Post by samuel on Aug 24, 2018 19:27:41 GMT -5
The time has come again! A new Miss Hong Kong will be crowned this Sunday. Interestingly, the Miss New York Chinese Pageant will be held on the same day but in the early hours so it will be the first time that August 26th holds both pageants. Comments on the New York Pageant will be written on another thread.
Let me start off by saying I'm a little disappointed with this year's pageant. The girls did not travel overseas (except for Macau) for outdoor shooting and no semifinal is planned as promised initially. The panel of judges and format was also announced.. I honestly don't like when artistes serve as competition judges. It makes the pageant seem like star search rather than a beauty pageant.. Seems like we won't get to see a panel composed of JPs and a diverse field of talent in many years to come.. I do like that they hired a panel of 4 artistes for Miss Photogenic though as they know what to look for in being photogenic. Selena Li and Grace Chan were Miss Photogenic winners in their respective years so it's great to see them!
One positive though is the quality of the girls. This year's batch is one of the most competitive since 2016 and there's a lot of possibilities. I expect darkhorses to emerge and advance and wouldn't be surprised if one ends up winning.
Without further ado, here are some prethoughts of each girl and what I think about their chances. Just my thoughts, hope nobody gets offended. The girls only had a min to perform their talent at a open event and it's honestly hard to fully evaluate each of them. As corny as it sounds, all of them are great in their own way. Final predictions to come tomorrow!!
1. Grace Lan
She was one of my favorites initially. She won the "Best Jewelry Presenter" award, voted by her fellow contestants in the Luk Fook event. One of her biggest disadvantages is her Mainland accent and background as that's usually frowned upon. Her Chinese dance talent is decent and with a good performance, top 12 is possible.
2. Kathy Chong
She was one of my favorites initially as she has this aura. Unfortunately, she injured her leg when reporting to TVB and missed out on a number of outdoor events. I think this will likely hurt her chances but we'll see. Top 12 is possible. Her talent is called "Just Fun." To be honest, the music was more entertaining than the dance moves.. but it was decent enough.
3. Jenny Leung
Jenny was 2nd runner up(?) at Miss Australia Chinese. I think she has decent looks but some say that her neck is bit on the short side. I think her pageant experience is one of her biggest assets and we'll see if she can use it to her advantage. Her talent is "K-Pop" dance. Seems like dancing is the easiest talent to learn within a short amount of time.. Again, the music was more entertaining than the moves. Top 12 is possible.
4. Venus Tang
Her talent is a Chinese dance. Seems like there is more skill here. Decent talent. Not sure if she has as strong of a resume than the other girls though. In all honesty, I wasn't very impressed with most of their introduction videos (named "120 Seconds Beauty Videos") as I didn't learn much about them. Some mentioned their families and their personalities... where are their achievements or career goals?
5. Krystl Kung
Her Latin dance was interesting. She tied with #15 to win the Best Live Performance award. She also has a great figure and with the right performance, top 5 is possible. DARKHORSE ALERT.
6. Olivia To
A lot of pageant watchers denied her during preliminary interviews as they didn't feel that she was as facially strong as the other contestants. When I heard her speak though, I was impressed. She has this elegance when speaking and has one of the most impressive resumes. A law student and talented contestant, it was a pity that she didn't win the Best Live Performance award. Her musical performance was very impressive as she played three musical instruments. She composed the music piece herself! With a great resume and talent, I think top 12 is likely.
7. Sara Ting
Sara received a lot of attention as her nominator is a famous movie director (or entertainment insider as you want to call it). Her mother is also a TVB actress and hence she is one of the major press favorites. I think she has one of the faces of the pageant and stands a good chance at winning Miss Photogenic. Sara has already won the Most Eloquent award along with #8 Claudia at a pre Luk-Fook event. Top 5 is quite likely and she will likely win a lot of votes if she makes top 3. Her main disadvantage is possible her talent. Many said that her talent performance was off-key as she was too nervous. I'm honestly not a music person so I couldn't tell. She definitely needs to step up the talent for finals but I think a top 5 placement is a no-brainer. Will she become the first American-born Miss Hong Kong?? It's quite possible! On a side note, it's a little unbelievable that no American-born has won the Miss HK Pageant. American-abroad students have won the pageant though - Tiffany Lam, Mandy Cho, Kate Tsui, just to name a few.
8. Claudia Chan
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I PREDICTED CLAUDIA TO WIN MISS FRIENDSHIP!! This is the first time that I correctly predicted Miss Friendship at Miss Hong Kong! Claudia has a little accent as she grew up in New Zealand. Her talent is okay. Again not a music person so can't assert her banjo or singing skills. But I can tell from the audience reaction that it wasn't very well received.. We'll see how she does at finals night.
