For those who missed the Mayan flair of the staging of the 1975 edition of the Miss Universe pageant, you might be disappointed as like in most recent editions they opted for a sleek, modern black stage design--the closest thing to a Salvadorian flavor found onstage would probably be the two humongous openings where the delegates could enter and exit. The stage also has an X-shape that makes one recall the 2018 staging in Bangkok, Thailand. The Salvadorian flavor seems to lie mostly with the energy of the audience, as they prove to be a gracious, enthusiastic bunch.
Jeannie Mai and Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo were back to host this pageant this year, but they are joined by TV presenter Maria Menounos, who turned out to also have a pageant background as she represented Massachusetts in Miss Teen USA 1996, where she barely missed the Top 10 by placing 13th. And also back to provide color commentary were Zuri Hall and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray. All hosts did a great job and no mistakes are observed amongst all of them. I don't know if it's my own personal bias or not but I want to see more of Zuri and Catriona onscreen as their banter was sparkly, bubbly, and energetic, while the main hosts tried their best to match the energy of the Salvadorian audience but still remained a bit too chill--the closest thing to energy that I saw among the main hosts was Jeannie changing to a tuxedo-style gown for the final part of the competition.
The pageant was conducted in an efficient manner, as instead of a ramshackle production number to open the pageant they just went right in with the live delegate introductions, and then follow that with the announcement of the Top 20. Here, they announced it in three batches in a 7-7-6 format. After each batch was announced, we would see video interviews of the Top 20.
After the Top 20 was called, they then quickly segued to a highlight reel of the reigning queen, R'Bonney Gabriel followed by her appearing onstage for a brief chit-chat with the main hosts.
After a commercial break, Olivia did a backstage chitchat with some of the Top 20 before the swimsuit segment began. This year's swimsuit segment is set to the recording of J. Balvin and Willy William's 2017 mega-smash, "Mi Gente". All Top 20 semifinalists stuck to the same swimsuits they wore during the preliminary competition, the difference being that they don't have their sashes on them during this segment.
I got 14 of the Top 20 correct. The six that I didn't predict but went through were in my "Bubbling Under" list, so their inclusion was not shocking. It's nice to see the noteworthy competitors who benefited from the new rules were given representation here, but some pundits may wonder--was it representation for representation's sake, or is there true merit to their inclusion?
NEPAL - Jane Dipika Garrett. She was the one who turned her body size into her unique selling proposition and advocacy. We have to hand it to the gracious Salvadorian crowd as they applauded her presence everytime she was onstage. Other aces up her sleeve during the preliminary was her strong communciation skills and a polished performance during the evening gown round. So her making the Top 20 was not a shocker, but unlike Canada's Siera Bearchell back in 2016, she wasn't able to advance further to the next round. The selection committee felt her representing all the plus size at this level is adequate representation enough. There are some fellow delegates, most notaby FRANCE, who don't seem to like her non-competition behavior, so they are probably relieved she didn't advance further.
PAKISTAN - Erica Robin. She of course made a huge splash by being the first from this staunchly Muslim country to compete in this pageant, and to help accommodate her country's extreme modesty dictums she sported the burqini. I had mentioned that she, BAHRAIN and EGYPT were handled by the same national director and original fan sentiment initially favored BAHRAIN to make it, but this lady was the one to break through instead. How? Besides having prettier features, she delivered a more finessed performance during the preliminary competition and was a major highlight in the evening gown round as she sported a white sari veil to accessorize her gown, and hence delivered dramatic elegance and made an indelible impact. For the final, because the burqini does not showcase one's figure, she was probably not given a chance to advance further and the selection committee decided this would be as far as she would go.
PORTUGAL - Marina Machete Reis. While Spain's Angela Ponce was the first transgender delegate to compete in this pageant back in 2018, this delegate made a breakthrough by being the first transgender to advance to the semifinals. She delivered polish and flair in equal measures during the preliminary competition and thsi was why she made the cut. She was polished in her swimsuit presentation, and although herloud orange evening gown could be deemed as polarizing, she delivered dramatic flair in that outfit and that could have been her convincing argument to advance, and hence edged over fellow transgender delegate NETHERLANDS. I've noticed when she introduced herself live, she sounded convincingly feminine enough--it's only in a more subdued interview setting that you would know from her voice that she's transgender.
CAMEROON - Issie Princesse. This country had only begun to compete in this pageant in the 2020 edition, and finally it had its breakthrough with this lady. She has been receiving positive buzz all throughout her stay, but buzz grew heavier with her very convincing preliminary competition performance. She was a mixture of fierce and polished, and is proven to be a strong communicator so she earned her spot in the Top 20, and even if I didn't predict her inclusion, I'm glad she made the breakthrough.
NAMIBIA - Jameela Uiras. She's in the same boat as CAMEROON, garnering increasing buzz with her preliminary competition performance. I gave her the edge over CAMEROON as I thought she has the trimmer swimsuit figure, but I think we're really just splitting hairs and their standigns could easily be interchanged.
JAMAICA - Jordanne Levy. I think many pageant fans and pundits underrated her but she was an undeniably polished high level performer during the preliminary competition. What probably sealed the deal was her background as a medical doctor. Like CAMEROON and NAMIBIA she's a very refreshing inclusion that I have no objections seeing.
U S A - Noelia Voigt. She touts her Venezuelan heritage as her unique proposition, and like almost all Miss USA winners she's undeniably polished and a great communicator. However I noticed she's actually on the short side, so after initially believing she could make a play for the Final Five, I thought at most she'll make the Top 10 and that was what I pegged her in my "Fearful" Forecast. But it turns out the selection committee have other delegates they preferred over her, and so she didn't advance to the next round.
A piquant note I observe is that there are angles where she resembles former Miss America 1984 and famous actress/singer Vanessa Williams*1 in her 1990s heyday as a recording artist, especially when she smiles.
*1 Ironically, despite being dethroned due to the surfacing of nude photos that were then published in Penthouse magazine, Vanessa emerged as the most famous Miss America winner ever, as she conducted her life and career with relative grace since then.
INDIA - Shweta Sharda. She parlayed her background as a dancer/choreographer to make a major impact onstage and hence continues her country's four-year placement streak in this pageant. She remained consistently strong all throughout and most likely onlly missed the Top 10 by very little.
CHILE - Celeste Viel. As I was coming up with my "Fearful" Forecast, I was on the fence in including this lady--she's a top-notch performer and a gorgeous looker, yes, but I was concerned she might be set aside for other contenders. But the Voice for Change shortlist made me think she may have a more secure footing into the Top 20. But then, when she was called into the Top 20 and saw her video interview, I realized she's a more serious contender than I thought--I was stuneed by her fluency in English and the depth of her content so I was rooting for her to go all the way to Top 10. I think she probably came close but fell a bit short as the selection committee were more impressed with a few others. At least she broke a 19-year semifinals drought.
SOUTH AFRICA - Bryoni Govender. I thought her preliminary performance was so stellar on top of her known gift of gab and depth of advocacy that I thought she would make for a serious play for the Final Five. So I was shocked when she didn't make Top 10 as I thought her performance was so flawless that she deserved to advance furhter. But it seems the selection committee had a stronger liking for Latinas that they could not make room for her. I would've have her take the place of one of the eventual Top 10 finishers.
COMING UP: THE TOP 10
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