While we are all sitting, still wondering how the world this girl and that girl made the cut, we hardly stop to think that there was a part of the competition that we the public eye don’t get to see.
Yes, in every pageant there is a private interview with the contestants and judges and this section of the competition plays a crucial role in determining the semi- finalists for that particular pageant. Here, the judges get to see beyond the face of that individual, in other words “who she really is under that skin and flesh”. The thing we the public eye hardly ever sees. This is where the not so beautiful girls get to show that even though they are not striking on the outside, they can make up for it from the inside. And in my opinion, this is where these girls make an impact on the judges, slapping them (not literally) in the face saying “I’m deserving of that spot, even though my face is not beautiful like hers”. This is where the impossible becomes possible.
Two perfect examples of this situation are:
India: Shilpa Singh (Miss Universe 2012 top 16)- she went to Vegas bashed to death, and many of us thought she would be clapping. However, she was the second to last semi finalist to be called into the top 16. Even though she gave an average performance in the prelims, her face didn’t scream the x- factor and many of us did not expect her in the top 16. In my personal opinion, I think the interview helped her. We all know Asia has some of the smartest people in world, while Shilpa was not a genius; she was smart and funny on her web interview. I think she made her final impression with that. While there are other theories as to how she made the top 16, I made an assumption from what I observed (no bashing please).
Turkey: Cagil (Miss Universe 2012 top 16)- again, many of us did not had her in our final prediction list, but she made the semis. She wasn’t a favorite and she was beautiful, but didn’t had the x- factor as well, while she did pretty well in the prelims, I think she cemented her spot with her interview. What I observed is that she is not very fluent in English, but she was funny. When asked “if the world was going to end tomorrow, what is one crazy thing you’ll do?” she said she would steal the Miss Universe crown and take pics with it. I thought it was funny, even though she was not very confident in herself.
My point is: we make assumptions from what we see (which is sensible), but when it comes to beauty, physical appearance is not the main factor; it is how well someone backup that striking face.
Lesson: pay keen attention to that web interview.