Miss Asia Pageant 2011/12

This year has sadly been a disappointment but thankfully my initial favourite No.19 Michelle managed to sprint through this chaos to be the winner. The quality of candidates definitely dropped this year and the actual event was boring as hell. 2009 was amazing, 2010 was sleazy but 2011/12 was boring but bitchy.

The actual show was tremendously boring with routine after routine of shoddy dancing, I just don't get why they don't cut those segments out and have more Q&A etc. And I "loved" how they tried to play the MHK card by talking about friendship (playing the same song as last year I think) and then having a segment where the Top 4 bitched about each other! lol. Friendship I see... right...

What I'm annoyed about was the total lack of Q&A, the Q&A they did wasn't really a Q&A as some girls didn't even get to speak.

Anyway this year has truly been awe inspiring because supposedly the whole process started in August! Yes they've had a Hong Kong stage, a Greater China Stage and now a "World" Stage, poor Michelle, she had to go through numbers of bitches before she managed to finally take the crown she deserved from Day 1. So let's have a roundup of our 20 delegates.

No.1 Hong Yi Joo - Korea

To be honest I thought last years Korean delegate, Jessica Kwon Hyesu, to be better looking but what I liked about Yi Joo was that she stayed classy and sophisticated even when ATV asked her to bitch about No.18 Koey Wong Ka Man. She was pretty and deserved a Top 3 spot I guess but I found her to be rather abrupt in conversation and she has an odd nose.

No.2 Monica Lin Chien An - Taiwan

I never understood why she was a favourite. Her looks reminded me of "haggard and fake" queen from 2009 Viona Wang who incidently was also No.2. I think she was very eloquent and probably a nice girl; I think she won Miss Friendship in the Greater China final, but her look was just odd.

No.3 Shelly Inoue - Japan

I was half-half with this girl, she's pretty but not really a pageant girl if you know what I mean. In the end she made her rightful spot in the Top 10 but she shouldn't place any higher.

No.4 Judy Lim - Cambodia

Quite shocked they managed to find a girl from Cambodia but I'm sorry she is just not pageant material.

No.5 Zhou Shuang - Hainan

This girl was a later addition for the Filipino candidate who quit (I actually liked the Filipino candidate, such a shame). But anyway she actually was a decent replacement but momentum was definitely not on her side when half of the girls had been there for more than a month already.

No.6 Jolene Dong Yu Berube - Toronto

Jolene definitely did not shine in the finals, her spark at the Greater China Final was gone. I like Jolene but there were many other girls who had the winners aura more than she did.

No.7 Amelia Liew Huann Ran - Malaysia

Say high to Lenna Lim for me... I'm guessing Malaysia is too TVB for anybody to bother with ATV.

No.8 Mico Chang Wai Chun - Taiwan

I think there's no doubt that Mico has had plastic surgery, her face just doesn't look natural but she does has  very appealing angles and is generally telegenic but not always photogenic. She's also a very typical Taiwanese girl in that she's very feminine but she just didn't strike me as a winner.

No.9 Nataliia Basenko - Kazakhstan

She was OK but didn't really stand out, sad that she didn't make the Top 10 cut but not shocked.

No.10 Jodi Lee - Singapore

I can see she's a very nice girl but sadly her appearance didn't match up.

No.11 Maggie Chen Yi Di - Jilin

Facially she does transform with makeup but her physique is in need of massive toning and she looks plain without the makeup.

No.12 Elizabeth Nguyen - Vietnam

Who?

No.13 Daria Pechurina - Russia

Daria should try out for Miss Russia cause I can see potential in her representing Russia in some small international pageants like Miss Tourism Queen, Miss Supranational etc. I think Daria was definitely one of the most photogenic amongst the group but she didn't get the chance to talk really and Miss Asia doesn't favour "whites".

No.14 Samansa Hu - Brazil

Nice girl but never really saw the potential in her besides the huge knockers.

No.15 Arlene Liang - New York

Nice girl but I think she outstayed her welcome, she was nice and friendly but wasn't that eloquent or pretty.

No.16 Vasinee Veraphong - Thailand

She won Miss Friendship, good for you, but awful styling on the night.

No.17 Tiffany Feng Yu Xuan - Sichuan

Tiffany is the bitch, come on even ATV played it to gain news. However bitch or not she was one of the strongest competitors in the group. What I didn't like about ATV was how they always tried to instigate a fight between Tiffany and Koey so they always asked them to bitch about each other in Q&A segments in which it was always Koey trying desperately to be nice and then Tiffany being all cute but bitchy and then Koey getting angry and bitching back... urgh.

