US fashion model and TV personality Tyra Banks has revealed that she “cried” as Modelland, the dystopian YA novel first released by Banks in 2011, went viral 15 years later.
Modelland’s resurgence came after its theme song, also written and produced by Banks for the novel’s 2011 release, went viral on X and TikTok in summer 2026.
The self-declared ‘homemade’ song was described as “the worst song of all time”, featuring surreal production, excessive auto-tune, and unintentionally funny-yet-catchy lyrics such as “four chicks in green” and repeating “can you- can you- can you- can you survive Modelland?”
“Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games with some fashion magic”
Banks pitched the novel as “Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games with some fashion magic”, with Modelland to supermodels what Hogwarts is to wizards.
Those selected to the elite fashionista academy vie to become ‘Intoxibellas’, supermodels with actual superpowers.
The novel stars Tookie De La Crème, a 15-year-old girl with heterochromia.
Along the way, she meets a plus-sized girl named Dylan, a 4ft7 (140cm) girl named Shiraz, and a girl with albinism called Piper.
Banks drafted the story and it was then ghostwritten by Michael Salort.
Modelland was critically panned for its bizarre, invented vocabulary and surreal plot.
Publishers Weekly called it a “nonstop barrage of surrealism and wackiness”, with Bitch concluding it contains “more made-up words and terms than a Klingon translation of a Dr. Seuss book”.
The novel ended on a cliffhanger and was originally meant to have a sequel, but this was cancelled after the book flopped commercially.
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Can you survive Modelland?
“It was wacky. It was weird. A ridiculous fantasy world with real heart underneath it,” Banks wrote in a recent Instagram post addressing the novel’s resurgence.
“When Modelland first came out in 2011, I wanted it to fly high and last. But it didn’t,” Banks wrote in the post. “I wanted people to step into that world, dive deeply, and become obsessed. But they didn’t”.
She says she was “awestruck” upon seeing Modelland blowing up on TikTok and she “cried” seeing it be “rediscovered”.
“I’m writing this with tears in my eyes right now,” she added.
De la Crème to ice cream
Another one of Bank’s ventures is the SMiZE & DREAM ice cream parlour located in Sydney, Australia.
Banks said she was originally only planning a first anniversary celebration for the business, but Modelland’s newfound popularity “crashed” the party.
“SMiZE & DREAM Sydney’s 1st birthday and Modelland’s 15-year awakening are colliding,”
Banks wrote as she announced flavours inspired by the book’s characters:
Tookie de la Crème – Brown butter and vanilla cake
Four chicks in green – Dubai chocolate
Creamy de la Crème – Toasted coconut
Myrracle de la Crème – Strawberry birthday cake
“Characters don’t have faces… yet,” Banks wrote. “But they now have flavours.”
What is next for Tookie de la Crème remains a mystery – it all depends on whether Tyra Banks is running back to Modelland.
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