Sabina Mendes Crowned as Miss Hong Kong 2021
The Miss Hong Kong 2021 finals took place on September 12, crowning Sabina Mendes (宋宛穎) as its new winner. Carina Leung (梁凱晴) won first runner-up, while Kristy Shaw (邵初) won second runner-up and Miss Friendship, and Penny Yeung (楊培琳) won Miss Photogenic.
Sabina is a 22-year-old college graduate, who aspires to become a doctor. Growing up in a single-parent household, Sabina was raised by mother Man Bo Suet (文寶雪), who was also a beauty queen and won Miss Macau 1990 first runner-up. Although Sabina felt that she did not give the best response during the Q & A segment, her strength in dancing helped her overall performance. As she has been learning different genres of dance since 6 years old, Sabina is proficient in ballet, Hip Hop, and Latin dance. Originally aiming to finish in the Top Five, Sabina was shocked by the results, “I can’t believe I won!”
Placing as first runner-up, Carina was said to have looked momentarily disappointed when the results were announced. Asked if she was disappointed that she did not win the top title, the 26-year-old denied and said she was just tired. Since she is friends with Sabina and Kristy, she is happy with the results and praised both of their performances in the finals.
Winning Miss Friendship, Kristy debunked the myth that the award winner would normally not get placed in Top Three. The 27-year-old is happy that other contestants voted for her to win Miss Friendship and attributes her placement to her vitality in her performance on finals night.
A major highlight in the pageant was Jacky Cheung (張學友) performing his classic songs, and sharing the stage with Gin Lee (李幸倪) and the contestants.
After his performance, the Miss Photogenic award would be distributed, but there seemed to be a issue in scheduling and former winner Lisa Tse (謝嘉怡) did not appear on stage, with the MC’s trying to stall for time. Suddenly, the Top Five results were announced and TVB executive Eric Tsang (曾志偉) looked stern while talking to the production crew and trying to iron out the glitches.
Surprisingly, hot favorites Yvette Chan (陳聖瑜) and actor Eddie Kwan‘s (關禮傑) daughter, Fabienne Kwan (關楓馨), did not place in the pageant but the latter did reach the Top Five.
Miss Hong Kong 2021: Winner Results Announced
Jacky Cheung and Gin Lee Perform at Miss Hong Kong 2021
This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.
Here is what I think would have been fair:
First #8 Sabina Mendes
It just seems like the judges wanted her to win because they kept on praising her Q and A, which was good but not great. She wanted to win more than anyone. Her determination (90%) and confidence (10%)
Second #14 Kristy Shaw
Most eloquent and poised but not the prettiest. Her maturity outshines all
Carina Leung was bland from beginning to end but the judges wanted a classic beauty to win. Classic beauty like Vivian Chow: tall, pointy chin, big eyes, small lips, fair skin, skinny, high nose
Third #13 Cathy Wong
Tall and witty and referred to as “Director.” Her Q + A was both sensible and humorous
Photogenic #10 Penny Yeung
This is honestly the classic hot girl of the group while Sabina is like the exotic exception
Friendship #14 Kristy Shaw
She’s so personable
Biggest pity: Rachel Chan #2 had the height and the face. She should have taken Top 5 instead of Fabienne
Out of place: #18 Vincy Mok her highlights and tan set her too far apart
The biggest faux pas of the night: #20 Katerina Leung, she said “I would disqualify myself if I had to disqualify one person because I like hugging animals more than the crown. If I get disqualified, that gives other contestants a more fair and deserving chance.”
Honorable mention: Jazmin actually gave a witty response when asked who is the hardest to hang out with “The contestant that naps the most” because how can you hang out with someone asleep?
‘The Movie Director’ would have won if she looked half decent with her great reactive answers in the Q & A section but she looked horrendous. The winner does not look attractive either…
Kristy stands out as being more mature (she’s 27). I agree that Carina was pretty bland. Fabienne is prettier than Rachel & Kristy. She shouldve placed third.
The stage is one of the nicer ones for the last ten years, but the clothes are pretty ugly, need to get a brand endorsement. Glad they had lots of guest singers.
I’m still not sure why #8 won though? In my opinion she’s not pretty. #3 #4 and #15 were my picks, but #14 is very poised.
Imo some of these girls were really obviously here just to fill the 12 spots and would never place.
This year’s Miss HK pageant wouldve been better if they didnt eliminate all the prettier girls in the semi-finals. Cant help but think that maybe it was all set up so Sabina wins – she comes from a family of beauty pageant winners.