9. Yutori Kudo
If this was an IMG pageant, I think she'll win. Yutori has a very interesting look as she is of mixed Chinese-Japanese descent. Her background story is a little sad as her parents passed away at an early age. She seems to have a large fans following on Big Big Channel so I expect her to receive a decent amount of public votes. I think she has a great chance at making top 5.
Her violin performance is good. But, for musical talents, I think there needs to be a bit more as the pageant is more of a star search now and entertainment value seems to be more important than technical skill. That is also why we'll seeing contestants with non-conventional talents winning the pageant (e.g. Linda Chung, Sarah Song, Gloria Tang, Mandy Choi) as opposed to girls with more technical talents in their respective years. Will the girls change their talents up a bit for finals night??
10. Stephanie Lee
Stephanie reminds me a bit like a contestant at Miss HK 2012. She is more on the cute side but some are looking out for her as she has a lot of fans on Big Big Channel. Her talent is Chinese dance. She has a good body and is one of the better dancers so watch out for her. Another DARKHORSE ALERT.
11. Samantha Li
Another dance performance. She has dancing experience and it shows. I think she is pretty but her height will likely hurt her. She will need to increase her stage presence to get noticed in a year of tall contestants so we'll see how things go. Btw, the host needed to remind the audience to clap for the girls.. c'mon audience members, give them some support!
12. Christy Tung
Christy has a more mature look and actually reminds me of a person that I know. Her drawing performance is quite similar to Virginia Yung in MCI 1998. I actually think her talent is inspired by Virginia's performance... hmm.. the writers' idea or her idea? Let's see if her eloquence can get her into the top 12 as I find her to be one of the better presenters in the 120 self-intro video packages.
13. Linsy Lai
Linsy has one of the faces of the pageant. She's a silent beauty and resembles a bit like Anjoe Koh. She was my winner at one point in time until I saw her talent. Singing is considered one of the hardest talents in pageantry. Unless you have intensive singing experience, it is usually not recommended. I hope she changes her talent because I don't think she'll advance after talent... Top 12 is likely but talent needs to be improved (at least choose a different song if you're sticking to singing).
14. Honey Ho
Another press favorite. Honey has one of the most impressive bodies in the pageant. I don't care much for her being tanned as it usually doesn't matter too much at Miss HK.
My major concern is her talent. The cup song talent was performed before at numerous pageants.. Miss America, Miss Hong Kong, Miss Chinese International. The song she sang was the exact one performed at MCI 2016! I don't think it will be as highly rated as we saw it before. Honey has a pretty face though like most runner-ups possess so she will likely make top 5.
15. Tania Chan
She received some media attention during prelim interviews as she was formerly a member of a HK female band. She lost a lot of attention as the competition progressed and then suddenly, she became headline news when she was criticized for performing the Kiki challenge in public. I saw the video and I have to say.. it wasn't very tasteful. Some criticized her for trying to grab attention and neglecting public safety. I do think that she needed to be more thoughtful of her actions as she is Miss Hong Kong.. Will the recent controversy plus her showbiz experience, dancing skills, and eloquence be enough to put her in the top 12? It's quite possible
16. Rachel Wong
I liked her self-intro video. Her style reminds me of the movie director, Wong Jing's daughter. Her street dance talent was sub-par so she'll need to make some adjustments. Top 12 will depend on her speaking skills.
17. Hera Chan
A heavy press and fan favorite, Hera has already won the Miss Popularity award as voted by a Luk-Fook committee. She resembles a bit like Anita Yuen (MSHK 1990) and Cherie Chung. I was not too impressed with her talent though. Maybe because I'm not a very artistic person? I like the creativity but it is a show so entertainment value is very important. I really like her looks and height. But, she is giving off some Kelly Ng vibes.. I hope she doesn't get shut out of the top 3. If she makes top 3 with Sara Ting, I think she'll have the extra edge so we'll see.
18. Kelly Ko
With Taiwanese roots, Kelly is one of the facially strong girls this year. Her biggest drawback is definitely her accent. She has a great talent and good stage presence so top 12 is possible.
19. Krystal Yang
Another girl with Mainland roots, her accent is also noticeable. She also has one of the prettier faces this year. I actually thought she has a great voice and her talent was better than expected. Top 12 may depend on her pre-pageant performance as well as finals night.
20. Amber Tang
Amber has one of faces of the pageant. She exudes aura as well. She was my winner at one point in time. Her Chinese dance is one of the better dances of the group. My biggest concern is her height. If she can increase her stage presence like Crystal Fung in 2016, I see the crown on her head on Sunday.
