If they were unwilling or unable to see past that even after my entries were more subdued in their references to Taylor, that was an issue with their perception of me—not a problem with my self-presentation.
However, there was someone that I did try to distance myself from a bit—and that's Vespertine. Early on, I was compared to him by at least Matty and Citrus. Later, including his testimonial drew mixed reactions, and probably reminded some people that "hey! Jake is kinda like him!" The final speech was a last chance to prove that I wasn't trying to replicate his performance in season 12, or his posting style in general. It wasn't even a deliberate decision as much as it was proof of the natural differences between us as people/ members: him naturally more entertaining, me naturally more serious. I highly doubt it even crossed anyone's minds, but I guarantee that if I had made a more entertaining speech, every single judge would've written me off as Vespertine 2.0. And as much as I love him, that's not what I am.
Your win reminds me a lot of Edge’s from Cycle 8, shocking, surprised, but still that hint of the right choice in there. You have a long line of winners before you that have become some of the best members of this site, how will you try to live up to these expectations?
Being compared to Edge is a big compliment, given that he's probably the most high-profile winner in ANTM history. I don't really see that in my future (and you should know by now that I'm pretty good at seeing what's coming). I have a long history of not living up to expectations, but at least I won't let down ATRL as severely as I'll disappoint anyone in my family that expects me to have a Master's degree and a wife.
Jokes aside, I'll do what I can to bring more substantive discussion and good-hearted humor to ATRL. I feel like I can safely say that Super will as well. We're a great top two that way. I'll also use my new title to promote inter-fanbase unity, defeat She Who Must Not Be Named, and continue to preach the gospel of the Lord. Of course.
How was your experience in top member, did you end up learning something about yourself? Or did you end up surprising yourself?
I think that the most surprising thing to come out of the time that I spent in Top Member is just how much it reinvigorated my interest in being on the site. I talked about this in my speech, but I really can't stress how much thought I've put into "retiring." This probably won't be very reassuring to the judges, but there were times even throughout the game that I thought it'd be fun to win and then just... vanish. I'm really fascinated with the idea of building yourself up as high as is humanly possible, and then just bowing out at the top. I always imagine it as a famous magician disappearing in the middle of a career-defining performance, never to be seen again. However, I don't want to pull a vanishing act anymore, and it honestly surprises me that that's the case. I suppose that that's a testament to just how wonderful the ANTM experience has been.
When you initially signed up, did you ever in your Wildest Dreams.mp3 on iTunes now CopyRight Taylor Nation Patent 212,422,424,563,242 think you would WIN?
Not at all. Early on, I thought that I'd get lost amidst the pretty graphics and loud personalities. Even later on, I thought my entry for Do's & Don't's was so bad it would send me packing. Somehow, I didn't even end up in the bottom two. I still don't know what happened there. Even getting a top call out for Trials & Testimonies came as a bit of a surprise. I never wanted to get my hopes up, because I saw more top member potential in Super than I did in myself—and not just because he had more impressive stats over the course of the game.
What are you plans as you continue to grow and make your mark around the forum?
Now is probably as good a time as any to #expose myself. In the Presentation challenge, I said that I've grown to love my username and that I wouldn't change it even if I could. That was a massive Gaga-sized lie. And some of the judges seemed to know it. The fact of the matter is that as soon as I can get my hands on a name change without forking over cash dollars to do it, JakeKills is DEAD. Maybe changing my name will make me unrecognizable, lose me in the crowd. Maybe I'll rise like a phoenix, burn brighter than ever before. Maybe I'll free myself of my pop stan shackles, become one of those members that transcends fan base membership. The excitement is in not knowing what could happen.
Out of all the entries you did, which one was the hardest, the easiest, and which one surprised you on how well you did?
Trends was, by far, the easiest for me. I had that psychic smilie bookmarked before my application was even approved. I was ready and waiting for the round when I could use it. A few other challenges were difficult, for various reasons:
•threads, because I struggled to come up with something that would get ATRL posting
•receipts, because I had to ask Superpower for help to make sure I knew what I was doing.
Interestingly, I managed to place second in both of those rounds.
I was actually quite surprised that I came in second in the threads challenge (or first, without those bonus points). I was a little afraid that the lack of involvement in the thread and the fact that it prominently featured discussion of Taylor would do more harm than good. I was also shocked that I didn't end up in the bottom two with Dos & Don'ts.
Lets be honest for a second, who, from the top 3 had you scared the most and you saw as your competition?
Honestly, I was pretty sure that it was between Super and I once Subomie was eliminated. I hadn't written Bomb off completely, though—not until I actually saw the final entries. His speech didn't seem to measure up to the other two, which is a shame because I think the final results could have turned out differently if he'd made more of an effort. I didn't even really see Super as someone that I was competing against, per say. The two of us were both confident that the other would win, too.
In every Top Member cycle there are obviously ALWAYS contestants that people just see taking home the crown, in this case Conatus and lovesong. Did you think staying in the back at the start, benefitted you a bit or hindered you?
Can I just say that I was actually shocked when Sam got that ax? I definitely had him pegged for finale material. Anyways, I don't really think that I did stay at the back. Look at my chart run: 10-9-5-2-2-6-5-3-2-1. I started out on rocky ground with my dumb stanning entries (presentation, branding), but after that I only missed the top 5 in the artist promo challenge—when one member of each team had to place in the bottom four. I wouldn't exactly call that "back of the pack" placement.
Are there any final words you would like to say to any contestant, judge, or even on looker?
To the Top Member contestants hosting or judging other games that I'm participating in (Sam, Era, lovesong), it was a pleasure playing with you and I'm glad to have more chances to win games to play with you. To the judges (Cupid, Umich) that were hosting fun games that died slow, miserable deaths, I ask, "What's good?"
Matty, I'd absolutely love to be a judge next season, if you'll have me! Think about it! Either way, I'll try recruiting members to sign up for the next season when it comes (starting with onlooker / testimonial writer Prismatic).
It was great getting to know y'all better / interacting with y'all more. I wish lovesong hadn't dropped out. I'm proud of Era for making the top 5. I love Citrus. Better luck next time, Bey_Rih! I guess that's enough for now.
The real tea is that it was my idea to bring in more non-mods into the panel and me who suggested umich.
Sorry but I'm taking credit for that one. I suggested and pushed for him back in the early process so when I saw he got in, I was excited and presumed Matty reconsidered him. You've got 200 other things you claim; lemme have that!
He basically started the entry writing aspect of Top Member that I kept. The difference from his cycle hosted to mine is that I feel like a lot of his challenges were mostly catered to the creative minds; it was a lot of story really.
I could actually tell. In the beginning I did well because the challenges were based more on us explaining ourselves (username/avi) and were solely written-entries. I honestly prefer those to the gifs/music choice ones because I had more control over the outcome. It gave us a chance to explain our thought-process more which I liked.
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It's all a game of chance in the outcome which is why in a sense, and speaking for myself here, hope the 'losers' keep following and use the tools of the challenges to become top members in their own rights and prove the judges wrong. There are two things that can make me happy with this game: one being that the winner actually does become that top member we saw and two, the 'losers' who we saw a lot of potential in become top members and prove us wrong.
That's what I thought too And the only reason why I decided to join even though I was hesitant at first.