No.18 Koey Wong Ka Man - Hong Kong

I like Koey but not enough to put her into my Top 3 or even Top 5. She's nice but she's so miserable that I can't imagine her being a good 1st Runner Up. I wonder if she'll go into ATV? If she does she better brush up on her people skills.

No.19 Michelle Feng Xu Bing - Beijing

She was the only girl with the package of looks and good conversational skills thus she was instantly going to win. It would definitely be better if she had a better physique but you can't have everything right. It's amazing how Miss Asia 2011 has lasted so long and the winner was in front of them from the very start.

No.20 Crystal Yan Xing Ting - Sichuan

This girl looked like a baby Roseline Luo, don't you think? However she wasn't the full package but a strong contender I must say.

So the results were

Winner - No.19 Michelle Feng

1st Runner Up - No.18 Koey Wong

2nd Runner Up - No.1 Hong Yi Joo

3rd Runner Up - No.20 Crystal Yan

3 of the 4 were from the Hong Kong selections, makes me wonder what's the point of having Greater China and World finals...

Anyway my Top 4 would have been

Winner - No.19 Michelle Feng

1st Runner Up - No.13 Daria Pechurina

2nd Runner Up - No.20 Crystal Yan

3rd Runner Up - No.17 Tiffany Feng

Alternatives:

No.1 - Hong Yi Joo

No.5 - Zhou Shuang

No.6 - Jolene Berube

No.8 - Mico Chang

Oh and also interesting was how Wong Hei was a judge here.

Sadly I haven't managed to watch the whole of Miss Chinese International because I can't find the full video on stream anywhere but the results seem ok, if I get to watch the full video I'll post a very late update of it.

Miss Chinese International 2012 Update (10/01/12)

I don't think we're going to get much press of the girls so I'm treating everything as a bonus. Today we finally got the official portraits, despite the lack of coverage my favourites are starting to form.

Good Portraits

Contestants that look better or just as good from the portraits

No.2 Auckland Hilbe Cai

No.12 London Roro Chen

No.14 Montreal Amanda Chung

No.15 New York Jasmine Hayter

Awful Portraits

Contestants that look worse from the portraits

No.3 Bangkok Biliya Wiriyapan - old and chubby

No.11 - for a model...

No.26 - WTF she looks like a mamasan!

MY

Top 7

2. Auckland (11) Hilbe Cai

3. Bangkok Biliya Wiriyapan

5. Kuala Lumpur (11) Lenna Lim

12. London Roro Chen

15. New York Jasmine Hayter

16. Toronto (10) Hilary Tam

26. Hong Kong Rebbeca Zhu

Basically these 7 are the only girls who I would consider for My Top 5 atm.

If I was to chose a Top 3 now I think I'd go for...

Winner - 15. New York

1st Runner Up - 16 Toronto

2nd Runner Up - 26 Hong Kong

Jasmine has been the most consistent girl I think. Hilary hasn't performed since she arrived but I'm still hoping she looks as good as she did at MCT. Finally Rebecca has been awful in most of her photos at MCI but having seen her perform at MsHK I know she has potential.

Bubbling Up

6. Manila Kady Wilson

9. Singapore Cheryl Wee

11. Chicago Kelly Cheung

14. Montreal (11) Amanda Chung

17. Toronto (11) Ashton Hong

22. Beijing Yuerong Huang

24. Dalian Alice Li

25. Dalian Maggie Yu

Kady has a great body, hopefully she'll look good on the night. Cheryl is pretty but she lacks height. I know photos can lie so I'm waiting to see Kelly on video. Amanda is actually quite photogenic but a bit bland. Ashton is my dark horse, we'll see what happens with her on the 15th. Yuerong could be a potential threat. Alice has suddenly sparked my interest, I want to see more of her. Maggie is still the best from China but she is facing tougher competition than expected.

My first prediction

Winner - 26. Hong Kong Rebecca Zhu

1st Runner Up - 16. Toronto Hilary Tam

2nd Runner Up - 15. New York Jasmine Hayter

Top 5

5. Kuala Lumpur Lenna Lim

19. Vancouver Erica Chui

It's hard to predict with such little to go on but because of that there's no reason to doubt TVB will not continue to love Rebecca. Come on she's already being heavily promoted, winning Hong Kong a 3rd MCI title, last time it was Sonija Kwok, can only create even more hype surrounding her like when Michelle Reis and Sonija Kwok won. However I can equally see TVB trying to reserve her at 1st Runner Up.

