| Subject: MISS UNIVERSE RECAP |
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Date Posted: 23:27:08 12/09/19 Mon
Hi everyone!
Dealing with your Miss Universe hangover? đ I was up until 2 a.m. on Sunday morning watching the preliminaries. There were some that I thought stood out to me in the preliminaries-most made it, some did not. The gowns were great this year-lots of color. At least in the preliminaries. The final night was golden, but more about that later.
Top 20
I thought it was a great top 15, anyway. It seemed to me the final 5 were âOops, you didnât get in so weâll include you anywayâ. From the actual top 20, I had Indonesia, Albania, Croatia, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Peru, Mexico, USA, and India based on their preliminary performances. Indonesia was very genuine, very pretty, and had a great gown. She seemed to value being a global citizen and I think would have made a great Miss Universe. Albania, who I believe is either American or must have grown up here, had a great preliminary. She stood out, and that gown was to die for. It reminded me of Miss NH last year. Croatia was strikingly pretty and had a very stylish evening gown presentation. Portugal was hot! She reminds me of Latina contestants of old. She killed in swimsuit. I knew Puerto Rico, otherwise known as the one who wanted to be Miss Universe since in utero, would be there. Peru was my breath of fresh air contestant. She had something that drew you to her. Mexico was the same way, and she was very pretty onstage. I knew Cheslie came to win, and she had a lot of confidence. India stood out to me throughout the preliminaries. I had Philippines, Venezuela, and Colombia based on their sash factor and nothing more. Philippines was underwhelming to me this year. I said that they werenât repeating during preliminaries. I really donât think Venezuela deserved a top 20, I donât care what their record is. I am usually not one to comment on plastic surgery, but her nose was too thin. Colombia was very underwhelming to me in gown but the judges loved her. In the âI wasnât surprised to see themâ category was South Africa, Vietnam and Iceland. I thought South Africa did decently in the preliminaries, but we would know after she spoke why she won. Vietnam had a decent preliminary competition. Iceland I had as a maybe but not likely. I did not have Nigeria, Thailand, France, Dominican Republic, or Brazil in the top 20. Nigeria did not stand out to me in any way, nor did Thailand. France I personally liked, but she fell in swimsuit. She was good about it and laughed it right off, and maybe the judges like that. Dominican Republic I did not care for at all. She looked mean and had a sour face when she walked during the preliminaries. I didnât get warmth from her at all. Brazil looked old to me in the preliminaries. The ones that I thought had a chance of advancing were Argentina (she seemed strong and confident), Cambodia (cute, natural, had a breath of fresh air), Canada (didnât see her going that far, but she was consistent), China (I thought she did well), Denmark (like with Canada, I didnât see her going too far, but she was beautiful and you noticed her), Germany (she did well), Great Britain (even though she looked a bit old, she seemed to have a presence about her), Guam(again, didnât see her going that far, but she did well enough), Ireland (story, strong enough competitor), Japan (she had a very unique look that used to do well) and Kosovo (very pretty, good enough in competition). Out of these, the one that REALLY surprised me was Ireland. I am also wondering about where her citizenship actually lies, but she fit the âstoryâ down to a T. Plus, she had a good look about her, she was confident. I thought she was going to be a top contender, to be honest.
Top 20 Onstage Statements
Well, now we are seeing the influence of MAO. Take a preview because this is exactly what next weekâs competition is all going to be about, and only 1 actual classic competition. I was sitting wondering when this was introduced into their competition. I am not sure that it was fair, and lord knows weâve discussed this, to the Universe contestants in particular. This is not in any way meant to be a public speaking competition, and it was. I thought the following answers were the best: South Africa (very well spoken and intelligent), USA (can speak very well and confidently) and behind them I had Colombia (confident as well). I put India up high as well. In the âgoodâ category I had Indonesia, Nigeria, Croatia, Peru, and Mexico as all giving genuine answers. In the average, I had Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. France was cute and likeable, kind of like we used to see. Portugal was also fun, but I knew it wasnât what they were looking for. The weakest ones, IMO, were Vietnam, Albania (she didnât seem to have a lot of it factor), Dominican Republic (she seemed a bit shaky in her answer), and Brazil (just didnât seem confident). I had the following moving on: USA, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Colombia, India, Peru, Iceland, Mexico and Nigeria. I knew Portugal had blown it. I wasnât overwhelmed with Thailandâs answer, and even though I liked France, I just thought they wouldnât like her answer. I think ones like Albania, who MIGHT have made the top 10 had they been able to compete in actual categories, were eliminated because of one bad answer.