So those are my pre-thoughts. Final predictions to come tomorrow, stay tuned!!
Let me start off by saying I'm a little disappointed with this year's pageant. The girls did not travel overseas (except for Macau) for outdoor shooting and no semifinal is planned as promised initially. The panel of judges and format was also announced.. I honestly don't like when artistes serve as competition judges. It makes the pageant seem like star search rather than a beauty pageant.. Seems like we won't get to see a panel composed of JPs and a diverse field of talent in many years to come.. I do like that they hired a panel of 4 artistes for Miss Photogenic though as they know what to look for in being photogenic. Selena Li and Grace Chan were Miss Photogenic winners in their respective years so it's great to see them!
One positive though is the quality of the girls. This year's batch is one of the most competitive since 2016 and there's a lot of possibilities. I expect darkhorses to emerge and advance and wouldn't be surprised if one ends up winning.
Without further ado, here are some prethoughts of each girl and what I think about their chances. Just my thoughts, hope nobody gets offended. The girls only had a min to perform their talent at a open event and it's honestly hard to fully evaluate each of them. As corny as it sounds, all of them are great in their own way. Final predictions to come tomorrow!!
1. Grace Lan
She was one of my favorites initially. She won the "Best Jewelry Presenter" award, voted by her fellow contestants in the Luk Fook event. One of her biggest disadvantages is her Mainland accent and background as that's usually frowned upon. Her Chinese dance talent is decent and with a good performance, top 12 is possible.
2. Kathy Chong
She was one of my favorites initially as she has this aura. Unfortunately, she injured her leg when reporting to TVB and missed out on a number of outdoor events. I think this will likely hurt her chances but we'll see. Top 12 is possible. Her talent is called "Just Fun." To be honest, the music was more entertaining than the dance moves.. but it was decent enough.
3. Jenny Leung
Jenny was 2nd runner up(?) at Miss Australia Chinese. I think she has decent looks but some say that her neck is bit on the short side. I think her pageant experience is one of her biggest assets and we'll see if she can use it to her advantage. Her talent is "K-Pop" dance. Seems like dancing is the easiest talent to learn within a short amount of time.. Again, the music was more entertaining than the moves. Top 12 is possible.
4. Venus Tang
Her talent is a Chinese dance. Seems like there is more skill here. Decent talent. Not sure if she has as strong of a resume than the other girls though. In all honesty, I wasn't very impressed with most of their introduction videos (named "120 Seconds Beauty Videos") as I didn't learn much about them. Some mentioned their families and their personalities... where are their achievements or career goals?
5. Krystl Kung
Her Latin dance was interesting. She tied with #15 to win the Best Live Performance award. She also has a great figure and with the right performance, top 5 is possible. DARKHORSE ALERT.
6. Olivia To
A lot of pageant watchers denied her during preliminary interviews as they didn't feel that she was as facially strong as the other contestants. When I heard her speak though, I was impressed. She has this elegance when speaking and has one of the most impressive resumes. A law student and talented contestant, it was a pity that she didn't win the Best Live Performance award. Her musical performance was very impressive as she played three musical instruments. She composed the music piece herself! With a great resume and talent, I think top 12 is likely.
7. Sara Ting
Sara received a lot of attention as her nominator is a famous movie director (or entertainment insider as you want to call it). Her mother is also a TVB actress and hence she is one of the major press favorites. I think she has one of the faces of the pageant and stands a good chance at winning Miss Photogenic. Sara has already won the Most Eloquent award along with #8 Claudia at a pre Luk-Fook event. Top 5 is quite likely and she will likely win a lot of votes if she makes top 3. Her main disadvantage is possible her talent. Many said that her talent performance was off-key as she was too nervous. I'm honestly not a music person so I couldn't tell. She definitely needs to step up the talent for finals but I think a top 5 placement is a no-brainer. Will she become the first American-born Miss Hong Kong?? It's quite possible! On a side note, it's a little unbelievable that no American-born has won the Miss HK Pageant. American-abroad students have won the pageant though - Tiffany Lam, Mandy Cho, Kate Tsui, just to name a few.
8. Claudia Chan
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I PREDICTED CLAUDIA TO WIN MISS FRIENDSHIP!! This is the first time that I correctly predicted Miss Friendship at Miss Hong Kong! Claudia has a little accent as she grew up in New Zealand. Her talent is okay. Again not a music person so can't assert her banjo or singing skills. But I can tell from the audience reaction that it wasn't very well received.. We'll see how she does at finals night.