I think Hilary has potential to win. The first time I saw a photo of her I knew she had that winner's look. Despite performing poorly during these past few days I think if Hilary can produce an energetic and confident performance at MCI she'll make the Top 3.

Jasmine is a question mark to me because I wonder if she is more "gwei" or more Chinese. I think she'll make the Top 5 and depending on her personality break into the Top 3.

I think Lenna will be shut out of the Top 3 but her elegant but vibrant personality should secure her a Top 5 spot. I'm not sure I can see both her and Rebecca making the Top 3.

Finally Erica might make the Top 5 because of her connections or at least win an award I think.

Hopefully TVB will give me more to base my opinion on next time I update.

JSG music Awards 2011

I really hoped these awards wouldn't be shambolic but it has been worse! Only one hour in and there have already been many questionable awardees. I'm a fan of Raymond Lam but honestly "Chok" a Top 10 song? I feel that somebody is trying to sabotage Raymond's career and sadly it's working because there is going to be so much backlash, they are not helping him to draw more fans.

EDIT (after ceremony)

JSG has dug itself a huge hole. I thought the recent news of TVB and HKRIA being on good terms would help JSG revive its former glory but instead it has turned worse with this years awards the most ludicrous of them all. I don't know why TVB even bothers anymore. The Top 10 songs was the first point of ridicule with Grasshopper's 華麗舞台 taking one of the spots and then Raymond Lam's Chok also given a Top 10! TVB seems to have forgotten these awards are about music not the amount of airtime you've given the artists. I don't see why TVB seem to be hellbent on recognising Raymond's music feats because its just sabotaging him. What's worse is they dare to give Raymond Gold Song Gold with Chok! Raymond is a good singer and I really like a few of his songs but definitely NOT Chok! It is a song that's enough to stop his entire career but TVB insists on replaying this song to the point that they'd give it Gold Song Gold! I don't understand TVB's logic and I thought last years Gold Song Gold given to Janice and JW was bad.

Other obvious biases, though of a lesser severity, were Mag Lam's three award wins, Leo Ku winning Top 10 song and Favourite Male even though he has had such a terrible year (but I understand TVB doesn't have anybody to award their awards to) and Grasshoppers winning Best Group! WHAT!

I also didn't like how Pong Nam managed to beat Ivana in the Singer-Songwriter category. In my opinion Pong Nam has not released a single noteworthy song and his most recent hit 晚晚禮拜六 is one of the worst songs this year in my opinion. What is also shocking was William Chan making Bronze for this category, I guess they had to award him something.

Disappointed that Ella Koon only took Bronze in that award (can't remember the name) when Wong Cho Lam and Jonathan Wong beat her!

The only thing I was happy with on the night was Ivana Wong being recognised as Asia Pacific's Favourite Hong Kong Female Singer. To be honest the name is irrelevant as it's like the Best Actor and My Favourite Male Character award in the TVB series awards in that Favourite Singer is above Asia Pacific's Favourite HK Singer but still having Ivana win this is amazing since Joey was obviously going to win one (or both!) I think most would have tipped Twins or Charlene on her own.

Anyway TVB's awards tonight have really put a huge question mark over Raymond's potential of actually becoming a legitimate and well received singer. It's not about awarding Raymond Gold Song Gold it's about awarding "Chok" Gold Song Gold and with that entails constant ridicule for Raymond as he has to live with this for the rest of his career. I really hope this time next year TVB will have smoothened the contract details with HKRIA therefore allowing the Big 5 companies back into contention, if not then there's no point even considering JSG next year. Instead it would be CRHK and RTHK, and maybe Metro.

Miss Chinese International 2012

After a long wait MCI finally comes back but without much of a bang. Despite having 28 contestants this year there seems to be even less anticipation for this years event compared to the past and considering there's only 9 days until the final I have doubts whether the public will even know any contestants before they are pushed onto the stage.

This year's batch varies, despite huge anticipation for some contestants nobody seemed to shine in the few pictures I saw of the press conference. Nobody naturally stood out and initial frontrunners seemed to have been relegated to common bystanders. I think TVB really should have taken the opportunity to fight against Miss Asia Pageant since both are being held in January but whilst ATV has prepared months for their pageant TVB is holding theirs in a matter of days.

From early glances my frontrunners are

5. Kuala Lumpur

15. New York

16. Toronto

26. Hong Kong

However none of these four shone at the press conference thus I'm confused for the finals.

