#Miss Universe Thailand 2022

[aiveecastillo]

Miss Universe Thailand 2022 Anna Sueangam-iam 

Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza 

Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova 

Miss Universe Thailand 2020 Amanda Obdam 

Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray

[normanblogs]

Will Anna Sueangam-Iam be favored in the 71st Miss Universe?

Will Anna Sueangam-Iam be favored in the 71st Miss Universe?

With the changing of guards at the Miss Universe Organization, will Thai representatives be favored from here onwards? New owner Anne Jakrajutatip is Thai so pageant fans and followers can’t help but feel that way. And Miss Universe Thailand 2022 Anna Sueangam-Iam could be the first beneficiary of such turn of events. This beautiful Thai is not leaving any stone unturned to prove that she is just…

[themakeupbrush]

Miss Universe Thailand 2022 National Costume: “Songkran Devi”

This Thai national costume was inspired by the Songkran Lady of 2023 named “Kimita Devi”, who is one of the 7 goddess daughters of King Kabilaprom and a symbol of Songkran festival. The pattern of the dress was inspired by traditional “Flowing Water” hand-woven fabric of Thai craftsmanship and handicrafts. To enhance modernity, the dress was embellished with embroidery, beads, crystals, sequins and discarded bottles. This dress is complemented by a silver bowl made by Thai skilled craftsmen. Silver bowls are used to pour water on the hands of elders, splash water during the festival, as well as for everyday use. This showcases the way of life, culture, tradition and local wisdoms that are refined and creative. It also builds careers for locals and communities. Furthermore, it reflects the bliss, love, humility and beauty of the Thai culture passed down from generation to generation.

[newsbites]

I’m a week late posting this one but enjoyed the story at the time...

We’re pretty ambivalent about beauty pageants, chez moi, but I enjoy ranting about why I think things are wrongheaded and, then again, Alvin Sebetero’s enthusiastic commentary almost persuaded us....

[usatricks]

A transgender who had a painful childhood... Who is Anne, the new owner of the Miss Universe Organization?

A transgender who had a painful childhood… Who is Anne, the new owner of the Miss Universe Organization? Mumbai: The finale of the 71st Miss Universe contest is near. In such a situation, the names of all the beauties who participated in this contest are in discussion. Meanwhile, there is another person, whose name is constantly in headlines. This is the name of Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, who…

[hwastudies]

Hi! This is my first time creating a masterlist post so forgive me if I missed anything. Below are the list of resources I am using to learn Thai. I have been a self-taught Thai language learner since 2022 and along the way I have used numerous materials to help me with my learning journey.

YouTube:

thaipod (important to learn thai script)

let's learn Thai

banana Thai

i get thais

thai fairy tales

decoding Thai

comprehensible Thai

thai educator

eduthai

gmmtv (to watch series and variety shows. cc eng is provided)

gmmtv records (for songs and mvs. cc eng is provided)

tamahan easy (cooking video with cc)

the matter (podcast)

woody (interview with celebs)

mewonee (color coded lyrics for thai songs)

soundtiss st (makeup/cosplay)

We Bare Bears TH

Instagram:

chitkachat (street interview)

thai_language_style

learnthaiwithjaoh

thai_with_mod

sabtinaru

fitnessincommon (podcast. some have eng sub)

thaibychom

thaitoyou

americanthaiguy (realistic daily phrases/convo)

_story.sky

kao__krua (cooking and food!)

farmiscooking (cooking and food 😋)

kiwtum (motivational phrases)

bangkok.foodie (street food in Thailand)

Books (pdf)

thai for beginners

speak like a thai

Spotify

playlist made by me

t-pop now

EQUAL

gmmtv records playlist

Scrubb: 2gether the series

nanon the secrets of the universe

Websites

Sanook.com (short news articles)

thai-language.com (the best thai translator I've found so far)

cooking.kapook.com (recipes in thai, good for learning about food/cooking related vocabulary)

App

Drops (good for building habits or when you don't have much time to study properly)

🍒🍒

If you've reached here thank you so much for reading :D I hope my list will be helpful for all the thai learners and I wish more people will be interested in learning this language so that we can have more resources and posts about Thai in langblr tag :)

[nattaphum]

Tomorrow, the final night of Miss Universe 2022 will be held in New Orleans.

Anna Sueangam-iam will take part as Miss Thailand.

She’s a huge fan of Apo!!