9. Yutori Kudo
If this was an IMG pageant, I think she'll win. Yutori has a very interesting look as she is of mixed Chinese-Japanese descent. Her background story is a little sad as her parents passed away at an early age. She seems to have a large fans following on Big Big Channel so I expect her to receive a decent amount of public votes. I think she has a great chance at making top 5.
Her violin performance is good. But, for musical talents, I think there needs to be a bit more as the pageant is more of a star search now and entertainment value seems to be more important than technical skill. That is also why we'll seeing contestants with non-conventional talents winning the pageant (e.g. Linda Chung, Sarah Song, Gloria Tang, Mandy Choi) as opposed to girls with more technical talents in their respective years. Will the girls change their talents up a bit for finals night??
10. Stephanie Lee
Stephanie reminds me a bit like a contestant at Miss HK 2012. She is more on the cute side but some are looking out for her as she has a lot of fans on Big Big Channel. Her talent is Chinese dance. She has a good body and is one of the better dancers so watch out for her. Another DARKHORSE ALERT.
11. Samantha Li
Another dance performance. She has dancing experience and it shows. I think she is pretty but her height will likely hurt her. She will need to increase her stage presence to get noticed in a year of tall contestants so we'll see how things go. Btw, the host needed to remind the audience to clap for the girls.. c'mon audience members, give them some support!
12. Christy Tung
Christy has a more mature look and actually reminds me of a person that I know. Her drawing performance is quite similar to Virginia Yung in MCI 1998. I actually think her talent is inspired by Virginia's performance... hmm.. the writers' idea or her idea? Let's see if her eloquence can get her into the top 12 as I find her to be one of the better presenters in the 120 self-intro video packages.
13. Linsy Lai
Linsy has one of the faces of the pageant. She's a silent beauty and resembles a bit like Anjoe Koh. She was my winner at one point in time until I saw her talent. Singing is considered one of the hardest talents in pageantry. Unless you have intensive singing experience, it is usually not recommended. I hope she changes her talent because I don't think she'll advance after talent... Top 12 is likely but talent needs to be improved (at least choose a different song if you're sticking to singing).
14. Honey Ho
Another press favorite. Honey has one of the most impressive bodies in the pageant. I don't care much for her being tanned as it usually doesn't matter too much at Miss HK.
My major concern is her talent. The cup song talent was performed before at numerous pageants.. Miss America, Miss Hong Kong, Miss Chinese International. The song she sang was the exact one performed at MCI 2016! I don't think it will be as highly rated as we saw it before. Honey has a pretty face though like most runner-ups possess so she will likely make top 5.
15. Tania Chan
She received some media attention during prelim interviews as she was formerly a member of a HK female band. She lost a lot of attention as the competition progressed and then suddenly, she became headline news when she was criticized for performing the Kiki challenge in public. I saw the video and I have to say.. it wasn't very tasteful. Some criticized her for trying to grab attention and neglecting public safety. I do think that she needed to be more thoughtful of her actions as she is Miss Hong Kong.. Will the recent controversy plus her showbiz experience, dancing skills, and eloquence be enough to put her in the top 12? It's quite possible
16. Rachel Wong
I liked her self-intro video. Her style reminds me of the movie director, Wong Jing's daughter. Her street dance talent was sub-par so she'll need to make some adjustments. Top 12 will depend on her speaking skills.
17. Hera Chan
A heavy press and fan favorite, Hera has already won the Miss Popularity award as voted by a Luk-Fook committee. She resembles a bit like Anita Yuen (MSHK 1990) and Cherie Chung. I was not too impressed with her talent though. Maybe because I'm not a very artistic person? I like the creativity but it is a show so entertainment value is very important. I really like her looks and height. But, she is giving off some Kelly Ng vibes.. I hope she doesn't get shut out of the top 3. If she makes top 3 with Sara Ting, I think she'll have the extra edge so we'll see.
18. Kelly Ko
With Taiwanese roots, Kelly is one of the facially strong girls this year. Her biggest drawback is definitely her accent. She has a great talent and good stage presence so top 12 is possible.
19. Krystal Yang
Another girl with Mainland roots, her accent is also noticeable. She also has one of the prettier faces this year. I actually thought she has a great voice and her talent was better than expected. Top 12 may depend on her pre-pageant performance as well as finals night.
20. Amber Tang
Amber has one of faces of the pageant. She exudes aura as well. She was my winner at one point in time. Her Chinese dance is one of the better dances of the group. My biggest concern is her height. If she can increase her stage presence like Crystal Fung in 2016, I see the crown on her head on Sunday.
So those are my pre-thoughts. Final predictions to come tomorrow, stay tuned!!