PUERTO RICO - Joshua Yaddah Maldonado. Like CUBA, MEXICO, and PERU, for most of his appearances he fell short of the CLH mold, but during the preliminary he totally shaved off his scruff so he fits the CLH designation. He seems to be overshadowed by his Caribbean brothers from CUBA and DOMINICAN REPUBLIC through the early parts of the competition, but he seemed to sparkle during the preliminaries, so he may have an inside track to the Top 20.
SINGAPORE - Joshua Hee. There are some pageant fans and pundits who are pegging him as a possible Top 10 contender. Though he indeed has attractive features (definitely better than his predecessor) and yes, he has a buffed bod, I don't quite see having that strong a charisma as those fans and pundits are saying. I'm still on the fence with him.
SPAIN - Borxa Ramo. He has the prettiest face of all the guys in his batch, and with his advocacy focusing on LGBTQIA+ issues, one might presume he's a Sy Lee Fabulousness Award finalist, but besides that allyship, he moves and talks like a regular dude. But then again, mannerisms doesn't necessarily correlate to sexual orientation anyway. Anyway, he also seems to tick all the boxes so he can make a serious play for the title.
SRI LANKA - Derrein Keith Christian De Zilwa. He has a floppy-and-wavy hairstyle. He's attractive, but he's not channeling much charisma--his predecessor, Pasan Weerasakara was way better, and I thought he would make the cut (I got 14 of the Top 16 correct that time--the ones I missed were the shorter guys like Netherlands' Ilya Shahedi and the eventual winner).
SWITZERLAND - Elson Bytyqi. I find it interesting how people of Albanian origin are representing this country these days. Gjon's Tears in Eurovision 2021 come most prominently to my mind, but I know there are a whole host of others. Anyway, he's a cute guy who fits modern 2020's tastes of what is desirable, and this is what is likely going to give him a ticket to the Top 20.
TAIWAN - Chen Chien Yu. He's actually a solid contender, though I think he doesn't quite have much charisma.
THAILAND - Xolophong Mareeduwennya, er, I mean Kim Thitisan Goodburn. For me he's a deadringer to Cobra Kai and Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña. Interesting how a Eurasian mix can resemble a Latino. PHILIPPINES looks like a Latino, and in fact can somehow pass off as a brother to one of the contestants here who is confirmed to be of Hispanic heritage based on his name alone (more about him later). Facially, I actually prefer PHILIPPINES' features but this guy I understand also has strong appeal, and he got significant coverage and delivered great soundbites with his engaging British (to be precise, Contemporary Received Pronunciation or RP) accent. He does deliver strongly on the hype and I think he's someone to watch out for in a Q&A round. Even if there are other guys that I find more appealing and desirable, he looks like he has an eye on the prize and is one of the key favorites to win it all. I have a feeling after this pageant stint, he can have a great career as a TV presenter, perhaps in a travel or lifestyle show. And perhaps he can team up with PHILIPPINES and host such a show together--it's nice to listen to those two guys interacting and speaking in that lovely plummy Contemporary RP accents.
THE BAHAMAS - Vjaughn Ingraham. I'm still annoyed with the insistance of integrating the "The" article to this country's name and reflecting the alphabetical arrangement as such. Still, this debuting country fielded a strong contender, making a distinctive impression with his Afro hairstyle. He is a Top 20 possibility.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Johnathan Samuel. Well, he's buffed, though his frame leans more towards a bulky bodybuilder type which is not typically favored in this pageant. His features are also on the plain side, so just being here is achievement enough for him.
U S A - Hector Louis Rodriguez. He can pass for PHILIPPINES' less polished, less charismatic brother. Though many people presume the next guy below is the runner-up in the Sy Lee Fabulousness sweepstakes, I listen to this guy speak and he's also giving me heavier Sy Lee vibes.so this guy is the runner-up behind HAITI.
VENEZUELA - William Badell. This Mister Supranational 2021 2nd runner-up is firing on all cylinders. He is a complete package of handsomeness (it's almost CLH except for the fact he has brown complexion because of his indigenous heritage), buffness, charisma, intelligence, and eloquence. He indeed is one of the favorites to win, and he definitely has his eye on the prize. Will he finally clinch it?
VIETNAM - Pham Minh Quyền. He was supposed to compete in Manila last year but it seems there was a "miscommunication" between his directors and the then Mister International organizers that he no-showed and competed here instead. I thought he would've been more competitive than he is, but I realize his facial features are a bit on the plainer side. He still has that undeniably buffed bod, so with Thailand's normal strong ties with this country as of late, he seems to still have an inside track for the Top 20.
With all 36 contestants accounted for, let me trot out my leaderboard:
TOP CONTENDERS: LEBANON, PERU, SPAIN, THAILAND, VENEZUELA
SHOO-INS: BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, CUBA, CZECH REPUBLIC, INDIA, KOREA, MEXICO,
LIKELIEST: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, FRANCE, GUINEA-BISSAU, INDONESIA, JAPAN, MALAYSIA, NORTH CYPRUS, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, SINGAPORE, SWITZERLAND, THE BAHAMAS, VIETNAM
PERSONALITY FACTOR: BELGIUM
EXCELLENT: CANADA, SRI LANKA, U S A
VERY STRONG: NEPAL, NIGERIA, TAIWAN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
STRONG: HAITI, LAOS
Based on the disclosed format of 20-10-5-3, here's my "Fearful" Forecast for this pageant:
FINAL THREE: LEBANON, THAILAND, VENEZUELA
TOP FIVE: PERU, SPAIN
TOP 10: BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, KOREA, MEXICO
TOP 20: CUBA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GUINEA-BISSAU, INDIA, JAPAN, NORTH CYPRUS, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, SWITZERLAND, VIETNAM
BUBBLING UNDER: FRANCE, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, THE BAHAMAS
STRIKING DISTANCE: BELGIUM, CANADA, SRI LANKA, U S A
It seems it's going to be a three-way race among LEBANON (Seif Al'Walid Harb), THAILAND (Xolophong Mareeduwennya Kim Thitisan Goodburn) and VENEZUELA (William Badell), though if any of them fell by the wayside, there would be room for the likes of PERU (Joel Farach), SPAIN (Borxa Ramo) and even BRAZIL (Edward Taiye Ogunniya). So, is this batch a Magnificent Batch? Though the creamiest of the crop stood out stronger in this batch over last year, some of the guys in my LIKELIEST list would be rated EXCELLENT if they competed last year, and that also applies to two of the guys in my VERY STRONG list getting demoted to STRONG if I use the lens of last year's standards. So, it's just a tad short of earning that label in my opinion. Still, it looks like we will be witnessing an exciting competition.
JUST ME!
JOSEPH
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