And by "welcome," I mean "pick them apart and figure out who’s got a chance of winning the ninth go-round of ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ " Join me, won’t you? A girl-by-girl analysis — with more photos! — is after the jump.I hasten to add that I’m only going on the two photos of each girl on the CW web site … pre-makeover. But I did pretty well last cycle — each of the top three finishers was in my top four picks. (The fourth, sadly, the awesome Kathleen, was the first to go.) Click on each girl’s thumbnail shot for a full-size different picture. My first few were easy: LISA has that whole vague ethnicity the judges love and reminds me of Noemie Lenoir, Thandie Newton (and a little bit of Jade!). Plus, look: In the group shot, she’s the only one working the hands! KIMBERLY has fantastic wide-set eyes, but she might have to work to put a little bit more expression into them, or La Tyra will have an excuse to trot out her "dead eyes" talk. At first I thought AMBREAL caught my eye just because she’s smack-dab in the middle of the photo … but then again, look at her aggressive posture, as opposed to others who look like they’re marionettes ("Broken-down dolls! Broken-down dolls!"). I do not, however, think she’ll win, because the judges will somehow find a way to work "not traditionally beautiful" (a euphemism for "wider nose") into the mix. Now for the second-round draft picks. (Because you know sometimes it’s not about who does best in an episode, but who flames out in a spectacular failure. JENAH doesn’t impress me much in her individual photo, but she too has nice eyes. One of my co-workers says she’s giving off a Cycle 8 Brittany vibe, but remember how much the judges liked that look until she wigged out? I bet after makeovers Jenah will be a stunner.When EBONY works her angles, like in the group photo, she looks like a contender. But when she doesn’t, like in her individual shot, she comes off like a younger, slimmer CCH Pounder, and there’ll be no chance. Even though she’s got long legs, what’s with that posture? Did she just dismount from a horse? (Someone needs some mirror time.) Added discussion point: Is her nose/mouth/chin combo more Furonda, Kristine W., Linda Evangelista or praying mantis? HEATHER looks a little like Carrie-Anne Moss in the group shot. I wonder how short they’ll cut her hair?

BIANCA appears to have only one expression, and it’s kind of a hard look. I think she wants to beat me up. SALEISHA has warmer eyes — she reminds me of Lauren Velez and Ciara, for some reason — but I don’t see her taking the prize, either. I heard SARAH (closest celebrity lookalike: Chyler Leigh) is this season’s plus-size girl. And they never win. But in her individual picture, she does minimize any extra size with her posing, so she might go further than past participants have. (And she doesn’t look all that "plus," really. Consider Tyra’s clocking in at 160-plus. …) I really wanted to like JANET — look at her amazing athletic body! — but when your face reminds me of Tracey Thorn from the band Everything But the Girl, I’m sensing an "ANTM" crown won’t be yours. MILA looks like a sullen milkmaid. The judges will deem CHANTAL "too commercial" (and she’s got that wonky eye, to boot). And VICTORIA looks petrified and wooden in both of her photos — not an auspicious start. She’s gonna get her hair chopped off, too. Maybe it’s Imogen Heap in a prank?But really, the only fun isn’t guessing who’s going to win. It’s guessing who’s going to be this cycle’s sand-in-swimsuit-style irritant. The know-it-all. The full-blown, bat-guano crazy one. Who doesn’t have a chance of winning but you want her to stay around until Final Three just to keep you happy? Who’ll break down and cry first? Who’s got the Big Secret — the lesbian/bisexual/anorexic? Who’s dumb enough to not know how to wear high heels? Who’ll pitch the biggest fit at makeovers? Who’ll be the first to say, "This is me, this is who I am" or,

better yet, refer to herself in the third person? (Sammit respects

that.)

The new season starts Sept. 19 on the CW. I’ll see you there, with your shiny silver-lame swimsuits. And if not, check here the next day for a recap of each episode.

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