Hello Everyone,
It's been quite a crazy month of August with the Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant fringe events as well as the grand finals! If you haven't watched the vlog yet, you can do so here.
This season of MSBP had a special place in my heart. Not only because ERM gave me a VIP seat this year - I got too excited about having an amazing 'front row seat', but because I got to meet the contestants a lot more this year and interact with them so much more.
As always, the Grand Finals was held at Orchid Country Club, and this year, they worked with Punggol East CCC as their adopted charity. If you've read my blogpost on their Charity Day activities, you would have seen them having a briefing about an umbrella sharing initiative, as well as the handing out of food rations to low income homes!
Now that you guys have had a little refresher, let's meet the ladies again!
They came out for their opening item, choreographed by Rafal Sojka.
To view the other pictures, please hover over the gallery and click on the arrows
Of course, they had their self introductions as always too! Since there were 18 contestants, I figured it would be easier to do a slideshow instead of a grid-type gallery for you guys, so you can scroll through the images without having to scroll through the post itself! ^^
Opening Speeches
First we had the Organising Chairperson, Ms Tricia Koh, who holds the title of Ms Singapore Tourism Queen 2017. Followed by Ms Angela Tay, who is the Managing Director of ERM, then to Mr Raymond Lye BBM, Chairman of Punggol East CCC. Lastly, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the night's Guest of Honour, Mr Charles Chong.
Right after the speeches, Punggol East CCC took some time to present tokens of appreciation to people who have generously donated to their Welfare Fund! And then, the Top 5 ladies from the Talent Round took to the stage to battle it out for Best in Talent.
Contestant No. 1: Winnie Tay
Winnie performed a Traditional Korean Folk Dance for us. I was honestly hoping for her costume to be a lot more grand, or at least different, from the one she wore during the talent round, just for a little change. Then again, I don't think the costume can possibly vary much, and adding rhinestones and all those other snazzy things that people usually do won't be as authentic as her costume already is! However, the costume probably didn't need that jazzing up anyway because I loved watching her dance! Her facial expression is just bright and her item just made me happy. I'm still in awe with her spotting technique! Its just so amazing to watch!
Contestant No 4: Joey Wan
Joey performed a contemporary dance item for us! I think the choreography varied from the one she performed during the talent round, or perhaps it was because I was seated at a different angle. Nonetheless, I thought Joey is a beautiful dancer who is well trained (go team contemp!!!!) I was happy that Joey changed her costume as well! I loved the flow-y white outfit with the rhinestones that caught the stage lights!
Contestant No. 7: Amanda Chan
Amanda performed her burlesque routine for us. I'd say most of us were a lot less worried about the chair she was working with since we knew she had full control of it (you go, girl!). Honestly, the thing I was the happiest about was that she wore HEELS this time instead of the leg warmers that she wore during the talent round. It made her legs look so much longer too!
Contestant No. 10: Crystal Huang
I was excited to watch Crystal's Teo Chew Opera item again! Of course, like Winnie's costume, there's not much use altering Crystals costume, its honestly as elaborate as it can be, and I don't think having a full face of opera make up would be helpful once she changes out for the next segment. However, instead of doing the routine to a backing track, Crystal had recorded her own voice this time round, so she was lip syncing to her won voice this time. I was just so happy that she was able to showcase her full talent this time! Loved it! I always love it when contestants showcase their talents in the traditional arts!
Contestant No 11: Janet Goh
Janet performed a chinese dance item for us. I think her choreography was longer than it was previously, but I'm not complaining, the fan's pretty hypnotising if you as me! I did wish that she changed up the costume a little bit since it's not 'traditional' per se, but that didn't mean the item wasn't beautiful!
To view the other pictures, hover over the gallery and click on the arrows
Up next was the swimwear segment! All contestants took to the stage again, dressed in swimwear by Melita Swimwear!
And some subsidiary awards were given out!