Top 10 Swimsuit
I still think this was a very good top 10. Based on most of their answers, I didnât disagree. Overall, I wasnât overwhelmed with the presentations. I think we are all used to the killer swimsuit presentations. I was slightly disappointed with Cheslieâs presentation. Her body, though-whoosh! Good lord, that girl is fit in addition to being so busy right now. For Colombia, I wasnât overwhelmed, once again. Puerto Rico excelled here, in my opinion. South Africa was decent and had some confidence, but I didnât have her as top in this group. Peru came out strong, I thought. Iceland was a bit hesitant, I thought, but had a naturalness about her. Thailand also rocked it like competitions of old. France did much better than her preliminary. Indonesia did not have the strongest presence, but she also had a naturalness. Mexico seemed a little shy or hesitant, but she looked pretty. I overall wasnât blown away by this competition. Again, I was used to the strutting your stuff and giving it all youâve got. I thought Puerto Rico was the best, and then I had Thailand right behind her. I would have had USA and Peru behind them.
Top 10 Evening Gown
Gold was the color of the night. Well, if youâre going for the pageant gold, why not be golden? In a way, some of them blended together. With Cheslie, I felt like I did when I saw her in swimsuit. She was confident, but I was a bit disappointed and I couldnât explain it. Colombia, I mentioned this with the preliminary competition, was very disappointing in gown. The gown was very basic, and her presentation was not strong at all. You expect better from Colombia. Puerto Rico was strong in her presentation here as she was in the swimsuit competition. Like in swimsuit, South Africa was decent, but I wasnât blown away. I wasnât wild about Peruâs gown, but she looked very confident and had nice stage presence. I liked Icelandâs dress, but she still seemed a bit hesitant or shy. Thailand came out and rocked like gown presentations of old. She really excelled here, and I loved the gown. It was bold and original, much like gowns of old. I wasnât wild about Franceâs dress, either, but she looked great in it. I really liked her, and if you looked at her face, she reminded me of the lovely Rachel McAdams. Indonesia changed gowns, and I liked the preliminary one better. This she looked nice, but she didnât stand out to me. I did like that Mexico also chose a deep red. It looked good with her coloring. She looked very elegant and classy. To me, there wasnât much elegance this competition, but she was elegant. Overall, I think the elegance was missing and aside from Puerto Rico and Thailand, what we used to see in evening gown was all but gone. I had Thailand winning this round with Puerto Rico following behind.
My guesses for the top 5
I kind of felt like France had come to the end of the road, as did Indonesia, Colombia, and South Africa. I thought USA, Puerto Rico, Thailand, and Peru were locks for the top 5. Thailand and Peru were the ones, for me, who really came alive during the competition and excellent as each competition went along. I was torn between the last top 5 between Mexico and Iceland. Iceland was one of those types that the judges seemed to love and seem to sneak into the top 5. But Mexico had a good competition night and seemed like a great young woman.
Top 5 and Q&A
I wasnât surprised at all to see Mexico. Thailand I fully expected there. Colombia shocked me. I didnât think she did anything near enough to be top 5. Puerto Rico was there as I knew she would be. And then South Africa was called. I wasnât totally shocked to see her, but I didnât think she would win. And I was STUNNED that Cheslie was not in the top 5. Or Peru. I thought that some of the best competition left and that this paved the way for a Puerto Rico victory. Mexico had a challenging question, and I thought it was Miss America level. I thought she did good enough with it. Thailand also had a difficult question, but I think that she answered very safely and middle of the road. Like a Miss America answer. She rambled a bit. Colombia, I thought, did not give a direct answer, it kind of danced around the question. Puerto Rico did answer well, but it also seemed kind of canned to me. When South Africa spoke, it automatically confirmed to me why she was there. She was very well-spoken, articulate, and spoke with conviction. I thought she was the best of this group.
