Bonitas: Februari 2011

Miss Hawaii USA Angela Byrd

I have to admit I almost forgot Miss Hawaii USA Angela Byrd and it reflects whats going on in Miss USA contest. In 2009 when I focused myself to Miss USA, I rooted with Aureana Tseu but like me, the judges simply forgot about Hawaii. This relatively small state is quite successful at Miss USA but it seems it can’t make its magic work lately. The exclusion of Aureana at the semis in 2009 is a testament to that.
Anyway, Angela is touted by many as the next Mahealani Brook Lee. I tend to disagree though. Angela lacks the sophistication of Mahealani. Angela is a bit amateur and she she needs to redefine herself to exude more maturity and elegance and of course sophistication. I have a feeling that Angela, although very much deserving to be in the Top 5, may not make it to the semis at all.

Miss Iowa USA Rebecca Goldsmith

Rebecca Goldsmith is a rough diamond that needs polishing. She is beautiful. She is sexy. But she hasn’t found the right path towards the crown yet. I hope and pray that she is now doing all the trainings in catwalk, in demeanor, in styling, in Q&A, etc. And also I do hope that she sought help from the right people. One key thing that makes me believe that she needs polishing is the way she pose. It screams “amateur” and that has to change. Understandably, not so many pageant watchers are impressed with Rebecca but that will change of a good transformation is under way.
Iowa needs to bring its past glory back. After Trudy Shulkin made it to the semis in 1960, it has been all downhill for the state (with the exception of 1993 and 2000 when Iowas made it to the semis). Nevertheless, it can be proud of the fact that Carol Morris won the Miss USA crown in 1956 and eventually proceeded to win the Miss Universe crown as well.

Miss Indiana USA Jillian Wunderlich

Jillian is one of the “to watch for” contestants at Miss USA 2011 thanks to her addictive beautiful face. One can easily be lovestruck by her beauty and I think she has the potential to be in the semis. I suggest that she must look out for the best styling to enhance further her beauty and try not to make mistakes with her choices when it comes to gown. A lot of people have concerns for her 5’6″ height but I don’t think that it will significantly affect Jillian’s chances. As I said she must be careful with her gown choice. A wrong one could diminish her stage presence. A right one however will help in ensuring that her relatively short height will not become a liability.
Indiana has never won the crown at Miss USA pageant and has landed in the semis for just 8 instances. Jillian should not worry about that and instead focus on enhancing her strong points and go get that crown for Illinois.

Miss Illinois USA Angela Sparrow

Angela Sparrow is talented, innovative and experienced beauty queen that could be your next Miss USA. But she needs to work out how to make herself more of a stand-out because the way I look at it she blends in with the crowd instead of grabbing some attention. She has a statuesque frame at 5’8″ and she knows how to style herself to project her beauty properly. This is essential but not enough if she is really serious in snatching the Miss USA 2011 crown. She needs to add vibrancy and liveliness in her styling. She should pursue a more fresher look. If she can successfully use this approach to her advantage, she is assured of a Top 10 finish.
Illinois is the home of four Miss USAs and that makes it as one of the successful states in the pageant. But its last placement at the semis was in 2006. This is something that Angela can break and give her best shot to bring back the glory to Illinois.

Miss Idaho USA Erza Haliti

Erza Haliti’s unique looks is due to the fat that she is Albanian in origin but instead of having Gona-esque aura, she have an Eva Arias-esque look. This makes many beauty pageant watchers uneasy with her beauty type. There is no denying that Erza is beautiful but her strong jawline could be a problem for some. Nevertheless, Erza’s unique beauty can easily stand out at Miss USA 2011. That may be largely due to her mesmerizing and rather hypnotic eyes. There is something the way she looks at you and it takes a few seconds to be smitten by the sparkle of her eyes. I hope that she will convert that strength into something tangible when the prelims contest starts.
Idaho is not really a consistent state when it comes to landing at the Miss USA semifinals. The gap of its placement (1965-1996 is Idaho’s longest drought at Miss USA) at the semis speaks in volume about Idaho’s dismal performance.

