Post by samuel on Aug 27, 2018 17:30:20 GMT -5
After watching the pageant, he are my thoughts of the pageant:
This is one of the best productions and exciting Miss HK pageants in recent years. Although it seemed a little rushed, each segment was exciting. If the show had half an hour more, it would be even better. One recommendation I would give to TVB is to reduce the time used in interviewing the TVB artistes. Of course it is important and nice to find out who the judges are voting for, but is there a need to ask over 50% of the judges panel on who their favorite is? Between every segment or between commercial break, the artistes would be asked who are their favorites.. That took up a lot of screen time and could've been used for other segments - giving ONE MORE MIN for the top 12 announcement. The announcement was way too fast.. The girls didn't even pose and the next semifinalist was called. The same issue for the swimsuit segment where all the 20 girls came out, it felt a little rushed.
If they wanted to know who their favorites are, they can show a screenshot of which girls are leading or trailing amongst the TVB panel. That would be more efficient than asking the majority of the artistes who their favorites are..
And I dislike it when the focus is heavily placed on the panel of TVB Artistes. Yes, they are talented, beautiful, and handsome but is there a need to constantly showcase them within an already heavy-packed rundown?? The girls are the stars of the pageant and more emphasis should be placed on them rather than the artistes.. If TVB feels that the home viewers are tuning in just to watch the artistes or that the artistes will be able to keep the viewers to continue watching, then they need to think otherwise. This pattern of having TVB artistes sit as judging panel has started since 2012 and honestly doesn't help the ratings...
IMO, if TVB wants to keep the viewers' interest, they will need to think of other ways.
In terms of performance, I think #20 Amber performed the best. She was witty during the interview round and displayed a lot of confidence. Winner Hera and 2nd RU Sara wasn't as sharp and eloquent in their interviews. But, like I mentioned earlier, Hera and Sara had the height and beauty to hold them up. The voting system this year also worked in Hera and Sara's favor as both gathered a significant amount of press attention and likely stuck in the Big Big Fun voter's mind. If the judging system was different, the results may have been different as #15 Tania really shined and would've likely gathered a lot of judges votes. Sara held on to top 3 as she received a lot of votes from Big Big Fun and was facially stronger.
Stephanie also did quite well, reflecting why I predicted her initially to take the last of the top 5 slots. However, Tania displayed quick-thinking with her interview answers and displayed an impressive ribbon dance and hence completed the top 5.
Honey had an impressive body and gave decent interview answers but likely lost out facially. I honestly didn't think her skin color played a major role in her elimination, it was mainly because of her talent (cup song was performed at numerous pageants before) and facial features. Nevertheless, she gave a great performance and certainly had the most well toned/fit body of the group.
Some were surprised that #15 Tania didn't make the top 3. Like I mentioned, the voting system was different this year. Tania didn't fare really well in the Big Big Fun ranking (she ranked at the lower of the pack) and likely advanced due to the artiste vote. Performance wise - she deserved top 5 but it was the best placement she could've received.
#2 Kathy's top 10 placement was appropriate. She received a lot of fan support as she has a very elegant/gracious look - what Miss Hong Kong should have. However, she didn't really shine in her segments. #3 Jenny placed appropriately. Her height and KPop dance was criticized alt. she gave decent answers in the interview round. #4 Venus also placed appropriately because she seemed nervous in the interview round. Her height and body were decent though. #11 Samantha seemed to be the biggest surprise of the night. She was one of my favorites initially as she had great facial features but standing at 5'1", she was the shortest contestant this year. She was overshadowed by the other contestants, particularly #9-#13 as they were quite tall!! Interestingly, I predicted #3 Jenny and #20 Amber (two other short contestants) to advance but I didn't think all three 5'3" or lower contestants would advance.
Looking back at her performance, I thought she advanced because of talent. Other than that, she could've been replaced by other delegates in the top 20 - e.g. #5 Krystl or #19 Krystal. Krystl was noted for being nervous but she had decent height and beauty (and talent) to advance; same with Krystal. Samantha had an cringe-worthy moment as she blanked out during the interview round and couldn't answer her question. Some criticized Louisa Mak, Miss Hong Kong 2015 for forcing her and asking her with an inappropriate question. I do hope that the writers made Louisa ask that question because it was a little sensitive.. And to make matters worse, Louisa said that it wasn't fair for Dodo Cheng to help Samantha answer. That moment gathered a lot of attention afterwards and was widely discussed.
#16 Rachel didn't smile a lot. She looks better if she smiles. Her chair dance likely gathered some votes alt. she was not part of the bottom 8 in the big big fun voting and likely wouldn't have dropped below top 12 (unless she messed up big time). Her performance was decent alt. her placement was a little surprising imo.
