Miss Universe 2019: 33 candidates to keep an eye on tonight!
Miss Universe 2019 lasted for roughly a week this year and honestly, there was not much to report on until the preliminary competition, which happened on Friday, December 6th. We know times are difficult for pageants all over, but since they were in vibrant Atlanta, how about taking the candidates to visit the CNN studios? Well, it didn´t happen…
But let´s move to what really matters hours before the election of a new Miss Universe. Here are 33 stunners who caught our attention after walking the ramp in swimsuit and evening gown:
BANGLADESH, Shirin Akter Shela
We loved the fact that she chose to wear sports attire instead of a bikini, respecting her country´s religion. It´s great that the MUO allowed it. It´s the first time in 68 years that Bangladesh competes in Miss Universe, and we believe Shirin could do quite well.
BELGIUM, Angeline Flor Pua
This well-accomplished young woman from Antwerp made it to the Top 30 in Miss World 2018. Though her runway performance was not one of the best, with her beauty and brains, we wouldn´t be surprised to see Angeline moving forward in the competition.
CHILE, Geraldine González
For the first time ever, Chile is represented by a biracial woman. Geraldine had one of the most original gowns at the preliminary show, and she walks like a supermodel! If GB´s Super 11 happened to be a Super 12, she would´ve been there! Stunning and a strong candidate who we believe will be, the least to say, a Top 20 semi-finalist.
CHINA, Rosie Zhu Xin
We don´t see many people commentating on China, which is kind of surprising. Rosie wowed us with her strong stage presence, great gown choice, and stunning face. We hope to see her up there!
CROATIA, Mia Rkman
Her swimsuit and evening gown presentations were far from being a perfect 10, however, with a face to die for, it would be a sin to leave Mia out of this list. Stunning!
GREAT BRITAIN, Emma Jenkins
Some may say Emma is “pageant patty”, but even if so, in a good way! There´s something sweet and almost naive about her that makes us believe that Great Britain could break the odds and be among the Top 20 once again.
HAITI, Gabriela Vallejo
Think of someone who can light up an entire room with her bright smile and amazing personality! Gabriela is this person. We´ve met her when she competed and placed in Miss Supranational 2014, representing Canada. Overlooked by most pageant observers, we believe she could easily be a Top 20 quarter-finalist.
INDONESIA, Frederika Cull
We know many Indonesian fans get mad when we do not mention a Miss Indonesia as a front-runner, but the reality is: we must be honest and stand by our opinions. Frederika is lovely and could easily be in the Top 20, however, with such a strong group, right now we do not see her moving any further than that. Her gown choice suited her, and this was a positive point about her presentation!
IRELAND, Fionnghuala O'Reilly
The first biracial woman to represent Ireland in Miss Universe has an impressive resume and is quite charming. A shoo-in for the Top 20 in the opinion of a legion of fans, we see her as a competent candidate, but not as a major front-runner. We may be wrong…
JAPAN, Ako Kamo
It´s not risky to say that no other candidate has as much style as Ako Kamo of Japan! It would be a delight to see Japan placing high tonight!
KENYA, Stacy Michuki
With one of the best preliminary performances, Miss Kenya is #14 in our ranking, and we believe she could easily be in the Top 6, repeating what Mary Esther Were accomplished for Kenya in 2016. She´s strong!
MEXICO, Sofía Aragón
Last year Miss Mexico had perhaps the face of the competition, and for some weird reason, she did not place in the Top 20. Sofía is just as striking and her gown presentation took our breath away! Mexico must place tonight. Sofía deserves to be up there.
MYANMAR, Swe Zin Htet
Also known as Superman by her close friends, Swe competed in Miss Supranational 2016 and placed in the Top 10. Myanmar´s hottest bet in Miss Universe so far, Swe is a young woman with a pure soul and inspiring life story, who also happens to be courageous: she´s making headlines for being Miss Universe´s first openly gay candidate, in a country where same-sex marriage is not allowed. READ IT HERE. You go, Superman, go!!