BOC organized a live so that Apo could send her a big encouragement for tomorrow

Summary of Apo’s speech:

‘tomorrow should be a memorable day in your life. May you gain everything, gain all strength, gain all good energy and then pass it to people all over the world. Tell everybody that other thai people are awesome too.’ ❤️

[conandaily2022]

Thailand's Kim Goodburn wins Mister International 2023 in Thailand; 12 Thais serve as judges

Kimberley “Kim” Thitisan Goodburn, 24, of Thailand was crowned Mister International 2023 in Thailand. Mister International 2013 Jose Anmer Paredes of Venezuela, Miss Universe Thailand 2021 Anchilee Scott Kemmis, Mister Global 2022 Juan Carlos Ariosa of Cuba and Mister International 2022 Manu Franco of the Dominican Republic served as judges. Including Paredes, Kemmis, Ariosa and Franco, there…

[silviakundera]

Once again reviewing less known/unpopular dramas... Ghost Host, Ghost House (2022, Thai BL) delivers what it promises to be in the first episode: supernatural family drama about ghosts, with a side of romance. I have an affection for media that knows what it wants to be and executes that.

Kevin, now an adult and ready for university, arrives in Thailand to visit family he hasn't seen for a decade - as his mother moved them to the USA when he was young. He's a budding video blogger whose gimmick seems to be: cute gay boy who visits haunted houses. Little does he know that the family he's come to stay with are all dead. The loved ones once separated by geography, as a child of immigrants, are now separated from him in a way he is yet to understand. There at the old family home he also runs into Pleum, a local boy with big dreams who is cheerfully navigating through 5 odd jobs and begins to pursue the visiting hot boy with the same dedication. But whose family is also hiding wounds of his own.

"This flower reflects the reality. Pain hasn't gone elsewhere. It's just hidden, so we can move on and live our lives."

Don't come looking for a thriller or scares or ghost hunting. It's not a fast-paced drama, it's about the characters.

It's charmingly earnest in the two young men's fumbling birth of a romance, elements of whimsical humor in Kevin's ghost family navigating death (think Beetlejuice), and occasionally poignant in discussions of mortality, grief, and letting go. The family relationships are given equal weight to the romance.

There wasn't a tonal whiplash for me. The sweet & sexy parts fit alongside the fact that both MLs are surrounded by death and need to come to terms with it. The tone is fluid. In the midst of life, there is death; in the midst of death there is life.

It's not a deeply profound, philosophical exploration of grieving and I don't think that's a failure because it's not trying to be. It's just characters who are haunted, literally and metaphorically, and who find a way to move on during the course of 8 episodes.

The couple really worked for me (until the writers imo fumbled the end). Post high school, figuring themselves out and what they want. Clearly not virgins and very comfortable with their sexuality and queer desire, while being still awkward & uncertain about how to act around a cute boy you like. I appreciated that the couple is quite sweet & soft without neutering them. They are allowed to be age-appropriate horny! They're also allowed to make mistakes & deal poorly with grief in hard moments, and then apologize and be forgiven for it. Two people who met each other in the worst timing & situation for attempting a romance. Though perhaps without the ghosts that united them, they would have lived out their lives mostly on separate continents & never found home together.

The otp like each other right away - it's external factors pulling them apart. Unresolved grief that must be dealt with and the hovering dramatic tension tension that Kevin is Thai diaspora, essentially American, and this was intended to be a temporary visit to see his relatives. He's presumably considering this a 'vacation fling', while it was clear that Pleum was ready to go all-in. A separation was basically baked into the pairing. I was anxious about how this could really work. Spoiler: happy ending, but I did not entirely like how they got there (see cut).

I would be spoiling too much to discuss in detail, but the family elements are lovely. Bittersweetness in the incomplete time we get with our loved ones. And the subtle tragedy of the opportunities Kevin lost to know his extended family; the taste of home he's been missing as his mother moved on with a new american husband.

Only 2 distracting missteps in the drama. SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING.

A. Kevin is a dual citizen who's mostly lived in America all his life. His English should be perfect but it very much isn't. But tbh to a thai viewer it likely isn't noticeable and this is a thai production; that's the intended audience, not me. So I just used my imagination. It doesn't come up frequently.

