Runner up is an awkward place to be. It's a place me and my co-host both know of, but it's not always a bad thing. Our next guest is just that. In my opinion, the Boyonce of this cycle. Poise, sophisticated and well rounded, lets welcome Superpower.
Hey fellow finalist. A spot I've come to well enjoy, how do you feel about being in this spot?
I like it tbh. 2 has been my favorite number since I was 7 or 8. My other favorite number is my birthday, 11 which is 1+1=2 (Beyoncé stole this from me)
Being runner up allows you to prosper without the Top Member tag on your back and everyone knows that you slay. I can continue to be myself, contribute to ATRL and have fun without any kind of pressure. I also don't have to judge next cycle!! Sounds like I won #PoorJake
You were actually a lot of people top picks, and I was a bit surprised you didn't win since I was for SURE you had it, hell by the time we were in the top 7 you seemed like a winner, were you a bit taken back by the loss? Or did you mentally prepare for it?
I wasn't surprised at all. I never seriously thought the judges were going to pick me. But I loved putting my entries together so I wanted to play for fun until the end. I was very chill about it. Maybe if I had lost to someone other than Jake or Era, I would've had a different reaction.
Week after week you handled yourself with poise, and held the standard for yourself really high, do you think this hurt you or helped you in the end?
My behavior wasn't calculated. I'm a pretty chill person and fun to be around with. What you saw in the thread is what everyone sees in every other thread unless I decide to laugh at the Navy (even though Rihanna is one of my faves) or decide to drag Kworb and Lipton. But it's always in good fun, never hurtful or rarely warning point worthy. I don't think it mattered because the judges didn't seem to focus on our behavior in the thread. Some contestants like Bomb barely had any presence in the thread and he still made the finale. Our comments after the entries and comments didn't seem to make any difference either.
You were kind of seen as this person who is all show and not enough personality as compared to someone like Bomb, Subomie, or Jezeng do you have anything to say about those comments? Do you wish you could have showed more of your personality?
The "no personality" comments from the contestants and some of the judges were cop out comments. They confuse being mature and chill as having no personality. If they want some messy entertainment, they can turn on VH1.
Since Day1, I never felt liked expect by 3 or 4 people. There were only a few people rooting for me. They couldn't come for my flawless entries so they decided to say that. I was a force in the thread and I'm a force in ATRL. And many can argue that I have more personality than them.
You owned this competition from the start, you made it yours basically, praised for your dedication and prosperity, but towards the end it seemed like while you lost steam, Jake powered through. Did something happen towards the end?
Not really.
My thread is still going to this day. I could've asked a thought provoking question but getting ATRL engaged was also part of the challenge. My thread had the right balance. I won that challenge but everyone made sure to tell me that I didn't really win. Like I had said before, ATRL is not a Harvard classroom and the popularity of Jake's thread and my thread showed that once again.
My Trials & Testimonies were also great and full of personality which some of the judges ignored. I loved Satellites testimony because it was short and hilarious. My other 2 testimonies covered everything else. I got dragged for that while others were praised for this very same reason. I was the only one to put Subomie at the bottom and he ended up getting eliminated with the lowest amount of points. It wasn't even close. And his overall average put him in 5th place. I was basically the only one who had a strong sense of what's been going on and kept it real. Why didn't the judges respond to that? I don't know.
My speech was also great. I made a strong and convincing case about why I should win and showed everything that I've achieved on ATRL in such a short time. It was pretty damn impressive. I also made a point that the title should be earned not given but at the end, it all depends on who the judges think will be the best rep for ANTM and Jake is honestly an excellent choice.
You mentioned in your Speech how you didn't show a lot of growth compared to your old post and now, do you think this might have hindered in the ultimate decision in you becoming a top member?
Probably but I knew the risk that I was taking. I wanted to stay true to myself. I wasn't going to create a fake arc to please the judges and I thought my honesty would've been better received. I'm open-minded and open to growth but I haven't met anyone here who can positively influence me. If I had been on ATRL a little longer, I would've been able to show the judges my growth. I didn't want to share experiences that happened outside of ATRL in my speech. Some users who know me on a personal level know what I've been through. I'm not sorry to say that I'm a great guy that many ATRLers love and look up to since I joined. I worked hard to get to this point. Why change that? Not everyone needs a "nu me"? Should I grow and become messy? The only thing in my ATRL behavior that has changed is that I've stopped trying to convince the trolls to change their minds about some issues.
We all know about Bomb-Gate, was there ever a point in the competition where you felt like you just didn't wanna go on anymore?
Nope. But I don't think I want to go through all of this again for All Stars.
How about the judges, did you ever disagree since you were less outspoken than others, so here's the time to give your opinion on it.
Most of the times, I agreed with them. Some of the criticisms, I saw coming before submitting my entry. But my entries were me and I was proud of them. If I was going to get eliminated, I wanted it to be over something that I was proud of so I wouldn't have any regrets. Overall I've been able to use their feedback and was able to present flawless entries that were still me in some challenges.
The Receipts challenge is when I got critiqued very unfairly. My album receipts thread was dismissed because it wasn't controversial piece and because they didn't like Coldplay. And my Suzanne Boyle clock was also negatively received even though that is the definition of a receipt and it literally ended the thread and stopped the troll.
Both times I had issues with Citrus, I immediately told him. We resolved our issues then and there and moved on. Who has time to harbor negativity for weeks and for fear of not winning? Not me!
I really hope to see more of you around the forum and think you do actually have personality and are fun to talk to silly banter or not, so I hope you do us top 2 finalist proud!
Thank you and thank you for your lovely and entertaining presence during this cycle. We were all bummed and missed you when you got banned.
