Some interesting notes from the pageant.

One of the surprise names in this year’s Top 15 is the delegate from Hungary. Interestingly enough during last night’s final dress rehearsal Hungary was also called among the Top 15, along with eventual quarterfinalists Colombia, Czech Republic, Venezuela, Italy, Dominican Republic and South Africa. Let me present this conspiracy theory: could it be possible that the Miss Universe organization intentionally included some of the actual Top 15 delegates in the rehearsal so that they could rehearse? After all what use would a dress rehearsal be? Then to throw off viewers present, other favorites (who did not make the list) where included in the Dress Rehearsal Top 15 like they did, Thailand, India and Panama.

The gown Miss Dominican Republic wore in the pageant is the exact same gown worn by Ms. Falcon, Sin Rencor during the Miss Venezuela 2007 pageant. Miss Japan’s dress was also seen on Riyo Mori in last month’s edition of Japan’s Jane Magazine.

The Miss Universe Blog did very well predicting the outcome of the pageant, not only did our gut pick go on to win Miss Universe, we named 10 of the eventual 15 finalists better than the top pageant websites and beauty critiques out there:

Michaeljosh.com: 10
Pageant Almanac: 9
Critical Beauty: 6
Missosology: 8
Chilean Charm: 7
Global Beauties’ Janet: 7
Global Beauties Pyramid: 6
Global Beauties’ Cassandra: 5
Beauty School: 4

Dayana Menzoza, Miss Universe 2008

Photo Courtesy Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

LIVE COVERAGE: Just refresh your browser occasionally for updates.
Photos Courtesy Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

The competition has begun.

It begins with Riyo Moring leading the delegates in a quick dance.

Now pre-taped national costume introductions. Australia was gorgeous.

Korea was also gorgeous and so was Mexico. This pre-taped national costume segment is probably the best is probably the best I’ve seen in years.

Top 15 coming up after the gap.

–COMMERCIAL BREAK–

Rice Terraces from Vietnam.

An estimated 1 Billion viewers are watching tonight.

A review of Riyo Mori’s reign as Miss Universe.

Riyo Mori arrives with a a group of Vietnamese kids. She looks awesome in a cream almost pink colored gown.

Riyo says she intends to open up a dance school, she leaves this message: “always be yourself there is nothing you cannot achieve, I did it last year, now can you too.”

Here are the top 15 in random order:

1. Venezuela - doesn’t look as good tonight
2. Kosovo - projecting real well, she’s fighting for this one
3. Mexico - awesome
4. Vietnam - haha yeah, as expected. she is lovely
5. South Africa - so far so good
6. Australia - a stunner
7. Japan - a loud scream from me
8. Dominican Republic - yes, yes
9. Italy - okay my first mistake from the top 15
10. Colombia - 9/10 on predictions so far - she looks stunning as well.
11. Russia
12. Hungary - okay surprise here
13. Czech Republic
14. USA
15. Spain

Top 15 don’t form a straight line instead they stand back to back on the catwalk.

Got 10/15 this year plus one from my alternates list. Not bad. Could have been better. But it was an awesome start, and I’m happy Japan is up there. My predictions are much better than most pageant sites out there (see this summary here) - most sites got 5-8 only.

Shocker favorites Panama, Puerto Rico and India did not make the cut!

From what I’ve seen looks like the Kosovo, Mexico, Australia, Colombia, USA and Spain are exuding the most x-factor so far.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Back.

They’re showing the Miss Universe 2008 Fashion shoot with Fadil Berisha, Behind the scenes video and then the photo of each of the Top 15 - the same ones we saw on the Miss Universe website.

Hosts are actually doing a good job. Now the judges.

Donald Trump Jr.
Nadine Velazquez
Robero Cavalli
Jennifer Hawkins
Joseph Cinque
Eesha Koppikhar
Louis Licari
Taryn Rose
Nguyen Cong Kee

Lots of plug for America’s Got Talent.

Video package featuring Vietnam.

Swimsuit competition is next.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Back Mel B. changes from a black gown to a blue one.

Swimsuit competition with special guest star Lady Gaga.

Venezuela up first. She tones it down but not good as expected. She is nervous and has too much make up on her eyes. 9.327 (EDIT: To answer a question from the comments, yes it appears the scarf got in the way of her walk, that’s why she looked a bit nervous in swimsuit, but she was still the highest)

Kosovo does ok. 8.120

Mexico is on fire. I love her. 9.071

Vietnam is doing her best. She won’t survive this round. 7.050

South Africa: 7.133

Australia - could do better walking. 7.814

Japan: 7.100

Dominican Republic - looks awesome - 8.983

Italy - 7.671

Colombia - awesome 9.433

Russia - 8.414

Hungary: 7.229

Czech Republic 7.386

scores are very low tonight

USA - also looks awesome, very HOT - 9.207

Spain - 9.150

My favorites after this competition - regardless of the scores are Mexico, Colombia and USA.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Top 15 still in swimsuit are on stage.