B. The requisite separation trope in the last episode is always super annoying to me in kdramas & thai dramas, because it's such a cliche. At least in this case it was foreshadowed several times since early on that Kevin was NOT ready for commitment while Pleum was. (he clearly gets uncomfortable & ducks the question repeatedly when people bring up them being boyfriends. He's not a blushing maiden, this was reluctance to commit to staying in Thailand & settling down with Pleum, despite the connection, compatibility, and everything they went thru together) And it makes sense that he was too young to be brave enough to take such a leap and hadn't made peace with his 1st love Jake's death. So for once, the separation 100% made sense and I wasn't even upset by that part! My issue was how they executed the rest. Frankly, I disagree with the writing choices. I guess they were going with the idea that Kevin was resigned to having missed out. He feels like it's too late. But I hated that they had Pleum waiting for years for Kevin to be ready and it just didn't feel certain to me that they would have reunited except by chance. Like, I wanted Kevin to choose to go to him, full-stop. Not accidentally run into him, sorry that's bullshit to me. Yes, Kevin kept a momento of their time together. Yes, he obviously wasn't over Pleum. But to me it also felt like he was just prepared to move on and never see him again. No me gusta.

There's a romantic sensual reuniting scene and Pleum seems confident that he's not going to let his man go anywhere again. And Kevin is ready to say goodbye to the memory of his 1st love and admit Pleum is the one for him. I did buy-in on the idea that they experienced something truly formative together that no one else would understand. In the end, I did feel like Kevin would make a home with him now. So it's definitely a happy ending. But.. It really annoys me because without this misstep, if they had executed the separate & unite differently, this would be a fav drama I'd rec to everyone.

[coochiequeens]

While I'm not sad that an industry that exploits women is filing for bankruptcy I am pissed that a lot media will identify the new owner of the franchise as a woman and feed into negative stereotypes about women and money.

A 2022 Miss Universe judge is revealing why the organizer behind the event has filed for bankruptcy just days before the next main event.

"I think the outrage about a trans woman coming to Miss Universe and preaching, 'Bring the power back to women,' couldn't be more of an oxymoron," television host and reporter Emily Austin said Thursday on "Varney & Co."

"I think her company in Thailand has its own financial issues," she continued, "but socially and morally it's just wrong. And people are starting to catch on that."

Thai business tycoon and transgender activist Anne Jakrajutatip of the JKN Global Group bought the Miss Universe organization for $20 million in 2022. Jakrajutatip, who has international fame as a transgender celebrity, described the purchase at the time as "a strong, strategic addition to our portfolio."

But one year later, the franchise itself appears unstable

2022 Miss Universe judge Emily Austin, right, said on "Varney & Co." that the event organizer's bankruptcy was "absolutely" caused by the transgender owner's "socially and morally" wrong controversy. (Fox News)

A public document sent to the Stock Exchange of Thailand from JKN Global Group declared "JKN Global Group Public Company Limited (the ‘Company’) has filed a petition for business rehabilitation with the Central Bankruptcy Court under the Bankruptcy Act B.E. 2483 (1940) (as amended) (the ‘Bankruptcy Act’) on November 8, 2023, the Central Bankruptcy Court has subsequently issued an order to accept the petition for business rehabilitation of the Company on November 9, 2023."

The Miss Universe Organization published a subsequent announcement declaring that due to "the current financial situation… we confirm that Miss Universe 2023 will be held in El Salvador on 18 November 2023, where a top notch experience provided to our fans will remain our top priorities." [sic]

For the first time, this year’s Miss Universe pageant is slated to feature at least two transgender contestants — Miss Portugal, a flight attendant named Marina Machete, and Rikkie Kollé, the first transgender Miss Netherlands. Spain’s Ángela Ponce was the pageant’s first trans contestant in 2018, but did not advance to the finals.

Austin argued Thursday her belief that transgender women should not be permitted to compete in the high-caliber pageant.

"If you want to empower women, the way to do it is not demeaning women and belittling women by allowing men, or biological men who became a woman, to come into an industry like sports, like beauty pageants, come all dolled-up plastic — [they're] beautiful men, by the way — and start dominating women's industries. That's the opposite of women's empowerment," Austin explained.

The 2022 judge added that many decisions are based around a contestant’s interview, and expressed how a transgender woman’s life experiences may not be comparable to a biological woman’s.

"The interview comes from your life story and how as a woman, you've evolved and you want to change the world. So if you grew up a man and you decided to become a woman, I don't think you have a true woman's, feminine story. You don't know what period cramps feel like, I'm sorry. You don't know what it's like to walk down a stage during that time of the month and really say: this is femininity," Austin said.