Optimist Award 2019: Contestant No. 13 Elisa Li Inspiration Award 2019: Contestant No. 5 Esther Leong Personality Award 2019: Contestant No. 4 Joey Wan Eloquence Award 2019: Contestant No. 14 Chan See Kei Miss Body Beautiful Award 2019: Contestant No. 11 Janet Goh Fitness Award 2019: Contestant No. 16 Crystal Wong Popularity Award 2019: Contestant No. 3 Gabriella Lim Miss Congeniality Award 2019: Contestant No.19 Genevieve Tan
Congratulations, ladies!! Up next, a tokens of appreciation were given out to the sponsors!
To view the other pictures, hover over the gallery and click on the arrows
Full List of Sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor: 300 Percent Postive Official Beauty Salon (Facial): Mirage Aesthetic Official Skincare: V10 Plus Official Lingerie, Body-Shapers & Sportswear: FABLife Singapore Official Fitness & Slimming Product: Nutrition Depot Singapore Official Brows & Lashes: Isabella Aesthetics Official Dance Studio: Dream Dance & Yoga Official Nail Salon: Nail Doodle Official Skin Supplements: Fancy Blanc Official Feminine Care: Láfre Singapore Official Hair Salon: Shunji Matsuo Century Square Official Pageant Heels: RicciNo Official Gown: Beautiful Love Wedding Official Studio & Outdoor Photography: The Makeover Inc Official Makeup Academy: The School Of Make Up Official Music Academy: Lee Wei Song School of Music Official Flowers: Flowers & Kisses Official Photoshoot Venue: The 1925 Brewery Co. Official Fashion & Streetwear: 1925 & SOTP Official Mall: West Mall Official Waxing: Flare Wellness Official Swimwear: Melita Swimwear Official Apparel for Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant 2019: Compressport
And here comes the evening gown segment (aka, my personal favourite)! The contestants took to the stage again, dressed in evening gowns by Beautiful Love Wedding.
I didn't get to capture all of them when they walked to the front, unfortunately. Some of them turned out kinda blur :') It might be time to change my vlogging camera, hmm!
Anyway, more subsidiary awards were given out!
Miss 3K Positive: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei Miss v10 Plus: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei Miss Mirage Aesthetic: Contestant No. 10 Crystal Huang Miss FABlife Style: Contestant No. 10 Crystal Huang Most Photogenic: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei Best in Talent: Contestant No. 1 Winnie Tay Miss Harmony: Contestant No. 5 Esther Lim Miss Unity: Contestant No. 8 Tiara Lim Miss Gracious: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei Beauty with A Heart: Contestant No. 10 Crystal Huang Charity Queen: Contestant No. 16 Crystal Wong Community Ambassador: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei
Congratulations once again, ladies!
And now, the top 8!
It was originally meant to be a Top 7, but there was a tie in the scores, and then there were 8!
MSBP 2019 Top 8 (in no particular order): Contestant No. 10: Crystal Huang Contestant No. 11: Janet Goh Contestant No.16: Crystal Wong Contestant No. 5: Esther Leong Contestant No. 9: Toh Xin Pei Contestant No. 2: Melanis Tai Contestant No. 1: Winnie Tay Contestant No. 8: Tiara Lim
Yay! I hope you guys had your favourites in the Top 8! Of course, the top 8 had to do their Question and Answer Segment before the judges could decide who would be crowned this year. For my new readers, the Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant gives out three different titles:
Miss Singapore Tourism Queen
Miss Singapore Chinatown
Miss Singapore Global Beauty Queen.
These queens will then represent Singapore in individual international pageants. For example, Ms Singapore Chinatown 2019 will compete in Ms Chinese International in Hong Kong! The runner ups are next in line to compete in the various international pageants if the reigning queens are unable to fulfil their duties in the international pageants.
Now that the air has sorta cleaned up, let's move on to the Q&A segment, where they shared more about their platform - a cause that the contestant is willing to invest in, be it working on building awareness, raising funds, developing a programme or even just devoting her time to volunteer. Of course, to answer a (not so) simple question.
Contestant No. 10: Crystal Huang
The platform that Crystal chose to support and dedicate her time to was Very Special Arts Singapore. She shared that she was an arts student, and believed that the arts can help individuals express themselves better and improve on new skills. To support her chosen platform, she hopes to reach out to like-minded people, as well as the disabled youth to discover benefits through the arts. I personally feel for this platform too as I was an arts student myself! I'd say art has touched us all, one way or another, and we have seen countless stories of various art-forms bringing light and joy to people's lives.
