Miss Universe 2013 Review: Switzerland - Vietnam

Miss Universe is being hosted in Russia for the very first time this year. It's nice to see Miss Universe being hosted somewhere else even though the pageant has lost a lot of it's glamor. The activities seem to be done on a shoestring budget, but they do have one of the best stages in recent years. I do hope that the Miss Universe Organization will start to rethink they way they do business. There are almost no more prizes that are really worthwhile and I think they really need to make the prize package a bit more lucrative again. I think they the organization needs to move away from the cheap thrills sleazy publicity angel and start building the image of the brand again.

As for the girls, 86 girls are competing for the 62nd Miss Universe title. I was a little disappointed by a lot of the favorites. The girls I thought would do really well didn't perform as well or made poor styling choices. Overall, I think it's a good group of girls and I think there are a group of about 30 girls who could be in contention to do really well. Now, let's take a look at the beauties vying for this year's Miss Universe title:

POSSIBLE WINNER - ******
POSSIBLE TOP 5 FINALIST - *****
POSSIBLE TOP 10 SEMI-FINALIST - ****
POSSIBLE TOP 15 QUARTER FINALIST - ***
UNLIKELY TO PLACE - **
HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO PLACE - *
 

SWITZERLAND: DOMINIQUE RINDERKNECHT ***

I wasn’t really a fan at first because she reminded me too much of Kerry Katona of Atomic Kitten (a British Pop Band)! However, I must say that this adorable young lady has certainly won me over during her stint in Moscow. She definitely stands out with her short do and where I feel Czech Republic is playing it safe, I think she has decided to go all out edgy. The biggest concern would be her body but she’s so cute that she can definitely secure a top 15 spot.

TANZANIA: BETTY BONIPHACE ***

Now here’s another lady who grew on me during her time in Moscow. Her unique look certainly made her stand out and she’s extremely well-spoken. I was actually really pleasantly during the preliminaries because she also had a really good walk and lots of charisma on stage. If she places, it might be a bit of a surprise… but it could happen.

THAILAND: CHALITA YAEMWANNANG **

I think Chalita is really cute and I liked her preliminary performances, especially evening gown. However, I must say that she didn’t stand out as much as hope she would. She kind of just faded into the background most of the time. I think Myanmar stands a better chance at making the top 16.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: CATHERINE MILLER **

I have stronger girls from Trinidad and Tobago who missed the cut, so I’m not expecting Catherine to make it. She has a great body and did a commendable job but I think there were several others who outshined her during the preliminaries.

TURKEY: BERRIN KEKLIKER ****

Berin is just stunning. I think she’s a force to be reckoned with. In terms of facial beauty, she’s close to the top and she also gave two very solid performances during the prelims. Actually it would be a travesty if this stunner doesn’t make it and last year’s mediocre Turkish representative did.

TURKS AND CAICOS: SNWASNA ADAMS *

OK – at least Snawasna got the heads turning with her bizarre/brave evening gown choice. Other than that, she was never expected to get much attention. But it’s really great to see the Turks and Caicos back at Miss Universe.

UKRAINE: OLGA STOROZHENKO ******

Olga could very well be the Ukraine’s first Miss Universe. I think she’s absolutely stunning so beautywise she’s definitely one of the frontrunners. I think it might work in her favor that the pageant is in Russia. The only thing that is bothering me is that she appears quite plastic and also a bit cold and aloof.

USA: ERIN BRADY *****

Now I was initially part of the large number of fans who pretty much made up their minds that Erin would not do well at Miss Universe. I thought it looked like she was tired and not having much fun most of the time. Then came the preliminaries and she really brought it when it mattered. She was one of the most consistent delegates of the night and she’s back in the game. If she brings the same level of consistency on the final night, she could sail through to the top 5 leaving behind some of the more favored delegates.

VENEZUELA: MARIA GABRIELA ISLER ******

Osmel has done it again. Most fans around the world were disappointed by Maria Gabriela’s look since the day after she crowned until almost when she left for Miss Universe. However, she showed up in Russia looking absolutely amazing. I almost didn’t recognize at first. Once again, it was proven that you should never write Venezuela totally off. She’s going to fight for the crown and I will not be surprised to see her take the crown.

VIETNAM: TRUONG THI MAY ***

Initially I had her pegged for a top 5 spot or a top 10 spot at the very least but I was a bit disappointed after her arrival in Moscow. At times I thought that she looked flawlessly beautiful and then in the next shot her styling would make her look like a slightly awkward looking girl. I still like her and think she was solid in the preliminaries and has a small chance of making it to the top 16.

Photos: Miss Universe Organization