Reality Check
Withdrawal from Leah? Catch her on KCTS

By Pamela Sitt
Seattle Times staff reporter

	Is the face of the new spring Sephora catalog "Top Model" winner Yoanna House? UPN says no. A Sephora cover is one of the "Model" prizes.
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In an exit interview with reporters last week, LaBelle said she "felt like I had died" while standing alone on the "American Idol" stage moments after being eliminated, watching a montage of clips from her experience. "It was just so sad to see everything I went through and ... how much I wanted to be there still," she said. "I told Fantasia and LaToya and Amy and Camile that they better call me every day, or else."

LaBelle might want to call Matt Rogers to commiserate — the former Husky, who now lives in California, became the second finalist to be eliminated from "American Idol" last night. Judge Simon Cowell called him a "sellout" after his rendition of Lonestar's "Amazed" on Tuesday's country-themed round. Still, Rogers remained gracious and was all smiles as he serenaded Cowell and Paula Abdul with a personalized version of "Amazed" as the credits rolled.

Meantime, "American Idol" has turned into one of those cheesy "Old Navy" commercials.

Tyra Mail: Note to Yoanna: The old adage "never run with scissors" also applies to brandishing a pair moments before an important photo shoot. Still, the former pudgy duckling with the striking face overcame an impromptu self-inflicted haircut to become "America's Next Top Model," beating runner-up Mercedes Scelba-Shorte in Tuesday's season finale. So is that Yoanna House smiling on the cover of the spring 2004 Sephora catalog? After refusing to comment last week on speculation that Sephora prematurely "outed" the Top Model winner — whose prizes include a Sephora cover — UPN officials now say the cover model is not Yoanna. The network has already ordered two more editions of "Top Model" for next season; model scouts will be in Renton April 26.

Bye-bye, babes: Oh, that Adam Mesh. Such a stand-up guy, he is. In Monday's second installment of NBC's four-part series, "Average Joe: Adam Returns," the reject-turned-reality star pulled a "right-back-atcha" at producers who threw him a twist. When a busful of swimsuit-model types — in bikinis, no less — showed up to crash the party, Mesh sent them packing before the 15 women he's already wooing returned to the house. (No wonder thousands of singles wanted to meet him after he was rejected by Melana Scantlin on "Average Joe.") Fans will be happy to note that Mesh hasn't changed much since he memorably — and accidentally — torched a stuffed animal during a romantic date on the first series: He frequently blushes, asks producers if he sounds like an idiot and struggles to open a bottle of champagne. With 10 women left going into the third episode, we're rooting for Jennifer Lifshitz, the awkwardly sincere Rachel Dratch-look-alike who's never had a boyfriend. Said one contestant of Lifshitz: "I look at her and I think, 'Rabbi's daughter gone wild.' "

You're hired: Talent scouts for NBC's "The Apprentice" are skipping Seattle on their national casting tour for the second batch of Donald Trump's lackeys (come on, was Tammy really that bad?). We have two words for you: Road trip! Open auditions for "The Apprentice 2" will be in Portland April 2. Visit www.nbc.com for details.

Notes: NBC has added George Foreman to the talent roster for the upcoming series "The Contender," presumably for his boxing prowess as opposed to his lean-mean-grilling capabilities. Foreman joins Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard as mentors to 16 boxers-in-training in a show created by the heavyweight champion of reality shows, Mark Burnett. ... After a brief dispute with laborers in the heavily unionized city of Philadelphia, MTV's "The Real World" has agreed to kiss and make up with the City of Brotherly Love. The production packed up and left Philly March 16 after picketers protested MTV's hiring of nonunion workers to transform a former bank building into the "Real World" pad. ... ABC is seeking contestants for its new reality series "The Benefactor," in which billionaire businessman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will give away $1 million to a complete stranger. Why? Who knows? ABC has yet to reveal any details, but Cuban has said: "The right person is going to get on my good side at the right time and, whoever that is, is going to walk away with a check for $1 million." Are there really still people out there willing to sign up for reality shows with no idea what they're in for? We fear the answer is yes. Visit www.abc.com for details.

Pamela Sitt: 206-464-2376 or psitt@seattletimes.com

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