"You are a man who identifies as a woman, and that's fine," she added. "But don't start coming into women's industries — have a line, have a boundary. That's the problem."

[bl-bracket]

So I know this is sort of unrelated to the brackets, but you seem familiar with a lot of bls since you run this blog and have a large following of bl enthusiasts. I think it would be cool if there could also be a way to give people recommendations (you or your audience) so we could be more familiar with all the people in the polls (besides just watching a show blindly).

Oh this sounds like a lovely idea! I've definitely already discovered dramas that I hadn't known about before through this (I mentioned in my response to the question about my favorite BLs but I discovered DNA Says Love You from someone submitting one of the characters from it lol). I've only really been in the BL fandom for about a year and a half, so I have lots more I can learn and would love to hear more about dramas that I might not be as familiar with from y'all too!!!

During the submissions period when we don't have any active polls going on, feel free to send me any recs for dramas and I can publish them here! Could be especially smart if you have some lesser known characters you want to give a better shot at winning! I'll use the tag #show propaganda

I can start by giving a few recs of some of my favorite lesser known dramas! (Though y'all can give recs for well known dramas as well!)

Ghost Host Ghost House (2022): Kevin has come from America to visit his extended family in Thailand and to also do some ghost-hunting for his ghost hunting show online. While he's there, he meets Pluem who works for his family and is also terrified of ghosts. Things get more complicated when it becomes increasingly clear that Kevin's family is hiding something from him. I loved this show so much (binged it all in one night when I couldn't sleep)! The chemistry between Kevin and Pluem is insane and so sweet! The story itself is also great and emotional and really hits you in the feels. The main problem this drama suffers from is being too short. I think it would have greatly benefited from an extra couple episodes to flush out some more of Kevin's character and backstory, but it still is a fun watch!

My Tooth Your Love (2022): Bai Lang is a restaurant owner with a crippling fear of dentists and a bad toothache. He gets dragged by his older sister to the dentist office where one of her juniors from university is the owner/head dentist, Jin Xuan. Bai Lang reluctantly begins to trust Jin Xuan more and the two get closer, but Bai Lang is struggling with a lot more than just a toothache. Despite its silly premise, the show definitely gets a lot more serious and dark at times and definitely made me cry at a few points. Again, the leads have great chemistry and the main thing the story suffers from is its length as some of the B and C plots get lost, but it still gives a satisfying story for the main plot and is definitely worth it!

Jack O' Frost (2023): Salaryman Fumiya and illustrator Ritsu have been dating for some time now but after a fight, the two break up and Ritsu runs out of their apartment. While he's out, he gets into an accident and gets amnesia, completely forgetting who Fumiya is entirely. Fumiya, who regrets breaking up with Ritsu, sees this as a new opportunity to start again and hopefully get the relationship right this time and decides not to tell Ritsu that they had been dating and had broken up. But Ritsu wants to regain his memories and has the growing feeling that something is off about his relationship to Fumiya. This normally isn't my cup of tea (I'm not big on stories about breaking up and all of that) BUT I really liked this one. It's just such a pretty show with such a profound sense of loneliness in it, especially as it hops between flashbacks of Fumiya & Ritsu's relationship when it was going well and when it was falling apart and then cuts to how things are now. The guy who plays Fumiya really hits for me. I know the last episode was a bit of a hit or miss for some people but I liked it (and also it seems like final episodes aren't always the strongest element of the BL industry). This is also not a show to watch if you like happy stories or healthy relationships lol.

[aiveecastillo]

Miss Universe Thailand Winners (2015-2022) :

2015: Lampang; Aniporn Chalermburnawong

2016: Samut Prakan; Chalita Suansane

2017: Bangkok; Maria Ehren

2018: Bangkok; Sophida Kanchanarin

2019: Bangkok; Paweensuda Drouin

2020: Phuket; Amanda Obdam

2021: Chachoengsao; Anchilee Scott-Kemmis

2022: Bangkok; Anna Sueangam-iam

[themakeupbrush]

Most of the 2022 Miss Universe National Costumes

Not a favorites list, just a compilation of some of the costumes I could easily put together from publicly available, relatively decent and evenly sized photos

In order (top to bottom, left to right):

Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon

Mauritius, South Africa, Angola

Iceland, Ukraine, Greece, Netherlands

Czech Republic, Malta, France

Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Paraguay

Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru

Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas

Laos, Vietnam, India, Bahrain

Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, Aruba

Thailand, Indonesia, Japan

USA, Nicaragua, El Salvador

Panama, Guatemala, Mexico

[ishowmymombldramas]

Enchante (Thailand, 2022)

!!!THIS IS ALL JUST ONE HUGE SPOILER FOR THE WHOLE LAKORN, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO WATCH IT, THEN JUST PUSH YOUR DEVICE AND DO NOT READ THIS!!! But if you've already seen / you don't care about this work / you won't watch it / you're as thick-skinned about spoilers as I am, then you can read (I would read it better than I made such a mistake once).