Top 10 in random order:

1. Kosovo
2. Australia
3. Spain
4. Mexico
5. Colombia
6. USA
7. Dominican Republic
8. Russia
9. Italy
10. Venezuela

No Asians in the Top 10. What a disappointment. But the competition is still on. Based on the swimsuit scores there are only a select few who scored 9s and higher.

Video packages showing the girls profiles.

Evening gowns next.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Mel B changes to her 3rd dress.

Video Package on Vietnam, and the delegates travels around the country.

Magic will be music for the evening gown parade.

Kosovo - changes her gown to a body hugging pink number - 8.264

Australia - reminds me more and more of Jennifer Hawkins, laid back but elegant and beautiful - 7.557

Spain - same gold dress from prelims - 8.200

Mexico - changes her gown to a white number - she looks like a goodess. Mixed feelings about this - 9.429

Colombia - same big gold dress - 9.829

USA: is late to the stage as her name is called, trips and falls for the second year in a row, she gets up claps but doesn’t recover well. this will hurt her- 8.050

Dominican Republic - same body suit from preliminaries - 9.036

Russia: This gown attempts to mimic Oxana Federova’s dress in 2002- 8.471

Italy: lousy gown and look - 7.729

Venezuela - uses the same yellow dress from preliminaries - 9.697

Colombia’s scores are way up there. The Top 3 girls are from my predictions Top 4 list. Not bad at all.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

My apologies. The broadcast I am getting this year is a bit delayed.

Special Awards:

Miss Congeniality: El Salvador
Best in National Costume: By Online Vote: Will it be Philippines? - Nope its Thailand. Didn’t think so, didn’t vote for her either.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Top 5 in Random Order

Colombia
Venezuela
Dominican Republic
Mexico
Russia

USA would have been in this Top 5 had she not slipped. Girls are awesome.

Final Question

As usual girls pick a judge and get 30 seconds to answer.

Colombia picks Jennifer Hawkins: If you could go back in time and change a moment in your past, what would that be and why? In my life, I have been in really, its been a wonderful life for me. I come from a big family, huge values so there is nothing i would change in my past life. I have been happy every single day of my entire life because of my family they are always thinking the best for everything. So everything perfect.

Venezuela picks Louis Lecaro: Do you believe men or women have it easier life and why? Actually God made us to share and to have difference. But big difference between women and men doesn’t matter what the kind of life they live is that men think, they think that the faster way to go a point is go straight, women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go to the curve and fix another curves.

Dominican Republic picks Donald Trump Jr. What is the biggest sacrifice you have ever had to make and how did you handle it? IN reality I I have had to work since I was quite young because my parents were divorced so I had to leave my childhood behind. Notwithstanding the fact that I feel all the sacrifices are worth it because I see my mothers up there and she’s crying for me and I have continued, everything has been worth it.

Mexico picks Roberto Cavalli. When is a woman truly satisfied? I think a woman can feel satisfied when she has a balance in her life. When she has a mind so all her feelings in the same level . Its important to have a balance between family, between your job and and between community.

Russia picks Eesha Koppikhar: Is there still discrimination against women and what can be done about it? I think in our time women have become stronger and they have become smarter so I think a women can not only have a successful career but raise wonderful children and I think in our time women will be better.

The winner of Miss Universe 2008 is on the way. Hold on.

I think Venezuela did the best in this round. But I hope Mexico did enough to win.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Prize package of Miss Universe 2008. Riyo looks even more stunning than she was last year.

Final Look:

Colombia: looks fresh and amazing. She would make a great miss Universe - and feels like the strongest of this 5.

Venezuela: Sometimes gives you this weird stare. But she is very beautiful.

Dominican Republic: Did awesome I’m glad she made it this far.

Mexico: Looks lovely I really hope she wins it tonight.

Russia: The only girl in the bunch I’m not rooting for. She did a great job as well.

–COMMERCIAL GAP–

Riyo takes her final walk as Miss Universe 2007.

She comes out in a tux instead of a gown. No crown on her. Great, bold fashion statement.

She looks awesome, really breathtaking.

Here we go the final results.

4th Runner Up: Mexico - what a disappointment.
3rd Runner Up: Russia
2nd Runner Up: Dominican Republic

Venezuela and Colombia are left. These 2 are both in my Top 4 Picks. I predicted Venezuela under gut feel winner.

1st Runner is: Colombia

Venezuela is Miss Universe 2008!!!

Crown looks even cheaper than in pictures. Otherwise it was a great pageant nonetheless, hosts were great unlike what I expected (my bad) and did well predicting the results.