Miss Georgia USA Kaylin Reque

Kaylin Reque

When the state of Georgia is mentioned, I long thought that this state has already won the Miss USA crown! It is quite sad to know that the closest placement of this state to the crown was in 1993. It was the year when Erin Nance became the first runner-up to Miss Michigan Kenya Moore. Georgia should have won the crown but for entire history of Miss USA till today, the state settled for 1 first runner-up, 4 second runners-up, 1 third runner-up and six fourth runners-up.
Kaylin Reque, 22, will carry the hopes and aspiration of Georgia at Miss USA 2011 contests. She is beautiful in her own right but I am not particularly impressed by her candid photos. She seems to have sometimes strong facial features and her body is not really my cup of tea. However, she is seen as a blonde bombshell capable of impressing anyone. She knows what are her good angles and she definitely knows how to project herself. Sporting a wavy beach blonde hair works for her wonderfully. It wouldn’t hurt to put Kaylin in our suspicion list!

Miss Florida USA Lissette Garcia

Lisette Garcia, 25, has an impressive list of beauty pageant experience and she can bank on those to earn a place in the Miss USA semifinals. Even impressive is her catwalk skills. Her 5’11″ height could be to her advantage. These are the necessary things that Lisette can use to her advantage. For some reason though, I think she lacks that wow factor. For the moment she is on my list but will have to wait until the pageant will progress.
Florida a.k.a. the Sunshine State, is home of large Latino population. Lisette is a testament of this as she is a daughter of Cuban immigrants. The state can boast 2 first runners-up but yet to win a crown although they had one in 1967 when Sylvia Hitchcock won the Miss Universe crown and Susan Bradley of California refused to follow the succession.

Miss District of Columbia USA Heather Swann

Twenty-two year old Heather Swann possesses a pair of beautiful eyes and luscious lips but her beauty unfortunately may not be able to persuade beauty pageant judges. It is up to Heather to change her appeal into something more elegant and something more than just a teen vibe that she is projecting. But remembering the last Miss USA from DC, Shauntay Hinton, Heather’s chances for a crown is still at the table. The only thing that Heather should concentrate on is her interview skills. It’s a skill that is quite tough to hone but she has no choice.
DC is quite successful at Miss USA boasting two crowns. It is remarkable for such a small district to be competing against larger states and still came out to be competitive. The problem though is that since Shauntay Hinton won the Miss USA contest in 2002 (and may I emphasize that she failed to be in Miss Universe semis), only Candace Allen managed to be in semis (2006). The more likely scenario this year is that DC will again be left in the cold.

Miss Delaware USA Katie Hanson

I am not particularly fond of the looks of Katie and I believe that there are other Miss Delaware USA candidates that are more deserving to compete at Miss USA. Katie have this strong, rather mature facial features that needs to be toned down and soften.
Unfortunately for Katie, the odds are stacked against her. No Delawarean was able to make it to the semis of Miss USA making the state of Delaware the weakest at the pageant.

Miss Connecticut USA Regina Turner

Candid photos of Regina reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada and Pricess Diaries star Anne Hathaway. But before I can jump into conclusion that she is just a teenage beauty, lo and behold! Her state pageant performance was amazing. I like her body. It is well proportioned and makes her 5’7″ frame even taller. Her face, although I must admit she is not perfect in all angles, is very appealing and I have a strong hunch that a semifinals finish is guaranteed for her. No wonder, I insisted on putting a note in the first Miss USA Hot Picks that Regina possesses Hollywood vibe in her looks.
Connecticut is one of the “least successful” states at Miss USA. The fourth runner-up finish of Alita Dawson in 2002 and the semis landing of Monica Pietrzak in 2009 are the only instances that broke the drought for the state that dates back from 1969!

Miss Colorado USA Blair Griffith

What makes Miss Colorado USA Blair Griffith’s chances at Miss USA slim is due to her overall appeal that makes her look more for a teenage beauty contest. Having said that, I think that Jessica Hartman’s 3rd runner-up finish in 2010 will continue to be Colorado’s best performance at Miss USA for the next five years. The state pageant wherein Blair competed seems to be incapable of producing any beauty queen that can compete at Miss USA level. That is perhaps quite unsurprising since Colorado is weak at the pageant.
Blair stands at 5’6″ and with her frame, it is easy for her to be overshadowed by taller contestants at Miss USA 2011. Facially, Blair can be best described as mediocre. She should avoid the hairstyle she used at the finals of Miss Colorado USA and instead find a more creative way to make her looks more lively. More like what she sported at Miss Teen USA contest, only fierc