My guesses about the top 3
To me, South Africa spoke her way into the top 3 and Puerto Rico was already there. The big question for me was only who would be the third? I could have seen in being Mexico or Thailand. Mexico came across as very likeable, and Thailand came across as a goddess. I had either one of them being the third delegate.
The top 3
When they were called, I wasnât surprised at all. Then came the final questions. I thought that Mexico showed a genuine side of herself and made a good case for herself. I think this was Puerto Ricoâs most generic answer. It wasnât bad in any way, but it sounded pageanty and unoriginal. Once again, South Africa spoke eloquently and made a strong case for herself. I was surprised at the final statement, which we will see again next week at the Miss America competition. I didnât really change my mind much after hearing those statements. I think we understood how strong of a speaker South Africa was, I think we understood Puerto Rico was on a mission to win and felt appointed, and I think we knew Mexico was a lovely, caring young woman.
My final predictions
I knew the 2nd runner-up was Mexico. I feared Puerto Rico was going to win. She would have easily won even five years ago, but this is getting to be a different type of system. I was yelling, âNo Cara, donât do this to us!â LOL. I just thought she was very obnoxious, unrelatable, and had no identity out of pageantry. I thought that IF they were going on speaking and presentation, South Africa was the clear winner. You couldnât help but like her, and I thought she had the clearest voice who would do well globally. My personal favorite was Mexico in the top 3, but I was totally fine if South Africa won. Olivia, the former Miss Universe, was on board with her as well as she mentioned. I had Puerto Rico winning but I thought that if the judges had any sanity, they would crown South Africa.
And they did!
I think she will be a great Miss Universe. She is very well-spoken and convincing. I really do think they made a great choice as a global spokesperson. I can easily see her going all around the world and relating to many groups of diverse people. She certainly has substance, sheâs very thoughtful, and I have no doubt she will bring much positive attention to the program.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
Cara!
I thought that was awesome that she was a judge. My first thought was that it was a big fakk you to the MAO by both Cara and Paula Shugart. I love it. But to me, it was a great moment. It was a moment of solidarity. I think there needs to be much less animosity between the organizations. Whether there is a rivalry or not, both systems are on life support as far as television ratings. There are great women in both systems who deserve to be recognized. And Cara did not disappoint. She was on a panel that picked a great top 20 and a great Miss Universe. I donât know if a Miss America has judged a Miss Universe system pageant, but good for Cara. And she looked great! I have it on good authority that it was also her birthday yesterday, so happy birthday!
Cheslie
I really thought she was our next Miss Universe. IMO, she brought her A game even more than she did at USA. She looked ripped; she spoke confidently. Iâm not sure what prevented her from at least a top 5 placement. The only thing that I thought was that if this were a confidence pageant, she would have won. I think she wasnât quite on her game as much as she relied on her presence to win. Lord knows sheâs quite accomplished. I think perhaps in our USA mentality we thought that what she brought to the table was what was needed for Miss Universe. It probably was. But I think we have to understand that not everyone shares our mentality. Maybe the judges were looking for someone who would resonate more on an international basis. Cheslie has succeeded tremendously as far as our culture. But there are many cultures throughout the world. I donât know. Itâs just kind of something I wondered about.
AND FINALLY
There are starting to be some serious changes to this pageant. I am going to address it in a separate post, but there was a lot of the same stories last night. I persevered; people didnât think I was (fill in the blanks) enough to win. I started this program; I started that program. I know the MUO faithful are not happy about the changes. Me personally, I think we are at a crossroads for pageantry, and that is what I am going to write about next. I think what is going on in MUO is a reflection of a changing reality for pageants. But where is it coming from?
What are your thoughts on the pageant? Iâd love to know!
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