My apologies for the late update. I just got back from an out of town trip with friends and was uncharacteristically disconnected from the cyber world the last two days.

Stepping away from the hustle and bustle of city life usually provides one’s self the opportunity to have distraction free thought processes, but instead of thinking about my predictions I found myself thinking more about my sudden disinterest in the pageant.

Have I outgrown my love for pageants? Are there legitimate reasons to explain this disinterest or have I not just been paying attention? I’d like to think my reasons are justified.

First there is the underwhelming batch of girls this year. Unlike in previous editions of the pageant, take last year for example, where we had plenty of standouts, this year the favorites are only a select few that are at times are not even consistently top notch. By this time any other year I’d have found “my girl” - the girl I would be rooting for, but not in 2008.

Secondly are what I call “ugly decisions” by pageant organizers. Decisions like the tacky new crown - how’d that thing get by the Miss Universe Organization baffles me, it looks like a run of the mill crown you’d see at any small time pageant. And more importantly what it leaves out is a signature look that conveys meaning, and defines the Miss Universe pageant. Another ugly decision are the choice of hosts (Jerry Springer & Mel B.) - personally I think Jerry Springer cheapens Miss Universe, enough said.

Then I could be wrong and am willing to set aside these feelings are really enjoy tomorrow’s pageant. Who knows if something amazing could happen leaving us with a pageant we will never forget.

Last year was a great year for Miss Universe; a simple girl, in a simple dress went home with the crown. I think the standard left behind by Riyo Mori is very high. Although she will never be the most beautiful Miss Universe, the simplicity and elegance she exuded the night she was crowned should be the gold standard for pageants such as this.

Who will replace her?

1. Mexico: (Personal Pick) Having stood out during the course of pageant related activities, there is no doubt in my mind that if all goes well Mexico’s Elisa Najera will take home the crown at this year’s Miss Universe pageant. She has one of the most beautiful faces overall not to mention that great body and walk that won her the swimsuit special event last week. What would it take for her to win? Remain consistent, dazzle us with an amazing gown presentation, deliver a confident final answer, and turn the magic on.

1. Venezuela: (Gut Feeling Pick) If anyone comes close to Mexico it would be this stunner from Venezuela. Heavily favored to win very early on in the competition Diana Mendoza really has what it takes to become the next Miss Universe. On stage however I’d wish she’d tone it down a bit (especially the head flips). A little more maturity and sophistication will go a long way for her. Having covered beauty pageants for years I have learned never to count a Venezuelan out, because their intense preparation and fighting spirit have got even the not so beautiful ones all the way to the Top 3, how much more are the chances of a stunner like Diana.

3. USA: I wasn’t too excited when I found out that Crystle Stewart was crowned Miss USA. But her consistent performance while in Vietban just tells me that she will surely be in the Top 5. My guess is that she will be 2nd runner up. You have to reward consistency, this girl is just spot on, doing everything right. Very elegant and genuinely a nice person.

4. Colombia: One of the freshest faces in the pageant Taliana Vargas is a personal favorite beauty wise. I just love her simple look, she will make a great Miss Universe. The reason I have not placed her any higher is because she looked too giddy during the preliminary competition. I was not too fond of her evening gown either. Hopefully all this changes for the final night.

5. Panama: A late bloomer in the competition Carolina Justavino flew under my radar until the preliminary competition where she delivered awesome performances in both swimsuit and evening gown competitions. I expect her to do good, perhaps good enough for the top 5.

6. Puerto Rico: Controversial Ingrid Rivera needs no introduction, as she made waves long before any of the delegates arrived in Vietnam. I’ve heard Ingrid had surgery to fix her nose, I’m sure that’s quite common in the world of pageants today, but I am more inclined to prefer natural beauties (including the 5 names I’ve placed ahead of her). Still it goes without saying that she is well prepared for this competition, and her evening gown is one of the best we saw during the preliminaries.

7. India: One of the most beautiful Miss Indias in a long time Simran Kaur Mundi was consistent throughout the entire competition, she was a finalist during the special swimsuit event held last week, and even during the evening gown competition where she had an ugly dress on she still managed to look great.

8. Australia: Laura Dundovic is another stunner from down under. He class and style reminds me of Jennif Hawkins (who coincidentally is judging this year’s pageant). I don’t know if she was as on fire as the other ladies in my Top 5, having said that I think she will at least make it to the top 10.

9. Japan: Very little media attention has been given to Riyo Mori’s successor as Miss Japan. Her sash-aside, Hiroko Mima has one of the most exotic looks in the entire pageant. The problem is that I hear she does not want to win the pageant this year, I hope this is not true as I secretly want Japan to go all the way and win two years in a row. I believe Hiroko would make an awesome Miss Universe.