#18 Kelly has a radiant smile and great body. I would've included her in my top 12 had her Cantonese been better. Luckily the judges overlooked her accent and put her through as her look resembled a little like Miss Lau Sum Yao. Her dance was quite eyecatching as well.
Out of the 8 that were eliminated, most of their eliminations can be explained. If I didn't watch the pageant, I would've been surprised that #5 Krystl, #9 Yutori and #13 Linsy didn't advance. But, after watching the pageant, I felt most surprised that #19 Krystal didn't advance. She had a decent look and talent and stood out. #5 Krystl kinda lost the spark she had when she won the Best Live Performance award but was a decent competitor. #9 Yutori and #13 Linsy had the height and beauty to do well AND COULD'VE done well had their talents been stronger.. Their eliminations could've been explained (and they were falling behind in the Big Big Fun voting). Linsy's elimination was the most regretful as her talent could've been different... Singing is not recommended for talent unless you have experience and good vocals..
How about the other girls in the top 20?? #1 Grace sorta blended into the background and lacked stage presence. #6 Olivia was too nervous.. She barely smiled! She didn't seem comfortable at all.. Her biggest asset - talent was not executed beautifully. It seemed like she was displaying three separate musical talents - more than one talent performance. She should've stuck with one musical instrument rather than play all three - sometimes little is better than more.
#8 Claudia's talent was decent but many feel that it's not meant for a pageant. She seems to be friendly (hence winning the award) but doesn't seem to have the confidence/urgency to do well.
#9 Yutori sabotaged her chances by playing the violin. It was noticeable that she played many notes wrong. I think that if she didn't feel comfortable with playing a talent that she left out for 10+ years - then choose another talent. The technical difficulty of a talent is important but the capability to perform it is MORE important.
#12 Christy was praised for having creativity. She drew a painting of the late Lydia Shum. I thought that it wasn't really a talent but it was refreshing to see. Her height and confidence could've brought her to top 12 as well.
Let me briefly mention the top 3's talent - Hera's talent was eye-catching and something that was not seen before. #20 Amber displayed great dancing skills and really looked suitable for a Chinese themed-dance. #7 Sara gave a much improved piano performance and did well.
How are HERA'S CHANCES AT MCI 2019? For now, I have her as a top 5 finalist, she can make top 3 depending on her performance. She will have things to strengthen up - talent, interview, confidence; but she has time to do it.
So that's a wrap up for the pageant! I'll write more if I feel that I left out any points - but I covered most points.
Let's hope that next year's MCI and MSHK can be as interesting and well received as this year's pageant! Until then, so long ~~
This is one of the best productions and exciting Miss HK pageants in recent years. Although it seemed a little rushed, each segment was exciting. If the show had half an hour more, it would be even better. One recommendation I would give to TVB is to reduce the time used in interviewing the TVB artistes. Of course it is important and nice to find out who the judges are voting for, but is there a need to ask over 50% of the judges panel on who their favorite is? Between every segment or between commercial break, the artistes would be asked who are their favorites.. That took up a lot of screen time and could've been used for other segments - giving ONE MORE MIN for the top 12 announcement. The announcement was way too fast.. The girls didn't even pose and the next semifinalist was called. The same issue for the swimsuit segment where all the 20 girls came out, it felt a little rushed.
If they wanted to know who their favorites are, they can show a screenshot of which girls are leading or trailing amongst the TVB panel. That would be more efficient than asking the majority of the artistes who their favorites are..
And I dislike it when the focus is heavily placed on the panel of TVB Artistes. Yes, they are talented, beautiful, and handsome but is there a need to constantly showcase them within an already heavy-packed rundown?? The girls are the stars of the pageant and more emphasis should be placed on them rather than the artistes.. If TVB feels that the home viewers are tuning in just to watch the artistes or that the artistes will be able to keep the viewers to continue watching, then they need to think otherwise. This pattern of having TVB artistes sit as judging panel has started since 2012 and honestly doesn't help the ratings...
IMO, if TVB wants to keep the viewers' interest, they will need to think of other ways.
In terms of performance, I think #20 Amber performed the best. She was witty during the interview round and displayed a lot of confidence. Winner Hera and 2nd RU Sara wasn't as sharp and eloquent in their interviews. But, like I mentioned earlier, Hera and Sara had the height and beauty to hold them up. The voting system this year also worked in Hera and Sara's favor as both gathered a significant amount of press attention and likely stuck in the Big Big Fun voter's mind. If the judging system was different, the results may have been different as #15 Tania really shined and would've likely gathered a lot of judges votes. Sara held on to top 3 as she received a lot of votes from Big Big Fun and was facially stronger.
Stephanie also did quite well, reflecting why I predicted her initially to take the last of the top 5 slots. However, Tania displayed quick-thinking with her interview answers and displayed an impressive ribbon dance and hence completed the top 5.