PANAMA, Mehr Eliezer
One of the most gorgeous delegates around, we thought that Miss Panama did not deliver it as expected at the presentation show. However, with her amazing beauty and aura, we do hope she can make it to the Top 20 and shine brighter in tonight´s competition.
PERU, Kelin Rivera
Up to last Friday night, we confess that we did not give much attention to Peru. Nonetheless, Kelin aced the preliminary rounds of swimwear and gown, moving up quickly in our list of favorites. Well-prepared by the one and only Jessica Newton, Miss Peru Universe, and Miss Universe Top 10 semi-finalist in 1987, Peru could pull a good result in tonight´s competition.
PHILIPPINES, Gazini Ganados
Gazini Ganados has a “sea of fans” supporting her, and when she walked in her extraordinary golden gown, she certainly did not disappoint them! #14 in our ranking, we are sure Miss Philippines will deliver it well when competing tonight. She carries a lot of pressure on her shoulders for coming from the country where the current Miss Universe hails from! Could a back-to-back victory happen?
PORTUGAL, Sylvie Silva
One of Portugal´s strongest bets in nearly 7 decades of Miss Universe, Sylvie could make history by becoming only the second woman to put Portugal among Miss U´s semifinalists. Actually born in Monaco, where she lives, Miss Portugal delivered one of the sexiest gown presentations on Friday night.
SIERRA LEONE, Marie Esther Bangura
For many, an “underdog”. In our opinion, another very strong African stunner who absolutely aced her gown presentation! What we love the most about Marie Esther, is that she looks 100% African, natural, and with a radiant smile which shows that she´s enjoying herself while competing. We can only hope MU judges captured that as well!
SINGAPORE, Mohanaprabha Selvam
Mohanaprabha Selvam could put her country among Miss Universe´s semi-finalists from the first time since 1987 (and 3rd, overall), when it hosted the pageant. Miss Singapore's unique looks, short hair and great posture on stage (without mentioning her amazing gown!), could make it a reality, let´s see!
USA, Cheslie Kryst
We absolutely love Cheslie´s incredible personality, speaking-skills, and charm. Her unconventional looks, though, put a question mark on whether she´s winning material or not. Her victory at Miss USA came as a shock, but then she won many fans over with her personality and “integral beauty”. The US is producing and hosting the pageant, and we know organizers love her. So, yes, anything can happen, especially if she gets a chance to talk!
VENEZUELA, Thalia Olvino
There´s one lesson everyone who covers beauty pageant learns at some point: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A MISS VENEZUELA! Thalia, like Miss USA, is not the prettiest girl around and got lots of criticism when she was elected in Venezuela. However, she´s regal, she´s well-prepared, and she did what she had to do at the preliminaries. What will happen with Miss Venezuela? She could go from not placing at all (which we doubt!) to making it to the Top 6! Let´s watch and see.
VIETNAM, Hoàng Thùy
Another great performer who was hard to miss during the Presentation Show, was Hoàng Thùy of Vietnam. She´s among those who will be struggling to be in the Top 20.
THE SUPER 11
ALBANIA, Cindy Marina
CROWN ALERT!
We created high expectations for Miss Albania, and guess what? She delivered it! Cindy is so beautiful, you simply don´t get tired of looking at her! Her swimsuit performance was one of the best, and her gown, if not the most popular among fashionistas and pageant fans, was carried it with grace and elegance. Eye on her!
BRAZIL, Júlia Horta
CROWN ALERT!!
Júlia Horta has started as a Miss Brazil World candidate (5th place in 2015, and 3rd in 2017). With her international experience (2nd place in International Queen of Coffee 2016 and 5th in Miss Tourism International 2017), she evolved tremendously, winning the Miss Brazil Universe 2019 title without much effort. A great talker and a convict feminist, Miss Brazil seems to be exactly what the MUO is looking for. She could become Brazil´s 3rd winner in this pageant, and if it happens, one thing is for sure: the Universe will be in great hands!!
COLOMBIA, Gabriela Tafur
CROWN ALERT!
