Before we talk about the girls, let's talk about the preliminary itself. The preliminary this year was held at Mandalay Bay Events Theater on 19 August 2010 at 7 pm Pacific time. Unlike last year edition, this time the girls compete in evening gown round first, followed by swimsuit round. Just as I wish MUO will redeem last year small and bland stage with a big and spectacular stage this year, we get an even smaller stage than the one in Bahamas last year. What happens MUO? No longer afford to build a spectacular stage again?
The new feature of preliminary this year is a commercial break between the evening gown and swimsuit round. The first one is commercial for MUO Magazine, featuring small number of contestants racing to be first to get the magazine. I kinda hope they would make the race a bit more brutal like in Australia's Next Top Model promo, where the contestants even push and pull each other to be the first. Hey, this is a race after all, and if you want to be the first, sometimes you need to be a bitch. The second one is commercial for CHI, featuring Russia as the main star and the CHI Ninja. It was probably meant for comedic purpose, but the result was totally cheesy and stupid.
Now that we have talked about the preliminary, let's move on to the girls ... starting with ......
Albania
Her performance in evening gown really showed that her status as a top model is not just a fluke. Great gown and great catwalk. She also has an awesome body, which looks great in swimsuit, but her performance in swimsuit somehow lacked the sparks that she showed during the evening gown round.
Puerto Rico
I was not a fan of Puerto Rico but I have to admit that she passed both rounds with flying colors. The only thing that I dislike from her is her new hairstyle. Sorry but curls make her face old.
Ireland
The Goddess of the night! The Diva of the show! Sexy, sultry, and alluring yet elegant, poised, and graceful at the same time. She is arguably the best contestant in the preliminary show. At this moment, Rozanna Purcell is truly the one to beat!
Russia
Probably the most beautiful face this year. Her beauty is so natural and so is her performance in evening gown. Some people said that her performance was boring but I think she actually looked so divine and effortless. However I agree with those people that her performance in swimsuit was disappointing. It was bland and not lively at all.
Ghana
Exotic face .. check! Statuesque figure .. check! A pair of beautiful long legs … check! Awurama Simpson is my favorite contestant from Africa this year. And yes, she is a true epitome of an African Queen. But her performance was totally disappointing. Even with such great potential she failed to make an impact and fell flat in both rounds. I’m still a fan of her but now I start to worry that either Tanzania or South Africa may have stolen her spot in Top 15.
Czech Republic
One word. Vixen. She oozed a lot of sex appeal during her swimsuit performance. Altough her body is not as curvy or as statuesque as some other contestants, she managed to steal the attention with her sensuality.
Philippines
Another contestant who nailed both rounds of the competition. A spectacular gown, a fierce catwalk, and a hot body. Venus Raj had the perfect combination to secure a spot in Top 15 and I believe she could even even reach Top 5.
Venezuela
She is indeed not the best contestant but still you never can count out Venezuela. While her catwalk is not too strong and her gown is merely a blue version of her winning gown at her national pageant, Marelisa Gibson impressed me with her vivacious personality and beautiful smile. A Top 15 placement is still highly possible for her but a three-peat victory, I don’t think so.
Australia
The fresh and vibrant Jesinta Campbell. In the recent years where Miss Universe seems to favor the ultra edgy fierce supermodel type contestants, Australia comes as an anomaly with their fresh looking and youthful type contestants. And it works like magic. Jesinta is the third Australian contestant who follow this successful recipe. While she is not as strong as her predecessor, Rachael Finch, she still gave good performance in the preliminary. Plus she has this magnificent communication skills whom, according to rumour, has impressed MUO staffs. Even if the preliminary judges did not favor her, I believe we will still see her in the Top 15 as one of the Trump’s Choice.
Japan
One of the most important thing that a pageant competitor should remember is that “beauty is not everything”. And Maiko Itai is the perfect example of that. Beauty wise, she is far from being the prettiest girl in the bunch. But she knows exactly how to stand out even in the middle of a lot other prettier girls. And no, it’s not because she wears Gucci. It’s her fierce and passionful performance in the preliminary that convinced me that she is really ready to rock this competition.
