Lena Ma vs. Aimee Chan

[js4]

Why do you think Lena Ma was able to beat Aimee Chan in Miss Toronto 2004, now looking at Aimee Chan's great progress w/ beauty pageants? I would think Miss HK is a lot more compettiive than Miss Toronto.

[samuel]

Great point of discussion, js4. Lena won MCT 2004 over Aimee and Janet. Lena went to MCI 2005 but was unplaced. Now, Aimee is a big favorite for the crown, and I think Aimee will definitely be a top 5 finalist. Here are the factors to Lena winning Aimee at MCT 2004:

1. Final night performace
2. Style, poise, and elegance
3. Interview (really important because the judges could of liked Aimee's answer or not)
4. judges taste

I have not seen the pageant myself, but I think that Lena must have had a better performance than Aimee did. The final night performance is extremely important, like how Crystal beat Lora (MCV 2005), Venessa Fisher to Natalie Glebova, or even state beauty pageants like Miss Hawaii USA (Brook Lee lost to 3 state titleholders but overpast them at Miss USA). I guess from losing, you know how to do better, and that's how Aimee had a dramatic change at MSHK. Aimee also looked younger than Lena (even though Lena was 17 and Aimee was 23). Also Rana wrote in her review that Aimee had a witty answer, so the judges might have disliked it rather than by it. Examples would be MSHK #12, Tiffany Tse who had a witty and daring answer, which led to her unplacement. Lastly, judges. Judges have different opinions and taste, so MCT judges might liked Lena more than Aimee.

[redfirewood]

Sometimes politics may play a part behind the scene before the pageant. I'm not saying that this in fact did happen, however, I do know that during the month of preparations before the MCT pageant Aimee was quite sick throughout the month and was missing alot of training sessions that she had to make up time for. This may have rubbed some of the organizers the wrong way and may have left a negative impression about her. Again, this is not a fact just an opinion. However, after the pageant alot of people were saying Aimee should have won and she was signed by Fairchild TV to be a host on one of their shows. In retrospect, it is good that she didn't win MCT because she would have never been able to go on to win MHK, which is much better.

[Rana]

MCT 04 was such a excellent yr! i think lena won because she had the overall package. when you meet her, you'll understand. ppl just fall in love with her because shes sooo sweeet & personable. whereas, u don't quite see that at first with aimee unless you got to know her.

the obvious strong ones at MCT that year were #2 Janet, #3 Annie, #4 Lily, #5 Lena, #6 Lilly, #7 Aimee. strongest was def #4 Lily. i was so surprised she didn't win & many in the audience felt she was robbed. but i heard she was quite flirty during the judges dinner & that didn't go well with them.

#2 Janet - wasn't ready yet, but was beautiful & had a face FTV/TVB would love, her interview during the finals was only so-so but bombed her talent. she played the sax & made some mistakes
#3 Annie - very much like Sherry this yr. very beauty queenish on stage
#4 Lily - performed like a champ. if she'd been 18 the crown would've been hers.
#5 Lena - talent was amazing (opera singing....obvious top 2 for talent)...she didn't do amazing during interviews cuz the question did no justice! smth along the lines of which mc would u pick to marry or date. def stood out w/ her height & figure & carried herself with much elegance & maturity
#6 Lilly - stunning facially but didn't perform well.
#7 Aimee - rocked in all segments but imho i think the judges forgot about her after the strong performances by 3, 4, 5. she was super during interviews. when i said witty i meant she was quick on her feet etc. lots of ppl around me were like wow!!!. her talent was also quite good (rthymic ribbon dance routine) however, her cantonese wasn't as strong as it is now (very cbc then). that might also be another factor. no doubt she was probably the prettiest of the group.

when it was time to announce the winner, a lot of ppl were rooting for 7. but it wasn't meant to be .....i think it worked out even better for aimee don't you?

while the final night performance is extremely important, i believe the judges dinner also had a lot of impact. that was the only night the judges saw them b4 the big day & their only chance to get somewhat upclose & personal. imho the results shouldn't be decided on the final performance alone cuz we can all have on and off days & how can u really judge someone w/o getting to know a little about them? it'll also make the judging process a little easier!

also!!! as my pal jimmy & i were about to leave after the show, we found signs made by aimee's support group with a headshot of aimee in cartoon form. we were debating whether to take one or not since they were just left at the table ......shoulda taken one! who knew she would become miss hk? ;D

[samuel]

Sorry, Rana but what did you mean by she got quick on her feet?

[bluecloud384]

i think quick on her feet = fast reaction

[redfirewood]

Thank you Rana for your insight. I totally agree with you that it did work out for the better for Aimee. I should ask my friend if she still has the sign (she was one of the people holding up the signs during the pageant). Maybe it will be worth something someday lol!