Today we have a not sickly savory detective story called Enchante.

Plot: Theo returns to Thailand after living in France (is it their fetish to return years later?) to study at his father's university. After the move, Theo found himself in a new unfamiliar environment, but found a childhood friend Ak. One day Theo found a book in the library that "welcomes" him, its author is Enchante. This name means "nice to meet you" in French. Interested, Theo told Aku about this strange author. Ak soon found out that the four guys claim that they are the same Anshante. Will Theo be able to guess which of the four is the real Anshante? The social part: how Ak in the first episode yells at the customer of the online store with the words "MEN HAVE NO RIGHT TO RAPE WOMEN" >>>>>>> literally everything else

If you still want to watch this lakorn, then you should close this review already here, because what follows is not just spoilers, but a FULL STORY DRAIN. If you really want to know who the killer is in the story, then read on.

Love Line: Ak/Theo Despite the poster, the whole mega aesthetic and incredibly pastel vibe, THIS IS LITERALLY ONE OF THE MOST TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS IN MY MEMORY, ONLY MORE TOXIC IS THE RELATIONSHIP FROM LOVE THEORY WITH KHAI AND TERD, SORRY. Main characters: oh, they are worth considering in more detail, because we have a typical story where one friend is a prince, and the second is his unwitting servant. Theo: THE MOST EGO-CENTRIC PERSON I HAVE MEET, this man is SO selfish that he LITERALLY believes the whole world should revolve around him. All this fiction with enchante was only for AK TO GO EVERYWHERE WITH HIM! HE MADE IT ALL ONLY FOR AK TO SPEND ALL HIS TIME WITH HIM! He's just brainwashing him 24/7 with this story and his behavior. Ak: I've only seen people with such patience in Cupid's Last Wish, this man apologized for all Theo's psychoses, calmly swallowed when he admitted that he invented all this so that Ak would go everywhere with him. How I missed the characters from the section ✨a spineless rag✨, I even agree to accept if he is so from his love, but this is too much. I was sincerely sorry for Ak throughout the lakorn, because the person is literally the best, HE RAN TO PICK THEO FROM THE OTHER END OF THE CITY, BECAUSE HE WAS ASLEEPING IN THE BUS, TURNED OUT FUCK KNOWS WHERE AND CALLED FROM THE POLICE STATION, by the way, because of this, Ak lost work. Features: Book's French >>>>> all the nonsense characters and plot. In fact, this lakorn well reflects human greed and the desire to cash in on someone's naivety, literally all the ambassadors, except for Saifa (he was bribed directly), did this for their own benefit. Plus the romantic scenes are good enough, they're not too sugary and really look like long-awaited first love. I also love the forcebook a lot and their acting is really good, which is not bad for a debut lead role (as far as I know, this drama was popular at the time, which is good news for the actors). But to be honest, without my bias towards them, the lakorn is really bad precisely in the line of love, the detective is still more or less justified, even I could not guess who the killer Enchante was until episode 8 (and I actually guessed, who's under the mask of the monster in Scooby Doo is faster than the gang), but as they say, we need bad stories to learn from their mistakes. As much as I hate this lakorn, it's still my favorite (what a Schrödinger review: oh how I hate this toxic shit BUT YOU SHOULD WATCH, MY FAVORITE DRAMA YAH YES) I probably love the forcebook chemistry more than the plot.

I put 7 "I'll take you to the martian field" / "it's called Champ de Mars, idiot" out of 10 Force improvisations (did you think I'd overestimate everyone? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ no.)

[akocomyk]

Believe it or not, I'm very happy

Long post ahead. Just wanna put all my thoughts here in one post.

Chronicling my reactions during the 71st Miss Universe pageant.

The opening number reflects the culture of New Orleans. I love it.

The introduction of judges got messed up—the cameras pan on the wrong people. I think they only got the first and last ones correct.