As for her question, she was asked what she felt was the most important quality of the millennial woman. Her answer was simple: Passion. She shared that passion was something that brings your work to a new level by inspiring a sense of creativity and innovation. She also brought up the stereotype of women growing up to being homemakers, but with passion, the modern woman will be able to do what she sets her mind to. I suppose in a time where women are beginning to step out of the box and putting their careers first, I suppose passion is something that's truly important. Passion is what keeps the fire in your heart going, after all!
Contestant No. 11: Janet Goh
Janet's chosen platform was World Vision Singapore, this organisation is a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide who suffer from poverty. In order to help her cause, she has decided to start a facebook page to raise awareness, in hope that more people would be willing to help the children. She added that she strongly believes in educating children, and helping those who are willing to learn, but are unable to do so. Education is indeed very important, and I'm glad that she's willing to help these children get the best shot in life.
I personally didn't really catch her question, but I know it was something along the lines of what makes a person beautiful and inner beauty. I felt that her answer was really wise and heartfelt, despite not really knowing what her question was. She shared about our appearance and outlook will reflect our personalities, and people can tell a lot about us from the way we chose to carry ourselves. 'The way you speak, shows your confidence.
"The way you think, shows your profoundness and the way you act, shows your kindness." I'll leave it this quote here for you guys, I felt this is important for everyone, myself included!
Contestant No. 5: Esther Leong
Esther shared that she would like to raise awareness for anti-narcotics, anti- violence and social services. She shared that she has a family background that suffered acts of violence and various hardships, so anyone could understand why she'd feel so strongly about this cause. I can only hope that she would be able to help families affected by such hardships, everyone deserves a loving home.
Her question was about what she had risked for the crown. She shared that she was feeling exposed to everyone's judgement, we will never know how people will react and feel about us once we put ourselves out there, and that to her, was the risk she took when she decided to embark on her journey to the crown. Then again, I remembered Esther was also a performing arts student, so I was surprised that she was saying the biggest risk she took was to put herself out there for the world to judge. Then again, putting yourself out there in front of the world as a performer and as a person would be two completely different things, and experiences like that shape us, so I'm glad she took that risk!
Contestant No. 9: Toh Xin Pei
Xin Pei shared that she became a victim care officer with the Singapore Police force, where she reaches out to victims and provides counselling during their most vulnerable periods. As someone who has spent a lot of time with such people, she wishes to reach out to even more people and encourage them to lend a helping hand too. On top of that, she hopes to raise awareness on mental health in Singapore. I felt her cause could be one of the most important things today. A lot of people who have issues with mental health might not even be aware of it, and some of them aren't able to receive the help they need for a whole variety of reasons.
The question she picked was so suitable for her too; she was asked how should a beauty queen react to ruthless criticism. She responded that a beauty queen should respond with compassion. "When you have compassion, you're trying to understand what the person's point of view is, and you reflect on yourself on whether the criticism is valid or not." I thought this was another quote that we could all learn from. As someone who hold workshops on mental health education, she doesn't shy away from criticism as she can only grow from there. She also added that criticism with malicious intent should be faced with self confidence and we shouldn't be shaken. I honestly enjoyed her Q&A very much because it was not only wise, but I think it makes us reflect on how we react to other people. It's like the quote by Charles R. Swindoll: "Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react to it. Our attitude is everything."
Contestant No. 1: Winnie Tay
Winnie's platform catered to the elderly, being aware that a lot of the elderly aren't receiving the care and companionship that they need, she hopes to reach out to people who would also like to bring happiness and care to the elderly. She also expressed her gratefulness to the government for creating initiatives that make lives better for the elderly, which I too, am grateful for! Eventually, our own parents will become part of the elderly, so having an environment that isn't too hazardous and overwhelming would take a lot of worry off our shoulders, and we can take better care of them too!
I thought her question was interesting and relatively light hearted: If she had the opportunity to meet anyone globally influential. who would it be and why. Her answer was Emma Watson. I'm quite sure most of us know her as an actor, but she has also been a very influential person when it comes to gender equality (aka, her HeforShe campaigne). Winnie shared that she also shared Emma Watson's views on gender equality, and that no one should ever set limits to themselves based on their gender.
