America's Next Top Model season 18

The eighteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model (subtitled as America's Next Top Model: British Invasion) premiered on February 29, 2012 and was the twelfth season to air on The CW. It occupied the time slot of the final two scheduled episodes of Remodeled. This was the first American edition of Top Model to be filmed and broadcast in high definition (HD). The cycle featured fourteen contestants, placing seven British models who had competed in previous cycles of Britain's Next Top Model alongside seven all-new American models.

Fashion industry public relations maven Kelly Cutrone replaced Vogue editor André Leon Talley as a judge for the series. The rest of the judging panel remained the same.

The international destinations for this cycle were Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong in China. This marked the second time the series filmed in China.

The prizes for this cycle included a modeling contract with LA Models & NY Model Management, a guest correspondent placement with Extra, a fashion spread in Vogue Italia, and both the cover and a spread in Beauty In Vogue, becoming the face of America's Next Top Model fragrance "Dream Come True", production of a record single released by CBS Records, and a US$100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics.

The winner of the competition was 21-year-old British Model Sophie Sumner from Oxford, England. American Model Laura LaFrate placed as the runner up. This is also the first cycle in the history of America's Next Top Model in which all three finalists (including British Model Annaliese Dayes) made it to the top three without ever landing in the bottom two during judging.

Casting
The cycle featured seven contestants from previous cycles of Britain's Next Top Model for a second chance to win the title. Cycles 1 and 7 were both unrepresented, cycles 2, 3, 4 and 6 were each represented by one contestant, and cycle 5 was represented by three contestants. Amelia Thomas from cycle 6 was supposed to also compete this season, but dropped out during casting.

Contestants
(Ages stated are at start of contest)

Judges

 * Tyra Banks
 * Nigel Barker
 * Kelly Cutrone

Episodes
No episode aired on April 4, 2012 due to the CW's broadcast of One Tree Hill series finale.

Call-out order

 * The contestant was eliminated
 * The contestant quit the competition
 * The contestant was part of a non-elimination bottom four
 * The contestant won the competition

Bottom two

 * The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom two
 * The contestant was eliminated after their second time in the bottom two
 * The contestant was eliminated after their third time in the bottom two
 * The contestant quit the competition
 * The contestant was eliminated in the final judging and placed as the runner-up

Average call-out order
Casting call-out order and final two are not included.

Photo shoots

 * Episode 1 photo shoot: American vs. British public figures
 * Episode 2 photo shoot: Toddlers of Kris Jenner
 * Episode 3 photo shoot: Very.com trends campaign
 * Episode 4 photo shoot: Posing with British hats and American cars
 * Episode 5 photo shoot: Covered in maple leaves and syrup
 * Episode 6 music video: Booty Tooch group video
 * Episode 7 photo shoot: Art installments at a dinner party hosted by Estelle
 * Episode 8 photo shoot: Hello Kitty couture
 * Episode 9 photo shoot: Wearing silk dresses with silkworms
 * Episode 10 photo shoot: Harnessed on the Macau Tower
 * Episode 11 photo shoot: Dream Come True perfume in a life-sized bottle
 * Episode 13 photo shoot & commercial: Beauty in Vogue spread; CoverGirl Blast Flipstick commercial and print ad

Makeovers

 * Mariah – Dark ombre with bangs
 * Louise – Beige blunt cut
 * Candace – Extra long weave
 * Ashley – Strawberry blunt cut
 * AzMarie – Shaved design
 * Kyle – Strawberry blonde with bangs
 * Seymone – Milk chocolate weave
 * Catherine – Magenta pink
 * Eboni – Long straight brown ombre weave with bangs
 * Alisha – Shoulder length black weave with one side shaved
 * Annaliese – Crazy teased weave, later; weave removed
 * Laura – Platinum blonde with blue & red clip-in extensions
 * Sophie – Cotton candy pink and bleached eyebrows

Criticism
During filming, an argument took place between judge Kelly Cutrone and contestant Louise Watts, resulting in Watts voluntarily leaving the show. Following transmission of the episode, Cutrone posted mocking videos to Watts online, and came under fire from fans of the show who accused her of cyberbullying.

Trivia

 * In a 2018 Instagram post, Annaliese Dayes revealed that during the photoshoot in episode 10, where the girls were photographed on top of Macau Tower, the girls experienced "hail stones and gail force winds at 388 metres above the ground". She also revealed that the weather was so bad, that the tower was closed "to the public due to the treacherous weather".
 * Dayes revealed on Instagram that the episode 2 photoshoot that with Kris Jenner was filmed on her 25th birthday, describing the day as "one of my best and most memorable birthdays ever!".
 * It was revealed that Amelia Thomas from Britain's Next Top Model (cycle 6) was supposed to take part as a contestant on America's Next Top Model as the eighth former BNTM Contestant. However, due to stress and other factors, Amelia withdrew before the competition aired.