Olivia Culpo is more energetic now—I think it’s just because Jeannie Mai was her co-host.

Announcement of the Top 16

Puerto Rico – Of course. I expected this. 😊

Haiti – ABSOLUTE SHOCK 😱

Australia – she was in my radar. I included her as one of my alternates.

Dominican Republic – Called it.

Laos – A shock, but I felt it. Annie called me out on this when I posted my predictions and asked why I didn’t include her in my final predictions despite indicating many times during the preliminaries that I think she has a very pretty face. I was laughing when I chatted Annie saying that Laos made it.

South Africa – Expected it.

Portugal – GAAAH I was so happy with this. 😁

Canada – Nowhere near my radar. 🤯

Peru – I contemplated hard on whether or not I’d include her as one of my alternates—I picked Panama instead. BUT I did notice her.

Trinidad & Tobago – Didn’t like her at all, despite many pageant analysts see her as a dark horse.

Curaçao – YES! 😁

India – Many analysts were including her in their lists, primarily because of her speaking skills. I just felt her performance in the preliminaries was a bit middling.

*Commercial* At this point, I was already doubting that Philippines would be called. Only four countries are left, and I was thinking those spots would be for the USA, Philippines, Thailand and Mexico. 🙃

Venezuela – ALAS! Forgot about her earlier, but totally deserving.

Spain – GAAAH! A sentimental favorite of mine. I’m already in bittersweet emotions right then since the Philippines still hasn’t been called. 🥳

USA – MY frontrunner. OF COURSE. Upon her announcement, I chatted Annie, “Parang laglag na tayo ah” 🤩

Colombia – Expected this. But I don’t think she’d win.

Welp. That was it. I didn’t want to stop watching since my best bets were still there, and—including Laos (my uncalled favorite) and Australia (one of my alternates)—I got 11/16 of the semifinals.

None of those I put in the Lower Tier made it. I knew it. I KNEW IT. Also, none of those whom I had gut feels would make it didn’t either, which I guess is good?

After that, I said “Bohol should’ve won MUPh 2022.” Judging from the videos about the semifinalists, they all seem to have concrete advocacies, inspiring stories and something that makes them stand out aside from just being a pretty face. They are potential “transformational leaders.”

Celeste lacks this. She doesn’t have an advocacy that makes her unique. She doesn’t have anything rather than “being authentic” and “being relatable through my struggles.” Gurl, if that was what Voltaire told you to say, HE DESTROYED YOU. Everything that she says—although it all seems true and eloquently said—feels like lip service. More than half of the candidates have the same script.

Annie asked me where I think Celeste went wrong.

Judges at the prelims already know something about the girls. They start with the interview, don’t they? So before the candidates step out on the stage, the judges already know who to look out for. Odds are, they’d give high scores to the girls who they think deserve to be a semifinalist based on personality and credentials alone, as long as they don’t give a trashy performance.

If Celeste failed her interview, her only chance is to give the BEST performance on the prelims.

Unfortunately, Celeste gave a middling performance at the preliminaries. She wasn’t the best during swimsuit, but she did very well on evening gown—despite not having a very flashy dress. Regardless, she was still one of the standouts from those competitions.

At least half of the other girls who made it to the Top 16 were inferior to Celeste when it comes to stage presence. What was their edge? As I said, they have inspiring stories.

It has always been like this. Pia, Catriona, and the other queens in the IMG era… they all had stories to tell. The branding and the owner has changed, but the evolution has already started years ago. And the Trump era standards have already been downplayed for quite a while.

Which gets me back to my statement. Bohol should’ve won, based solely on the responses in the final question at Miss Universe Philippines. And she has done other things other than being just a model.

GOING BACK to Miss Universe.

Swimsuit Competition

Puerto Rico – YES, GURL! TAKE IT!

Haiti – Yow. That walk is why I didn’t expect her to be here.

Australia – Damn that ripped body. The way she walks feels so… harsh though.

Dominican Republic – Since Mexico is out, you’re in my Top 5. 

Laos – Again. PRETTY FACE. It’s just. Ugh. What’s with the slow-mo walk and quick turn? That needs more practice. 🤨

South Africa – Beautiful performance. Not the best one, though.

Portugal – Yaaaay! She’s fighting! Loved her in Miss Earth 2018, still love her now. 🥰

Canada – Did she add another layer of cape? What’s with all the ending twirls? This isn’t Miss Grand. It’s poorly executed too. 🙃

Peru – See that? This is why I contemplated putting her in my list.

