Hello Everyone!
I'm super excited to present my very first pageant blogpost on the new blog! Don't worry, previous pageant blogposts can still be found in the old blog. I'm just very glad that it's pageant season again, a lot of the Miss Singapore pageants are either having their relative events or are having auditions too. But for the next few weeks, my focus will be on the Mrs & Classic Mrs Singapore Pageant.
Today's blogpost will be focusing on the talent segment that happened over the weekend, I'll be posting another post for the cooking competition next Monday and a collective vlog next week, so do keep a lookout! I definitely cannot wait for the finals in May!
This year's events were held at Our Tampines Hub, a change to the usual OneKM Mall (now Kinex). I'll admit it's a lot warmer because there's no air conditioning, but the space is definitely bigger and more open, which is pretty great because there's space for the public and supporters to sit, instead of just being able to stand around! It could be an optical illusion, but the stage seemed a lot bigger, which I'd say is fantastic for the talent segment, and the ladies have more space when they stand on stage too.
The day started off with 2017's Rachel Olivero sharing a few words, our emcee, Guan, passing a belated birthday bouquet to Angela, an interview with Michelle Hon (Mom of 3, mumpreneur and author) and Kenneth Choo (entrepreneur and author) and a demonstration with a Mayer set meal cooker. If you're wondering why there was a cooking demonstration, you'll find out in next week's blogpost ;) No spoilers!
A short intro for new readers! This pageant is for married women, there are two age categories:
Mrs Singapore - Ages 25 to 44 Classic Mrs Singapore - Ages 45 and Up. There will be three titles given out per category: Mrs Universe, Mrs Globe and Mrs Planet. These three queens will then represent Singapore in the respective international pageants!
For those who do know me personally, you'd know I've been trying SUPER hard to get my mother to join, and I was unfortunately, no where near successful. However, I'd say I have a good few more years to convince her again and again and again. Anyway, I'd say it'll be a lot of fun for the families, I noticed there were a lot of banners/posters this year in the crowd!
Also, Wix has this cool 'gallery' feature where I can put loads of photos into a little 'collage' instead of having a giant list of photos like I did in the old blog, I'm not sure if I will like this layout but so far, I'm quite liking it! You can definitely click on the photos and they'll expand, so not to worry. I'm not sure why I'm saying this now when I've been blogging on this platform for a good few months already. HAHA. But anyway, let's meet this years finalists for Mrs & Classic Mrs Singapore 2019!
Contestant No. 1: Li Min Hua
Just from a glance, she was one of the taller ones this year! She did a singing item for us, a chinese ballad, if I remember right. I definitely wished for something a little more upbeat since she was the one kick-starting the event! I'm not entirely sure why too, but I loved what she was wearing. I've been drawn to clothing items like that lately but I never brought myself to buying a piece. But after that, I just might go online and look for one that I might be able to pull off hahah.
Contestant No. 2: Lee Xiu Pei, Lilian
I loved her costume! It felt like ages since I've last danced contemporary (or at all) so it was nice to watch someone dance. Definitely enjoyed the sparkly element and the flowy skirt that looked great on stage!
Contestant No. 3: Jacinta Chan
Contestant No. 4: Ajita Bisht
I'm not entirely sure why, but right after Jacinta's performance, Ajita was asked to perform and the feedback was given to them together. Couldn't help but notice that their skirts were almost idential, but that's besides the point. Both of them presented their versions of Bollywood dances. Their approaches were pretty different as Ajita's piece seemed more upbeat!
Nonetheless, it was pretty enjoyable to watch. I don't know anything about Bollywood dance and to me, it's always entertaining and the costumes are always brightly coloured and pretty!