Didn’t watch the entire pageant, only saw Jacky’s segment (of course). Way too short though (only 15 minutes?) — come on TVB, Jacky is a superstar, give him more respect than that! But oh well…he was basically doing a favor for his friends so whatever…
The new song is pretty good! Gin Lee is lucky she’s still with Universal…Jacky doesn’t agree to do duets easily but he agreed to support her on this (and it’s not an easy song to sing either). Wonderful performance!
Jacky Cheung still the best, only watched it because of him
bad result, Carina should have won
Just from watching that clip, the second runner up from last year 2020 looks better than every one there.
Wow! Jacky, really?!!! I can’t careless about MHK the show. I only watched his performance. He still go it. The prowess 😀 Then I binged his interview clips. He’s adorb! It’s funny when he corrected Gin’s enunciation in the interview.
Speaking of, who’s this Gin Lee? She’s pretty and does have a unique face, fitting for a beauty pageant. Her singing though, meh. She’s flat, vocal wise; can’t hardly hear her pronunciation. Yikes.
What?? Gin Lee is one of the best vocalists in HK now. Her live performances are top notch. If anything I think it has to do with tvb’s sound mixing.
@bubbles23 I wouldn’t say she’s the best, but she IS one of the better ones nowadays. And she is definitely miles above all those Voice people, lol…
@JJWong LOL…yup, Jacky’s always got it — even with TVB’s sucky sound mixing! I totally hated the way the background music was done though, especially for Lee Heung Lan (what the hell were they playing? Totally didn’t sound like that song at all – luckily Jacky is experienced enough to adapt as needed….though in my opinion, he should’ve just sung that song acapella, as he does a beautiful rendition of that song with just his voice and no music). As for Gin — I think she had wanted to work with Jacky for a long time already but was just afraid to ask…I’m actually not surprised that Jacky would agree, since he is known for being supportive of his juniors.
I wrote one of the best haha. Gin thrives on live performances.
Definitely an overdue collaboration, especially since they are labelmates. I think if it weren’t for Jacky Cheung the last part of the pageant would be a bore
I want to watch Jacky & Gigi collab
@llwy12 Yea, I thought each musical portion sounded nice. But when Jacky starts singing, it’s just background white noise to me. His vocal is the focal point and carries the whole song. I mean, he’s a singer at heart, so his entertainment value is his voice. So are they (Jacky and Gin) are going to do an actual duet? Or this is just a one time thing? He sang her song right?
@bubbles23 No, mate. I don’t follow this Gin singer. Actually, I mostly gave up on HK music scene. So this is the only performance I’ve seen her in. I’ll take your word that it’s the sucky sounding system. I mean, it’s TVB we’re talking about, lol.
@JJWong Well, it’s probably not a “duet” in the strictest terms, since the song technically belongs to Gin (if you look at the official release of the song, almost all of them indicate “featuring Jacky Cheung”), but he does have a pretty huge singing part. How this came about is because Eric Kwok (who is Jacky’s good friend , former producer, and also wrote a few of his popular songs) shared with Jacky a song that he wrote, which Jacky immediately liked, so he asked Eric if he could sing it, but Eric said he wrote it for Gin Lee — so Jacky asked if he could participate and there you have it…Gin got to realize her dream of working with Jacky.
Here’s the official release of the song: https://youtu.be/NAvdF2hFgtU
@llwy12 to supplement, Eric worked with Gin for a few of her albums. The new song was originally Gin’s solo single. But Eric’s wife had a dream that Gin and Jacky sang it together, and now here we are LOL. I think Gin first sang the song live by herself on tvb iirc.
@llwy12 Okay, Gin sounds much better in the MV vs the MHK live. I’m not sold that her voice is a best, or one of. She’s young so has time to potentially become one or at least grow more. Hope she picks up a technique or two from Jacky.
Anyways, the melody of the chorus sounds very familiar, can’t quiet pinpoint what old song it reminds me the most yet. I’m lowkey happy that the lyrics isn’t lovey-dovey. It would be so awkward to watch/listen a love story between Jacky and Gin due to their huge age/generational gap, lol.
like many others just watch for Jacky Cheung segment the god of Canton POP.
I expected Kristy to win when they announced the top 5, but was even more surprised that she won only 3rd place. I think she faltered a bit in her Q&A otherwise would have probably won.