Canada
From neck to toe it was hot! But from neck to hair it was not! Elena Semikina, the tallest girl this year, has one of the best body figure. Too bad, she lacks the charisma which is why her beauty is simply forgettable.
Uruguay
Best gown of the night. And she looked so beautiful in that ruffled orchid-like pink gown. Her styling and her gown choice really reminds me to Miss Kosovo 2008, Zana Krasniqi, and she worked the gown with charms.
Guatemala
Another pleasant surprise. I barely noticed her all this time and suddenly she stole the show. In my opinion, she actually outperformed some of the so-called Goddess. Performance wise, she deserves a Top 15 spot. The only thing that may hinder her from being called as a semiifnalist is her sash. If only she wore Venezuela or Mexico sash, I have no doubt that she would be one of the Top 15.
Tanzania
Before the preliminary, the only memorable thing about Tanzania is her unique hairstyle. After the preliminary, I changed my mind. She is currently one of the top contender from Africa. Either her or South Africa would be perfect to fill the African spot in the Top 15 this year.
Israel
When she was crowned, she instanly became a favorite. But as the time passed, she slowly lost her sparks. Just when I thought she has completely out of the game, she’s back with a bang! Bat El Jobi did a great job in both rounds and I would love to see this Mediterranean beauty in Top 15, especially since Mediterranean region is barely represented at Miss Universe this past decade.
Curacao
A combination of good styling and a good gown. I’m not too crazy about her beauty at all but her overall style is one of the best for the night.
Denmark
Before the pageant she was my favorite. But since her arrival, I started to feel that maybe all that beauty was photoshopped only. Still I kept a glmpse of hope that she would bring a pleasant surprise during the preliminary. And by the end of the preliminary, I was left with nothing but disappointment. There’s no way she will make it into Top 15 unless she is picked as a Trump’s Choice.
Thailand
Everytime I see her I always miss her old bubbly and charming persona. Where did that girl go? Now everytime I se her she always wears this fierce almost cruel expression. Her performance on both rounds was okay especially during the swimsuit session where she performed a very energetic walk. But somehow I still prefer her in her old persona as she graced the stage.
China
This girl is memorable for a very wrong reason. Following the footsteps of Yukari Kuzuya, her gown choice has left many people including myself with a big “What the heck is she thinking?” question. That gown is probably cute for a cocktail party but for a Miss Universe preliminary, it was a disaster.
USA
Her performance was not as strong as I have expected but we all know that she would be in the Top 15 no matter what. One of her secret weapon is her charisma, which is undeniably attractive. I notice that is the reason why she won her national title over some more favored contestants, and if she can pull it out again here, don’t be too surprised if she ends up with another crown on final!
Jamaica
Being a runner up of Miss World Beach Beauty competition, it’s no doubt that Yendi Phillips and her hot body rocked the swimsuit competition. Her performance in evening gown was actually good but ruined by a poor choice of gown design. It is simply not fashion-friendly.
Mexico
For me, she is the best among Latin Americans this year. Ximena was totally on “fire” as she strutted the stage with her fiery red gown! It was one of the best moment in the competition and she totally deserves a Top 5 placement.
Brazil
Her voluptuous body is probably the best body in the competition. I would not be surprised if she was given high scores for swimsuit performance. But her evening gown performance was just flat and uninspiring at all. Overall she aced one session but blew the other one and should rely on interview session to still make the cut.
Trinidad & Tobago
She kinda reminds me to an ebony Glamazon.Tall figure with exotic dark skin and a hard almost solid-like body. This unique quality alone should have made her a stand out among the contestants. Even better, she chose a gown whose color and design match her unique physical attribute. The result can only be summarized in one word … astonishing!
Sweden
Another poor gown choice. A very beautiful girl with Hollywood star quality. But that stupid gown may have just ruined her chance.
and finally .....
Indonesia
Her evening gown performance was good but her swimsuit performance was flat. She should have put more energy in her swimsuit performance. This is after all a swimsuit catwalk where you should put a bit of your wild side into your walk. Overall it was not a disaster performance but not a great one either.
Okay that's all. In my opinion this is gonna be a very tough year for the judges. With the exception of a few stand outs, most of the contestants performed equally strong. However there is still more coverage in our blog. Stay tuned for our final Leaderboard!