10. Korea: The other Ines Ligron student, Sun Lee really wants to take home the title this year. Her height may put her at a disadvantage but she surely has the look. My only comment is that she sometimes looks like she’s trying too hard with an over done walk.

11. South Africa: Definitely the best delegate coming out of Africa Tansey Coetzee looked hot during the preliminary swimsuit competition. We usually see two black delegates in the Top 15 every year, this year I think it will be USA and South Africa.

12. Thailand: One the top delegates from Asia this year Thailand’s Gavintra Photijak surprised everyone with awesome performances during last weeks presentation show. I’m pretty her named will be called among the Top 15.

EDIT: I’ve just realized I have skipped Ms. Dominican Republic. Because there is no time left I will make a quick change and put in Dominican Republic over Belgium.

13. Belgium: An early favorite, I don’t know if Belgium has enough fuel left to finish well. She is the blond bombshell this year, and was hot in swimsuit, I’m just not sure if her evening gown did her well. She looked fat and bloated. Still Alizee Poulicek definitely has an awesome face and I hope to see her go far in tonight’s competition.

14. Kosovo: Its Kosovo’s first time to compete at Miss Universe. Aside from first time luck, Zana Krasniqi has a “unique” look, and exudes a “unique” vibe. If the judges didn’t notice I’d say the Miss Universe Organization probably will.

15. Vietnam: Vietnam’s Lam Thuy Nguyen has a lovely face but I wouldn’t have placed her on my list if not for her sash, and the fact that 3 out of the 6 preliminary judges are from Vietnam. But that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. She a shoo in for the Top 15.

ALTERNATES

Brazil
Canada
Ireland
Trinidad & Tobago
Israel
Spain

The preliminaries are over and the Top 15 have been selected. Ten delegates were chosen during the pre-pageant competition held two nights ago, while 5 delegates will be chosen by members of the Miss Universe organization.

I’ve gone through most of the material from the preliminaries and must say that I am utterly underwhelmed. I hope this is no indication of what to expect come Monday morning (Sunday evening in the United States).

These prelims gave us our first glimpse of the stage at the new Crown Convention Center, and it looked pretty bare, a backdrop and a couple of steps was all that it was. Where are the gimmicks like the long catwalk in 2000, glass floors and water in 2002, or the inclined ramp in 2005. Even last year’s stage copied from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was better.

The competition was pretty much the same also. Most delegates didn’t have the walk or the spark to match. Even front runners Mexico and Venezuela didn’t have the oomph that we’ve seen in previous years. Both girls came out in uninspired yellow dresses during the evening gown competition. Venezuela overdid her swimsuit walk (tossing her head to the right and then the left), Colombia overdid the entire night looking giddy throughout.

The judging panel also seemed a bit screwed. There were only 6 judges, 3 of which come from Vietnam. Because of this I would not be surprised if we see Vietnam in the Top 15. Although she’s put up a good effort overall, it will be mostly home town girl sash factor that will make her inclusion in the pre-semis possible.

But at the risk of losing you, my audience I shall stop the negative comments here and move on to the positive.

Mexico was the highlight of the presentation show. I believe without a doubt that she is the woman to beat. No one came close to matching her performance last Tuesday night. I expect her to up her game even more perhaps with a new gown during the finals.

There were some surprises, Panama did awesome, Brazil came our of nowhere. But it was Venezuela who probably comes closest to Mexico, then USA who was flawless throughout. Panama and maybe Colombia finish the Top 5.

Asia doesn’t have as strong a team as it did last year. Thailand is probably the frontrunner from this region, with Korea and Japan following in that order. The latter two are not getting as much attention from pageant website but I’d be willing to go out on a limb here and predict that both women will make it to the Top 15. I think they both did an awesome job, and I appreciate the unique look of Japan. I prefer it to the pageant queen look of many of this year’s delegates. No country has won the title back to back before I would love if Japan could do it this year.

Some other favorites who did just well were Australia, Puerto Rico, and India. Puerto Rico’s gown was probably one of the best of the night - another chain gown (similar to that of Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006), this time in golden rings.

Some new entries into my list are South Africa and Kosovo whom I expect to make a wild card entry into the Top 15.

Betters favorite Belgium failed to impress with a lousy gown presentation, Dominican Republic was good in swimsuit, but am not sure how her gown presentation will fare (its a hit or miss kind of choice - do you like it?).

Am still mulling over the performance of Spain, Israel, Canada, and Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Russia. All are also possible entries into the Top 15.

Initial photos from the Miss Universe 2008 Preliminary Competition are coming in. They’ve posted photos of delegates from countries beginning with the letter A through G and here are the apparent highlights from this batch of ladies. Albania, Angola, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Czech Rep, Dominican Republic, Estonia and Finland.

More info coming soon.