Miss California USA Alyssa Campanella

California, the most populous state in the United States, is one of the most successful states in the Miss USA contest. There are already 5 Californians who clinched the Miss USA crown and every year, pageant enthusiasts closely watch the state pageant. This year, Alyssa Campanella will represent California and beauty watchers unabashedly proclaimed her as the front-runner. Alyssa’s CV is just brilliant and includes first runner-ups finish at Miss New Jersey 2008 and Miss Teen USA 2007 contests. This will make her as one of the experienced delegates at Miss USA 2011.
Alyssa – a hot red-headed, twenty-year-old beauty – caught the eye of the many for her fierce looks and pageant-material beauty. I would love to see her crowned as Miss USA 2011. California takes Miss USA as a serious business so for gown and swimsuit segments, Alyssa can breeze through these categories with ease. However, she must focus on one thing that could change the trajectory of the finals night – the final Q&A! As in the past, Miss USA usually throws controversial questions and Alyssa must tread carefully but must always give a definitive answer i.e. avoid vague, middle ground positions. If Alyssa will eventually hurdle that, I don’t see anything that could stop her from being crowned Miss USA 2011!

Miss Arkansas USA Lakynn McBride

Lakynn McBride will be tasked to continue the two year streak of Arkansas at Miss USA pageant. This will be quite a challenge for the twenty year old blonde beauty. She lacks pageantry credentials and given to the sea of experienced candidates for the Miss USA 2011, she is in danger of being overwhelmed. I suggest that she must muster enough confidence and diligently train herself. She must also rethink to restyle herself and ditch that fresh look for a more regal hairdo and get-up.
Arkansas is not that strong at Miss USA pageant but it is not that weak either. It boast a winner (1982), a first runner-up (1955) and a second runner-up (1956). Lakynn should take advantage of the experience of her last two predecessors to get herself acquainted on what works on Miss USA. Until then, she may not be able to sustain the run that Arkansas built for the last two years.

Miss Arizona USA Brittany Brannon

Brittany Brannon is someone that missosologists call as a spoiler – someone who could steal the limelight from the perceived front runners. I think that there is a field-full grain of truth in this. Brittany is just wonderful and well in fact she is a stand-out. Her big, sexy eyes – which I think she should use their full potential – is mesmerizing. I actually love it.
Meanwhile, she should not let her 5’5″ height be her handicap. She must put the catwalk on fire and let her eyes and body do the talking. Arizona after all, is a consistent state when it comes to Miss USA semis placement. I have a feeling that 2011 is the year of Arizona. Many will not agree with this but if Britany wins the Miss USA crown, I have no complaints.

Miss Alaska USA Jessica Chuckran

My opinion is Jessica is the best that came out Alaska in years. It is amazing that this state managed to penetrate the semis at Miss USA for just four times! Anyway, Jessica has a lot of potential but she must hit the gym asap. One of the turn-offs with her is her legs. It does not appear to be ideal and needs toning down. But then let us all remember that the judges may have different tastes. At Miss Universe 2010 for example, Miss Jamaica Yendi Philips and Miss Colombia Natalia Navarro managed to be in the semis despite having a pair of need-to-be-toned legs.
Jessica must strive hard to overcome what the beauty watchers called as Alaskan “curse”. After all, the last time an Alaskan became a semifinalist at Miss USA was way back 2 decades ago.

Miss Alabama USA Madeline Mitchell

Madeline Mitchell

From the heart of Dixieland comes a real Dixie chick – Madeline Mitchell. I love the fact that she is a blue eyed, shapely 22 year old. She is just adorable. I love her figure and certainly her face beguiled me. Her 5’8″ height just matches her long slender legs. She is well-toned which of course a big plus.

Alabama is one of the consistent states at Miss USA 2011 pageant. Its glory days however are quite distant. The last and only Miss Alabama who won the Miss USA crown was way back in 1967. But if Alabama wins, it wins big. Sylvia went on to clinch the Miss Universe title. In 2010 Audrey Moore made it to the Top 5.

Madeline should exploit the colors of her eyes. I am not so happy with her red gown in the state finals. Blue would enhance her and it matches her eyes. She will be big hit at Miss USA 2011.