MISS UNIVERSE 2021: AT THE HOMESTRETCH (CONCLUSION)

PORTUGAL – Oricia Dominquez. See POLAND.

PUERTO RICO – Michelle Colón. I don’t find her conventionally pretty, but she possesses oodles of charisma that I do agree with the buzz by many pageant fans and pundits that she could be in contention for the sixth crown for her country. She’s most especially the top stage performer of this batch, in my reckoning, so it is exciting to see how far she can go.

ROMANIA – Carmina Cotfas. It’s frustrating that the selection committee didn’t let her predecessor Bianca Tirsin through the Top 21, as that lady’s track record*2 was poised to bring forth her country’s breakthrough to this pageant. Based on that outcome, it’s not likely that this otherwise gorgeous lady will deliver that breakthrough, also, but still we have to note that she’s also competing at a high level, albeit not at the same heights as Bianca.

*2 Bianca was previously 2nd runner-up at Miss Suprnational 2017 and 3rd runner-up at Miss International 2018.

RUSSIA – Ralina Arabova. She’s generally solid onstage–not in serious contention for the Top 16, but still a worthwhile competitor.

SINGAPORE – Nandita Banna. She’s basically Mohanna Prabha 2.0. Like her 2019 predecessor, she sports short hair, has a lean frame, is of Indian ethnicity, is not expected to be in contention for the semifinals, but is a worthwhile contender anyway.

SLOVAK REPUBLIC – Veronika Ščepánková. She’s slender and statuesque and has good catwalk skills. Her facial features, though, has harsh angles and she can sometimes register as a tad more mature than her biological age, and combined with less than remarkable communication skills she’s unlikely to be in contention for the Top 16.

SOUTH AFRICA – Lalela Mswana. Of the Africans in this year’s pageant, she is the most compellingly complete package. I should dare say she’s a shoo-in for the Top 16. Yes, I admit that I also said practically the same thing about her predecessor, Natasha Joubert, who ended up as the winner of the Ruth Ocumarez award instead, but I feel that scenario will not happen to this lady. I have a feeling there is a wave of sympathy in her favor for the flak her country received for discovering and disclosing the Omicron variant of COVID-19, but again, there are also those abundant intrinsic qualties this lady possessed to that it will be a big injustice if she didn’t make the cut.

SPAIN – Sarah Loinaz. After arriving in Israel, she received heavy buzz as a favorite to win the crown. She is a strong communicator and delivered the goods onstage, though some fans criticize her too-strong makeup during the preliminary competition. She seems to be a shoo-in for the Top 16 and maybe Top 10, with a possible play for the Final Five.

SWEDEN – Moa Sandberg. As of late this erstwhile pageant powerhouse has uneven fortunes in this pageant. Though this lady is not a buzzed-about contender, I consider her another pretty “refreshing” choice.

THAILAND – Anchilee Scott-Kemmis. This half-Australian seems to be following the Siera Bearchell (Canada 2016, Top 9) playbook. Like Siera, she is parlaying her perceived weaknesses to be her advocacy and letting her strong communication skills win over the judges/selection committee. To the objection of many conventionally minded pageant fans and pundits, she might be able to pull this off.

“THE” BAHAMAS – Chantal O’Brian. She has a great backstory about being raised by a single mother and losing two brothers, is a great communicator, has strong catwalk skills, and makes a striking presence with her short hair. She can conceivably pull off that much-awaited breakthrough for her country.

TURKEY – Cemrenaz Turhan. She is a cut above the typical delegate from her country–possessing a pretty face and solid catwalk skills. She is also after my heart as she’s a Management Engineering major at her university. She’s an okay communicator but it’s likely she’ll be overshadowed by a bevy of stronger, more compelling speakers out there.

UKRAINE – Anna Neplyakh. This brunette is another member of the P.A.T.I.S. Crew.

U S A – Elle Smith. She reminds me of actress Halle Berry, in one of her lesser-buzzed-about looks. There are some hyping her as a favorite to win, I think there are more compelling choices for that crown. Still, with her solid stage skills and reported sterling communication skills, she’ll be a shoo-in.

VENEZUELA – Luiseth Materán. Based on her preliminary competition performance, she seems to also be another shoo-in for the Top 16, but it will be a challenge making the Top 10 with some more compelling buzzed about choices out there.

VIETNAM – Nguyễn Huỳnh Kim Duyên. She proved to be a sensational stage dynamo, making major impact in national costume and the preliminary competition. It’s interesting that she’s actually channeling a previous Miss Venezuela, Miss Universe 2018 2nd runner-up Sthefany Gutierrez. Sthefany was channeling Cher‘s iconic 1970s look, so in effect I’m tempted to call this lady “Asian Cher”.

With all 80 delegates accounted for, here is my leaderboard:

TOP CONTENDERS: INDIA, PARAGUAY, PUERTO RICO

SHOO-INS: COLOMBIA, FRANCE, PHILIPPINES, SOUTH AFRICA, SPAIN, U S A, VENEZUELA, VIETNAM

LIKELIEST: ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, CANADA, CHILE, COSTA RICA, CROATIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, GHANA, GREAT BRITAIN, HAITI, ITALY, JAPAN, KENYA, MAURITIUS, MEXICO, NAMIBIA, NETHERLANDS, PANAMA, PERU, “THE” BAHAMAS

INTERVIEW/ADVOCACY FACTOR: NEPAL, THAILAND

SASH FACTGR: BRAZIL

HOST FACTOR: ISRAEL

EXCELLENT: ARUBA, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, ICELAND, IRELAND, JAMAICA, LAOS, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, SINGAPORE, SWEDEN

VERY STRONG: ALBANIA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, CAYMAN ISLANDS, CHINA, CURACAO, FINLAND, GERMANY, GUATEMALA, KOREA, KOSOVO, MALTA, NICARAGUA, NIGERIA, NORWAY, UKRAINE

STRONG: ARMENIA, CAMBODIA, CAMEROON, DENMARK, EL SALVADOR, MOROCCO, SLOVAK REPUBLIC,

VERY GOOD: BAHRAIN, ECUADOR

Now, my “Fearful” Forecast:

FINAL FIVE: FRANCE, INDIA, PARAGUAY, PUERTO RICO, SOUTH AFRICA

TOP 10: COLOMBIA, PHILIPPINES, SPAIN, U S A, VIETNAM

TOP 16: BELGIUM, CHILE, COSTA RICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, THAILAND, VENEZUELA

BUBBLING UNDER: ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BOLIVIA, CANADA, CROATIA, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, GHANA, GREAT BRITAIN, HAITI, ITALY, JAPAN, KENYA, MAURITIUS, MEXICO, NAMIBIA, NETHERLANDS, PANAMA, PERU, “THE” BAHAMAS:

STRIKING DISTANCE: ARUBA, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, HONDURAS, HUNGARY, ICELAND, IRELAND, ISRAEL, JAMAICA, LAOS, NEPAL, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, RUSSIA, SINGAPORE, SWEDEN

For me, the 70th Miss Universe crown is a three-way fight amongst INDIA (Harnaaz Sandhu), PARAGUAY (Nadia Ferreira) and PUERTO RICO (Michelle Colon), with FRANCE (Clemence Botino) and SOUTH AFRICA (Lalela Mswane) possibly pulling off an upset. Wonder if the outcome would proceed as most expected, or would we see some out-of-left-field surprises? Let’s see how it all unfolds. Best of luck to all the ladies.

JUST ME!

JOSEPH