After four weeks, 31 days and countless hours of Tweeting, Facebook posting, texting, crying and cheering, the Top 6 contestants can now breath [a little].

This competition had its ups & downs and its surprises. In the end, all of the contestants earned their place as finalists. We did a break down on who racked #1 overall in Facebook ‘Likes’, comments and watched their strategies from day one.

The next and final phase is each contestant will do a personal video, up to 3 minutes, showing their personality and answering a series of questions. The videos will be posted online for public viewing only. Our team will make the final decision on who will be the next covers. On January 16, 2012, we will reveal who won the male and female cover for our March/April 2012 issue on www.obviousmag.com.

Here’s the breakdown:

TOP 3 MEN

#27 KEAVIN JAVON SMITH – TOTAL LIKES: 1,634 (TOP LIKES OVERALL)

Entered Contest: December 23, 2011
Photo Shares: 99
Comments: 170
His strategy: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook. Keavin engaged with his fans and supporters.

#92 BRIAN STEWART – TOTAL LIKES: 1,571

Entered Contest: December 29, 2011
Photo Shares: 318 (MOST SHARED OVERALL)
Comments: 129
His strategy: MSU (Morgan State University), Twitter, Facebook. Brian relied on his college alum heavily. Smart move.

#59 CALVIN MARTIN – TOTAL LIKES: 1,586

Entered Contest: December 27, 2011
Photo Shares: 89
Comments: 197
His strategy: Personality and engagement, Twitter, Facebook. Calvin thanked just about all of his supporters. Smart move.

TOP 3 WOMEN

#41 TRENDI – TOTAL LIKES: 1,504

Entered Contest: December 26, 2011
Photo Shares: 96
Comments: 261 (MOST COMMENTS OVERALL)
Her strategy: Massive Tweets (which put her in Twitter Jail several times) and Facebook. Trendi pulled no stops to utilize her resources.

#13 VANESSA BANKS – TOTAL LIKES: 1,327

Entered Contest: December 21, 2011
Photo Shares: 75
Comments: 225
Her strategy: Personality. Vanessa talked and even congratulated other contestants regularly. She used Twitter and Facebook heavily.

#22 TRACY SGROI – TOTAL LIKES: 1,245

Entered Contest: December 22, 2011
Photo Shares: 132
Comments: 83
Her strategy: Her dedicated friends. She won in the last hour by 44 Facebook ‘Likes’. Wow!