Honey had an impressive body and gave decent interview answers but likely lost out facially. I honestly didn't think her skin color played a major role in her elimination, it was mainly because of her talent (cup song was performed at numerous pageants before) and facial features. Nevertheless, she gave a great performance and certainly had the most well toned/fit body of the group.
Some were surprised that #15 Tania didn't make the top 3. Like I mentioned, the voting system was different this year. Tania didn't fare really well in the Big Big Fun ranking (she ranked at the lower of the pack) and likely advanced due to the artiste vote. Performance wise - she deserved top 5 but it was the best placement she could've received.
#2 Kathy's top 10 placement was appropriate. She received a lot of fan support as she has a very elegant/gracious look - what Miss Hong Kong should have. However, she didn't really shine in her segments. #3 Jenny placed appropriately. Her height and KPop dance was criticized alt. she gave decent answers in the interview round. #4 Venus also placed appropriately because she seemed nervous in the interview round. Her height and body were decent though. #11 Samantha seemed to be the biggest surprise of the night. She was one of my favorites initially as she had great facial features but standing at 5'1", she was the shortest contestant this year. She was overshadowed by the other contestants, particularly #9-#13 as they were quite tall!! Interestingly, I predicted #3 Jenny and #20 Amber (two other short contestants) to advance but I didn't think all three 5'3" or lower contestants would advance.
Looking back at her performance, I thought she advanced because of talent. Other than that, she could've been replaced by other delegates in the top 20 - e.g. #5 Krystl or #19 Krystal. Krystl was noted for being nervous but she had decent height and beauty (and talent) to advance; same with Krystal. Samantha had an cringe-worthy moment as she blanked out during the interview round and couldn't answer her question. Some criticized Louisa Mak, Miss Hong Kong 2015 for forcing her and asking her with an inappropriate question. I do hope that the writers made Louisa ask that question because it was a little sensitive.. And to make matters worse, Louisa said that it wasn't fair for Dodo Cheng to help Samantha answer. That moment gathered a lot of attention afterwards and was widely discussed.
#16 Rachel didn't smile a lot. She looks better if she smiles. Her chair dance likely gathered some votes alt. she was not part of the bottom 8 in the big big fun voting and likely wouldn't have dropped below top 12 (unless she messed up big time). Her performance was decent alt. her placement was a little surprising imo.
#18 Kelly has a radiant smile and great body. I would've included her in my top 12 had her Cantonese been better. Luckily the judges overlooked her accent and put her through as her look resembled a little like Miss Lau Sum Yao. Her dance was quite eyecatching as well.
Out of the 8 that were eliminated, most of their eliminations can be explained. If I didn't watch the pageant, I would've been surprised that #5 Krystl, #9 Yutori and #13 Linsy didn't advance. But, after watching the pageant, I felt most surprised that #19 Krystal didn't advance. She had a decent look and talent and stood out. #5 Krystl kinda lost the spark she had when she won the Best Live Performance award but was a decent competitor. #9 Yutori and #13 Linsy had the height and beauty to do well AND COULD'VE done well had their talents been stronger.. Their eliminations could've been explained (and they were falling behind in the Big Big Fun voting). Linsy's elimination was the most regretful as her talent could've been different... Singing is not recommended for talent unless you have experience and good vocals..
How about the other girls in the top 20?? #1 Grace sorta blended into the background and lacked stage presence. #6 Olivia was too nervous.. She barely smiled! She didn't seem comfortable at all.. Her biggest asset - talent was not executed beautifully. It seemed like she was displaying three separate musical talents - more than one talent performance. She should've stuck with one musical instrument rather than play all three - sometimes little is better than more.
#8 Claudia's talent was decent but many feel that it's not meant for a pageant. She seems to be friendly (hence winning the award) but doesn't seem to have the confidence/urgency to do well.
#9 Yutori sabotaged her chances by playing the violin. It was noticeable that she played many notes wrong. I think that if she didn't feel comfortable with playing a talent that she left out for 10+ years - then choose another talent. The technical difficulty of a talent is important but the capability to perform it is MORE important.
#12 Christy was praised for having creativity. She drew a painting of the late Lydia Shum. I thought that it wasn't really a talent but it was refreshing to see. Her height and confidence could've brought her to top 12 as well.
Let me briefly mention the top 3's talent - Hera's talent was eye-catching and something that was not seen before. #20 Amber displayed great dancing skills and really looked suitable for a Chinese themed-dance. #7 Sara gave a much improved piano performance and did well.
How are HERA'S CHANCES AT MCI 2019? For now, I have her as a top 5 finalist, she can make top 3 depending on her performance. She will have things to strengthen up - talent, interview, confidence; but she has time to do it.
So that's a wrap up for the pageant! I'll write more if I feel that I left out any points - but I covered most points.
Let's hope that next year's MCI and MSHK can be as interesting and well received as this year's pageant! Until then, so long ~~