Contestant No. 16: Crystal Wong
Crystal's platform is Limitless SG which is a non-profit organisation that was founded to help youths build hope, find worth, and live destiny-driven lives by putting an end to powerlessness caused by poverty, mental illness and social inequality. She shared that she lived a reasonably privileged life until financial difficulties struck and left her feeling lost. However, she was able to pick herself back up with help, and because of that, she hopes to reach out through their workshops for entrepreneurship to influences youths to live purposeful lives.
Her question was why was mental health just as important as physical health. She answered: 'Health is Wealth' and that both mental and physical health compliment each other. "If we have physical health but no mental health, we would be a shell that cracks under pressure.... But if we had mental health and no physical health, your thoughts are invincible but your actions are incapable" I promise that second half sounded a lot better when she said it in cantonese, but still very impactful, nonetheless! This year's finalists are really leaving amazing mental notes for all of us to keep!
Contestant No. 2: Melanis Tai
Melanis chose to support single parents, hoping to bring love and positivity to them by setting up a facebook page to spread awareness. She also shared that she would be training as a befriender with Daughters of Tomorrow, who support women from low-income families by providing coaching for them until they are able find regular and sustained employment.
Her question was what was the biggest misconception about beauty pageant contestants. I thought this question was just really interested and is a result of the portrayal of beauty queens in the media. Not saying that it isn't completely impossible, but it isn't always the case, and I'm glad that Melanis mentioned that in her answer. It was nice to hear that the girls this season helped not only the charities, but also each other and Melanis shared that she would go beyond calling them her friends, by calling them her sisters. I think it's really important to form bonds with people wherever life takes you and it was good to see that the contestants have bonded together over the course of their journey!
Contestant No. 8: Tiara Lim
Tiara chose to support Food from the Heart which is an organisation who reaches out to the less fortunate by organising food distribution programmes as well as bringing joy to them by distributing toys as well as birthday celebrations. She shared that she used to follow her father around when he used to volunteer with such organisations that spread love and distributed food to the underprivileged and elderly, which has lead her to believe in bringing joy and awareness to such a cause.
I felt her question was slightly controversial, as it revolved around Spain allowing a transgender woman to join the pageant, and if she thought a transgender woman should be allowed to enter for MSBP. I literally held my breath for a while because I knew there was so much happening with the LGBTQ community and it sucks to see how unreasonable and hurtful some people can be. However, I was happy that Tiara spoke about the essence of the pageant being about the celebration of beauty in women despite coming from different backgrounds, races and religion. She expressed that transgender women have beauty in their own right, like all women do and we should support them and allow them to join such a pageant.
That was such a fun question and answer segment! I personally felt so excited this year and I'm glad the contestants did well and shared their views so wholeheartedly!
Guest Performance by Dream Dance Troupe from Dream Dance Yoga.
Hello, ladies! This was one of my favourite pictures of the night! ^^
And now, it's time to crown the new queens!
Miss Singapore 2nd Runner Up: Contestant No. 2 Melanis Tai Miss Singapore 1st Runner Up: Contestant No. 16 Crystal Wong
Miss Singapore Global Beauty Queen 2019: Contestant No. 9 Toh Xin Pei Miss Singapore Chinatown 2019: Contestant No. 10 Crystal Huang Miss Singapore Tourism Queen 2019: Contestant No. 11 Janet Goh
Credits to Ishardi for the group photo on the right!
What an eventful night! I am so proud of the new queens, I feel they did deserve their titles, and I can only hope their reign would be even more fulfilling and memorable than their journey to the crown!
I hope you guys have enjoyed this blogpost, don't forget to. watch my vlog if you haven't and do give it a like and share if you can, or even subscribe because that would mean a lot to me as well ^^ A massive thank you once again to ERM Singapore for having me, as well as Alelux Luxury Gown Rental for sponsoring my gown! Of course, there will be a MSBP2019 lookbook coming to the blog soon, so stay tuned! 'Till my next blogpost!
xx
Shayne
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