November 18, 2023 | 11:07am
MANILA, Philippines — With the anticipation building for tomorrow’s coronation, Philstar.com sought the insights of three pageant experts to reveal their ultimate top picks for Miss Universe 2023.
In this exclusive feature, Philstar.com asked beauty queen Siera Bearchell (Miss Universe Canada 2016) alongside highly respected pageant experts Norman Tinio and Tita Lavinia. They shared their evaluations of Philippine bet Michelle Dee’s preliminary performance and weighed in on her potential to secure the fifth Miss Universe crown for the Philippines.
Final top picks
Here are their final top picks, listed in no particular order:
Siera Bearchell
- Dominican Republic
- Philippines
- Thailand
- Puerto Rico
- Austraiia
- Mexico
- Peru
- India
- France
- Colombia
- USA
- Nicaragua
- Canada
Norman Tinio
- Thailand
- Nicaragua
- Philippines
- Venezuela
- El Salvador
- Dominican Republic
- India
- South Africa
- Colombia
- France
- Puerto Rico
- USA
- Angola
- Germany
- Mexico
- Great Britain
- Pakistan
- Brazil
- Nepal
- Australia
TIta Lavinia
- Australia
- Brazil
- Cameroon
- Colombia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- India
- Lebanon
- Mexico
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Puerto Rico
- South Africa
- Thailand
- USA
- Venezuela
Possible dark horse and El Tocuyo
When discussing potential dark horses (unexpected finalists) and the El Tocuyo (strong candidates who might miss the cut), here are their predictions:
Siera Bearchell
Dark horses: Pakistan, Venezuela
El Tocuyo: Peru
Norman Tinio
Dark horses: Australia, Honduras, Cameroon and Nepal
El Tocuyo: Dominican Republic or USA
TIta Lavinia
Dark horses: Pakistan and Nepal
El Tocuyo: France or Dominican Republic
Michelle Dee’s prelim performance
The trio of pageant experts unanimously rated Michelle Dee with a solid 9.
TIta Lavinia shared, “I would rate MMD as a solid 9. If she could slow down a bit and change her hair, she’d be perfect.”
Siera, who is a big fan of Michelle since her Miss World stint said: “I’ve always seen Michelle as woman of sophistication and confidence. I’ve always been a fan of her as you know. Love the confidence to have her short hair. You don’t see it as much in pageants. She can be confidently who she is. I personally loved her gown. I thought it was incredible. For me, it was very her, like the sophistication, the cut outs, the green (evening gown).. I thought it very regal, unique. I personally loved it. I like her gown performance better than her swim performance. I thought she gave a great performance. For me, it’s very regal and sophisticated.”
For Norman, he gave Michelle an impressive 9.5 in swimwear and an outstanding 9.9 in evening gown.
Chances for the fifth crown
For TIta Lavinia, Michelle is the “the perfect candidate this far since Catriona to take the fifth crown for the Philippines”
Siera perfectly summarized Michelle’s chances:
“I think Michelle Dee definitely has the chance to take home the fifth crown for the Philippines. We’ve seen it her in her performances especially in the way she speaks. She’s always been very authentic, very true to herself. She doesn’t try to be someone else or tried to be what she thinks Miss Universe wants her to be. She’s always been who she is. As long she remains true to herself, keeps her reasoning why she’s there, why she wants that Miss Universe crown then there’s no reason why she can’t win.”
Norman, on the other hand, said: “(The fifth crown) is on sight, but the lens needs to be wiped squeaky clean for us to see clearly. Fate is the ultimate cleaner. “
Is Michelle Dee set to succeed the current Miss Universe, R’Bonney Gabriel? The Philippines, affectionately referred to as “Filipinas” by Michelle, eagerly anticipates her reign.
About the pageant experts
Norman Tinio is a permanent fixture in Philippine pageantry. He has a widely followed pageant blog: https://normannorman.com/.
Siera Bearchell, crowned Miss Canada in 2016, achieved a commendable Top 9 placement at the 2016 Miss Universe held in the Philippines. Explore her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@SieraBearchellOfficial for more.
TIta Lavinia is a popular pageant analyst and a certified cat lover. Follow and subscribe to her widely popular YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TitaLavinia.
