Cover, Uncovered

Well! Fun little roller coaster today.

First one regular contributor to Bellazon, then another, posted an early-access SI, revealing that Kate Upton, indeed, had repeated. Here she is, topless at the bottom of the world.

After a volley of opinions, positive and negative, suddenly those posts disappeared, and this message appeared:

At the request of Time Warner Inc please do not post the leaked copy of the cover.

It seemed the leaks were being plugged.

But later this evening, SI’s own Extra Mustard went ahead and posted it.

The cover then appeared on the SI and SI swimsuit Facebook pages. Apparently, they decided that the cover was leaked and making its way across the internet, so they may as well take control of the situation and announce it themselves.

Not sure what this does to the lavish Letterman reveal on Monday, but I imagine they’re working furiously to come up with a different angle for the episode.

Meanwhile, Tina Brady was once again a false alarm. The four 2013 rookies are Natasha, Emily, Hannah, and Kate.

Meanwhile, congrats to Kate. Christie, Paulina, Elle, and Tyra welcome another cultural touchstone to their club.

I’m still digesting the photo, but I do think it’s a prettier shot than last year’s. Canyon of Cleavage notwithstanding, there isn’t the decadent excess that bothered me about Kate’s 2012 showing.

I’m not sure the coat is doing her any favors, though. It hides her waist, and therefore her curves.

However, a bit of history: This shares a distinction with Cheryl Teigs’s 1970 cover as being the only two long-sleeved covers in SI swimsuit history.

Plus, it’s another topless shot.
Number of topless covers from 1964-1999: 0/36
Number of topless covers from 2000-2013: 6/14

In any case, this might be a copy worth picking up. I haven’t bought a physical copy of the magazine since the 2006 All-Star issue. I’m intrigued at the 7-continent range and the reproduced bodypainting covers. The crop of rookies is pretty sexy too, if a bit monochromatic.

Welcome 2013!