Contestant No. 5: Seraphina
I thought this was quite well thought out. She did an art piece incorporating the word 'lady' in different languages, to create a side profile of a lady. It was smart and relevant, plus the glitter at the end was pretty fun. Super similar to what Rachel did in her talent round, but of course, this was quite different. The only thing I was disappointed about was that some of the elements could not be seen too well as the markers were too light coloured. She did have a 'wanita' written at the bottom right, but you can barely see it in person, let alone on camera. Then again, it was interesting!
Contestant No. 6: Naazrina Kokholm
Naaz did a little singing tribute to her husband, which was pretty cute. I definitely liked her outfit, even though I was hoping for something more eye catching. Afterall, we're in a pageant and this is a good time to stand out!
Contestant No. 7: Josephine Lee
This was probably one of my favourites. I love a good martial arts demonstration. It's definitely nothing too insane, afterall she's a yellow belt and if I remember right, she started on the skill a few months back. So I think her breaking the boards on stage were pretty badass and I love it. Definitely inspired to go back into martial arts now, not that I got very far when I dabbled into it previously. But I am very inspired.
Contestant No. 8: Loy Shien Ling
Shien Ling sang her rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' in both english and mandarin. If I remember correctly, she said she taught children and this song was something she sang to them often, so I'd think it's a piece of her, in a sense. She performed the song with her music teacher, I did wished she walked around on stage a little.
Contestant No. 9: Yuko Ashizawa
I was so excited for her performance! I saw her costume from far away and I love all these cultural dances because I've never done anything like it, so it was fun to watch. It was definitely interesting to watch, did I mention that she is SO tall, and she's quite a giggly person which is so fun to see. I'm very excited about her journey!
Contestant No. 10: Chai Woan Shuan
The next performance was also a dance performance, but clearly, of a different genre. I admire the costume choices made by the contestants of the Mrs & Classic Mrs pageants, really, it's just so out there and they just go all out with their costumes, it's amazing! Not everyone goes all out, but for those who do, never cease to amaze me.
Contestant No, 11: Sharine Wong
Another artsy performance! She drew the Singapore skyline, which I thought was quite insane, giving the amount of time she had. We did watcher her draw (without . knowing what was going on) on a blue table for a good few minutes before we saw the end product. I'm not entirely sure what to feel about it because you literally can't see her draw, but you just see the end product, which is like waiting super long for a surprise to happen. Then again, it was pretty creative!
Contestant No. 12: Eztelle Roche Kaye
Eztelle did something pretty badass too. Everyone was doing something girly, but she decided to do something empowering, besides the martial arts demonstration by Josephine, I thought this was pretty badass too. Literally reminded me of my performance in Macau (partially because we used the same song and costume concept) but it was a refreshing change!
I'm glad that some of the contestants decided to show talents that empowered women. Showing that we can be badasses and kick your butt too. It's just a breath of fresh air!
Contestant No. 13: Laura Lee
I think she needs a special mention because she danced through the entire item despite her hair extentions sort of half falling out. We all knew it, I wasn't sure if she did (I don't remember how she reacted) but good on her for continuing with her performance!
She ended the Mrs category off, and it's now time for the Classic Mrs category!
Contestant No. C1: Windaline Lew
Our first contestant from the Classic Mrs category did a zumba performance for us. I did have a hard time trying to take photos of her because I couldn't see her face. Half the time, her face was covered by her cap so unfortunately, I didn't really remember what she looked like later on because all I saw was the bottom half of her face.
Contestant No. C2: Melissa Lim
She sang my favourite song from ABBA so she immediately gets brownie points from me. I'd say she was my favourite singing performance, and no, it's not a biased-ness towards Super Trouper. I liked that she moved around on stage and she just looked like she was enjoying herself, so naturally, we enjoyed ourselves along with her!
Contestant No. C3: Rain Goh Yi
As always, there will be a contestant doing a belly dancing item, and I always look forward to it. Rain had little LED lights on her wings so that was definitely fun to watch!
Contestant No. C4: Rosita Binte Othman
We had a nice little Malay dance from Rosita! I don't remember the last time I saw a traditional Malay dance on the Mrs Singapore stage, so it was nice to be able to see.