The reason why I like No.5 Lenna is because she has a good vibe about her and has a natural elegance, she is not as strong as some pit her to be but she's still a hot contender if she performs strongly.

No.15 Jasmine is a risky bet. I expected her to shine at the press conference but she didn't, she'll need to be much more of a standout if she wants to win this pageant because being mixed can be problematic in TVB. MCI has now become a big recruiting ground for TVB and the winner is now obviously someone TVB thinks will do well with them but being mixed race will immediately limit the amount of work she can participate in so winning could be difficult for Jasmine.

Prior to the pageant No.16 Hilary was always my favourite, she had a great smile, a natural elegance, a good physique and a very marketable look but she was nowhere to be seen at the press conference and I didn't even recognise her in the group shot!

No.26 Rebecca is still a frontrunner for me despite looking pretty average at the press conference. I'm definitely going to be biased in this point because I've seen her perform already so know her potential. TVB is also pulling all the stops to promote her so if the other 27 girls don't step up their games Rebecca is going to run away with the crown.

Other strong contestants at this point look like...

No.3 Bangkok

No.6 Manila

No.11 Chicago

No.17 Toronto

No.25 Dalian

I didn't know of Bangkok or Manila's participation until today but I'm pleasantly surprised. No.3 Bangkok looks to have a decent chance, though I need to see more photos of her whilst No.6 Manila instantly stands out with her height and slender figure but she sometimes photographs masculine.

No.11 Kelly was a disappointment but who wasn't today! I was expecting a lot more from a professional model, maybe it's just the angles.

No.17 Ashton is a huge question mark for me, she manages to look amazing in some pictures but plain in others. However I should expect a good calibre candidate from Toronto however seeing the two Vancouverites doesn't help solidify this point.

No.25 Miao Yu looks like the only Chinese delegate to stand a chance at the moment however I'm still unsure about her.

These girls could potentially rise up I think.

No.1 Auckland

No.2 Auckland

No.7 Melbourne
No.10 Sydney

No.12 London

No.18 Vancouver

No.22 Beijing

The girls from Auckland don't look like strong contenders at the moment but I think with the right styling they could provide a shock.

No.7 from Melbourne looked surprisingly good at the press conference. I've seen some photos of No.10 from Sydney, I think she has potential. I remember No.12 Roro at MCE where Simwayn won, it's such a shame that MCE discontinued the pageant because they were producing great girls; Oceane, Julie and Simwayn all had winning potential. I think Roro can be a hit or a miss, her look can work at MCI but it depends on her performance entirely as she isn't facially as strong as Oceane, Julie or Simwayn.

I think both the Vancouverites are weak which is very odd for this MCI powerhouse but if one has potential I think it's No.18 not No.19 who has a lot of connections and will probably make the Top 5.

The other decent girl from China I think is No.22 because she looks fresh.

Hopefully there'll be more news reports in the following days so I can form a decent favourites list.

CHIK CHAK 903 2011 Awards Results

Best Newcomer

Bronze: Joyce Cheng

Silver: Mag Lam

Gold: Alfred Hui

Best Song

10th: Endy Chow - 陽光燦爛的日子

9th: Kary Ng - 我本人

8th: William So - 那誰

7th: Hacken Lee - 天河

6th: Ivana Wong - 末日
5th: Joey Yung - 牆紙
4th: Paul Wong - Can't Bring Me Down
3rd: Eason Chan - 六月飛霜
2nd: Wu Xia - 那些年
1st: Khalil Fong - 好不容易

Best Producer:  舒文
Best Arrangement: Eric Kwok
Best Songwriter: Khalil Fong
Best Lyricist: Wyman Wong

Best Singer-Songwriter
Bronze: Ivana Wong
Silver: Endy Chow
Gold: Khalil Fong

Best Group/Band
Bronze: Wildchild
Silver: Mr.
Gold: C Allstar

Best Male Artiste
Bronze: Pakho Chau
Silver: Khalil Fong
Gold: Eason Chan

Best Female Artiste
Bronze: Denise Ho
Silver: Kay Tse
Gold: Joey Yung

Best Album
15 - Khalil Fong

My Favourite Group/Band: C Allstar
My Favourite Female Artiste: Miriam Yeung
My Favourite Male Artiste: Eason Chan
My Favourite Song: Wu Xia - 那些年

This awards ceremony is very emotional for some reason everybody is crying but I'm so happy for Ivana, her first Chik Chak Top 10.