Gabriela Tafur, a native of Cali, has one of the most beautiful faces and bodies in the competition. Her gown presentation was safe, and she nailed it in swimwear. Colombia is expected to do really well tonight!
INDIA, Vartika Singh
CROWN ALERT!
We´ve met Vartika when she competed in Miss Grand International 2015, in Thailand, and back then she was a hot favorite and placed 3rd. Incredibly gorgeous and intelligent, Miss India looks like a movie star! She has improved her catwalk, though it´s definitely not her forte. Not only India will place tonight after 5 years. We have a feeling it will fight for the crown!
PUERTO RICO, Madison Anderson
CROWN ALERT!
Another former Miss Grand International competitor, Madison placed 4th when competing in Vegas, in 2016. In MGI´s final, her production was flawless, actually better than how she looked on Friday night (though she looked amazing and killed it in gown!). Madison is tall, expressive, and extremely sexy (she was named GB´s Sexiest Woman Alive in 2016). Puerto Rico is in the game!
SOUTH AFRICA, Zozibini Tunzi
CROWN ALERT!
With a historical preliminary gown presentation, added to her brains and stunning looks, we could be looking at another South African Miss Universe! Zozibini has all it takes to walk away with the crown again for her country and we expect no less than a Top 6 placement for her.
SPAIN, Natalie Ortega
CROWN ALERT!
Spain´s Natalie Ortega has the looks of the extraordinary Scandinavian beauty queens who did so well in pageants up to the 1980´s! We would love to see the crown on her head, but will classic and natural be valued in times when social media followers and likes, sponsorship money and hosting proposals seem to be determinant factors when it comes the time to elect a Grand Slam winner? Well, well…
TANZANIA, Shubila Stanton
CROWN ALERT!
Shubila´s preliminary performance took us back to 1985, when Miss Zaire, Benita Mureka Tete, marveled the Universe and nearly captured the MU crown, placing 3rd. Extraordinary defines this young lady. Africa, just like in Miss Supranational 2019, has a “golden group” of competitors in Miss Universe 2019. We just hope that here they won´t be overlooked! If there´s fairness tonight, several of them will place, and some of them will actually fight for the crown, like Miss Tanzania!
THE THREE HOT FAVORITES
FRANCE, Maëva Coucke
CROWN ALERT!
A front-runner in Miss World 2018 who failed to make the final cut (she was in the Top 12), Miss France has a second chance now in a pageant that suits her better. Not even falling on stage a thousand times, would take away from her a chance to win the Miss Universe crown! Maëva Coucke is an epitome of elegance and beauty, she´s chic, and she could be exactly who Miss Universe needs at this critical time. A top 6 shoo-in, it will then depend on how she handles her nerves and delivers her final answers.
ICELAND, Birta Abiba Þórhallsdóttir
CROWN ALERT!
Are we the only ones who absolutely love Miss Iceland? A “dark horse” for many, we see Birta as a front-runner, someone who could break molds and represent what Miss Universe brags about looking for in a winner: diversity, empowerment, achievement! Iceland has three Miss World crowns and has won Miss International twice. It´s about time that it adds the Miss Universe crown to this collection! We totally believe she deserves it.
THAILAND, Paweensuda Drouin
CROWN ALERT!
We end our review with the most talked-about and commented candidate of the year: Miss Thailand. Paweensuda shows so much confidence during her public appearances and when competing, that it becomes hard for us not to imagine the crown on her head! People speculate about Thailand buying the crown, but really, would it be necessary? She´s beautiful, charismatic, popular, and would make a great Miss Universe. Miss Thailand didn´t show the best shape in the swimsuit competition, but it´s not anymore about having a “perfect body”, but rather feeling confident and showing it, just the way you look. And she managed it! Let´s remember Siera Bearchell, who made history in 2016 and was not defeated by her “out of shape” for pageant molds body, but rather by a wrong gown choice. Thailand is a huge favorite tonight and many expect it to keep the streak going, after winning Miss International and Miss Supranational 2019.
We wish all delegates, in or out of this list, much success and the best of luck tonight!