Contestant No. C5: Sumiko
I got slightly excited when I saw that her top said 'Kpop Fitness', because that meant there was going to be kpop music, and you guys know I love my YG artistes. Then again, she didn't use songs from them, which was alright, but it definitely made me want to go up there and dance too.
Contestant No. C6: Mimi
Another traditional Malay dance! She had a little box of things to give to the judges at the end (yes, it was part of her performance too). I thought it was quite clever and thoughtful! I'm assuming her type of Malay dance was quite different from Rosita's as well since their movements were different and the costumes too? Dance experts, do indulge me with some trivia! ^^
Contestant No. C7: Amelia Lim
She had amazing supporters! I could not resist to take a photo of them. There were definitely more than just her supporters, other contestants had boards and all too, but Amelia's supporters literally came to the front corner of the stage it was so cute! She did a dance performance for us and of course, you can expect that her supporters cheered her on!
Contestant No. C8: Jessee Lim
Jessee performed a piece called 'daydreaming' for us. I thought the concept was pretty cute since she started and ended her piece with her 'taking a ride in the MRT' and stopping at Tampines station. I just wished she didn't have the cap on since she threw it off after less than a min or two into the performance.
Contestant No. C9: Mary Miao
I do love watching calligraphy, however, I literally could not see it happening, which was a. shame, thought I think the final product was quite pretty. The wind kept blowing at it so I didn't get a great picture. Even if I did, I won't be able to tell you what it said because I can't actually read what she wrote. Not because she didn't do a good job, my mandarin's just rubbish. But this was interesting, If only we could see all the brush strokes happening in real time!
Contestant No. C10: Chitra Devi Govindasamy
The last dance performance of the day was another traditional dance. I liked that she picked something sparkly and black instead of something very colourful, I always enjoy a good contrast! Not that I don't like colour, but it's something that made her stand out from the others!
Contestant No. C11: Teoh Hooi Leng
The very last contestant mentioned that she taught Chemistry. Needless to say, that got Walter and I super excited so we decided to yell 'I LOVE CHEMISTRY!!!!!' when she walked past us after she introduced herself on stage. Not entirely sure if this reaction was well received but she definitely struck me as a fun-loving lady.
She did a floral arrangement entitled 'The Sky's the Limit' for us. I was secretly hoping she would be showing us some fun chemistry tricks or something because making education fun seems to be a thing now - recent Asia's Got Talent first runner up Yaashwin Sarawana and America's Got Talent's very own chemist Nick Uhas. But I suppose you can't just bring chemicals and all that to the pageant stage, aye? But apart from that, I loved the flowers, it was cute and she had lovely music to go along with the performance, so it just made you want to watch her.
We concluded the talent competition with a guest performance by owner of DreamDanceYoga, Sophia Meng!
Her costume was amazing, and needless to say, her isolations were a lot finer and neater. The fans were a joy to watch. I always enjoy watching belly dancing when they bring in the scarves or fans or even wings. But I'd think that the fans are my favourite!
And it was time to announce the top 5! It was meant to be a top 3 or 4 as usual but there was probably a tie somewhere so it became a top 5! The top 5 will be performing once again during the grand finals in May. I can't wait to see what they'll be performing then!
Our top 5!
Contestant No. 2: Lee Xiu Pei, Lilian
Contestant No. 4: Ajita Bisht
Contestant No. 9: Yuko Ashizawa
Contestant No. 12: Eztelle Roche Kaye
Contestant No. C2: Melissa Lim
Congratulations on being the top 5 for the talent segment, ladies! I'm sure you'll do great during the finals! I'm sure you guys are curious about the cooking competition as well, but you'll have to wait until next week! ;) With that, I will be ending the blogpost here. A massive thank you to ERM Singapore for having me! I'll see you guys next week!
xx
Shayne