Trinidad & Tobago – Love pink on her skin. Love the fierceness she projects.

Curaçao – GAAAH! YES!

India – She has an amazing body and a good pasarela. Her cape really reflects the Indian culture.

Venezuela – Really good. She’s IN IT to WIN IT. Love the art on her cape.

Spain – Love seeing the painting on her cape. She did a good job. Many candidates are just better.

USA – YES! YOU ARE THE LAST HOPE OF THE FILIPINOS.

Colombia – It’s hard to keep up with USA after that performance.

My clear standouts are Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and USA—Curaçao close behind them.

Evening Gown Competition

I’m in love with the background music haha!

Puerto Rico – Didn’t change her gown. Why change when there's nothing wrong with it? I loved seeing her in that gown again.

Haiti – Better than her swimsuit performance, but still not there.

Australia – Didn’t like her styling. I wish she should’ve picked a gown that softened her image a little bit ‘coz I think her body’s just too in-shape. The performance was better than in the prelims, though.

Dominican Republic – I’m so happy she didn’t wear her rehearsal gown. This gown is immaculate. And her styling? I think I’m looking at a different woman from what I’ve seen during the preliminaries. 🤩

Laos – She used a nude-colored gown. It didn’t help her.

South Africa – After all the muted colors the came before her, THIS IS A GOOD CHANGE. I love the vibrant color. I love the design. I love the pocket, I don't think I've ever seen that in Miss Universe before.

Portugal – Love her, but… Another silver gown? It’s good… but… there’s a “but.” ☹️

Canada – I love her white gown with that feathery cape.

Peru – I love the sparkly silvery gown, probably better than her prelims gown. She’s good.

Trinidad & Tobago – The color of her gown reminds me of Ms. Trinidad & Tobago’s gown back in 2010. 

Curaçao – Thank god for the lavender ombre at the bottom. Beautiful, still. However, I wish she had picked a different gown. This one doesn’t stand out amongst the others.

India – What’s with all the silver gowns???

Venezuela – *gasps* 🤯

Spain – Another mute-colored gown. It looks good on her, but I wish she walked with more confidence.

USA – *another gasp* like… I still haven’t recovered from my gasp at Venezuela’s gown, then here comes another one. But… RIAN FERNANDEZ made this, RIGHT???!!! *screams in silence 🥳

Colombia – Her preliminary gown was better.

My standouts for gown are USA, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico (in that order), Curaçao at fifth.

Combining the scores I’ve given to all candidates, my personal Top 5 are—from 1st to 5th—USA, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Curaçao.

Announcement of Top 5

Okay. I only have one constant reaction during the announcement. Venezuela was called first, then USA, and then others. One by one, my Top 5 is becoming a reality. I WAS SO HAPPY. I couldn’t contain myself. I was screaming.

These girls are also the ones who were at the top of my predictions. I got 4/5 of the finalists, and I ranked Dominican Republic at 6th. I was so close.

This same instance happened when I made my predictions for Miss Universe Philippines 2020—Rabiya Mateo’s year. I got 4/5 of the Top 5—Alaiza Malinao of Davao City didn’t make it—but I had Rabiya at 6th place.

Top 5 Q&A

After hearing all their answers, I thought USA and Dominican Republic were sure in the Top 3. And the last spot would be… Venezuela? I just thought Puerto Rico and Curaçao’s answers were too generic.

Announcement of Top 3

This was just a series of me chatting “I TOLD YOU SO.” to my friends, as my Top 3, once again, materialized into reality.

Top 3 Final Quesion

Dominican Republic – She answered too monotonously. She’s like a recorded audio. She’s my 2nd Runner-up

USA – I’ve never been so satisfied with an answer since Catriona’s final question back in 2018. USA’s gonna win.

Venezuela – Flowery words delivered with conviction, but lacks depth and context. She did not personalize her answer as much as she could. She did better than DR though.

At that point, I knew it was gonna be between USA and Venezuela—and I was leaning a lot more towards USA.

And who was the last two holding hands before the new Miss Universe was announced?

Eventually, Ms. USA was crowned as the new Miss Universe.

Yep. I should really consider becoming a pageant blogger.

[rholsof-film]

Anna Sueangam-iam Miss Universe Thailand(2022) as a contestant in Miss Universe