Also was Jacky Cheung’s performance his usual standard? Because holy crap he didn’t open his eyes the ENTIRE time he sang his first two songs. Literally kept his eyes closed throughout those two songs until he had to walk out of the stage. It looked so boring and mediocre and the only saving grace was his otherwise magnificent voice.
Jacky Cheung has never been the best singer to watch. We should really just close our eyes and listen to his magnificent singing the whole time rather than watch the TV screen too. Seems like he is so obsessed with singing every note perfectly and his reputation that he would not try to entertain on stage. Every performer has their priorities I suppose…
Omg agree so much. He’s honestly pretty annoying to watch because of his theatrical movements.
@bubbles23 LOL yes and his hand movements the whole time
Definitely not his usual standard compared to his prime. Even his voice is no where close. However, still mountains better than all hk singers nowadays. Just shows how great his singing was in his prime.
@ Jessiexx
If anyone who wants to listen to Jacky Cheung, should just sit buy a CD and sit at home listening. If that is not enough then buy a great HIFI set, good speaks or good headsets. Who would want to go to pay to travel his concert to see that kind of stage presence?
#14 Kristy has been my favorite since the start! I think she is really pretty and well mannered but does look quite mature for her age. Out of all the contestants, I think she has a good face and the most potential as leading lady in TVB dramas. #15 Carina had a very unmemorable performance. Like another user said before, she is bland. I feel like she has always been bland though. I can’t remember a single thing she said. And #8 Sabina. Is it Sabina or Sabrina? I’ve seen it spelled both ways repeatedly. Anyway, that poor girl wanted the crown so bad. For how poorly she performed during her Q&A, I really think it would have ruined her chance of getting first place. But interestingly enough, they still gave it to her. I feel like her family isn’t supportive of her and she probably feels a lot of pressure to win a title just like her mom and aunties did, so I think this was a huge deal to her. I never found her attractive though. Many people have commented and said she looks like Michelle Reis but I don’t think so at all. And she was so nervous the entire night that her smile was forced and she didn’t look her best on finals night. She absolutely did shine during semi-finals though. I don’t foresee her having an acting career or future with TVB. Her face isn’t that suitable for the big screen. The most surprising of the night was #10 Penny who won Miss Photogenic. What on earth?!! lol I think everyone’s jaws dropped. Her along with Rachel and was it Michelle and Vincy were all so unmemorable for me. None of them have the classic looks to be considered beautiful. I am not saying they are unattractive. I just meant to say they are all your pretty average looking Asian girl. Small eyes, small features. Nothing outstanding. I’m really really shocked and surprised she won that award. I don’t know who should have gotten it instead… any of the top 3 or Fabienne. #4 Fabienne grew on me. I didn’t find her pretty when she first joined the competition but I do like how she carries herself and she lost a bit of weight especially on her face so I feel like she has gotten prettier over time. I felt like she did well enough but perhaps didn’t place because they didn’t want netizens to complain she won because of her dad. Plus she has a tattoo. But I think she will have acting opportunities regardless so she’ll be fine. I’m surprised Kathy… the director girl became a hot fav when they did the polls. Like Penny, Rachel, Vincy, and Katerina, Kathy was in the same pool for me meaning they were all just going to be fellow contestants. Never had a chance. I think Kathy answered well and was witty. If only she was prettier, I think she would have placed. Oh well. It seems like winning Miss HK or placing in the top 3 isn’t even that big of a deal anymore these days. Any contestant can get a contract since TVB is so lacking in new artists and talent. Maybe not placing is a blessing in disguise because then you can be offered a contract right away and start acting/doing shows rather than commit to a year of MHK duties.
I dont think Sabina did too bad on her Q&A. She looks nothing like Michelle Reis. I thought Michelle was quite pretty. I dont understand the whole tattoo issue. If the judges actually mind, then why would they admit someone with a tattoo?
I have finally worked out why Miss HKs don’t seem particularly good looking in the pageant – the make up is OTT and universally the same (scarlet lips, thick eyeliner and heavy blush) even if it doesn’t suit them. Last year’s winner looks exceptionally pretty in the clip with her natural make up (much better than when she was a contestant).
Last year’s winners are so much prettier compared to this year. Maybe it was the live online interview. They should do that again.
I think based on the clip, the top 3 this year look pretty good. It’s just the unflattering make up that is hiding their features.
Haven’t been watched the show wonder if her Cantonese are any good since she’s mixed? Her last name says Mendes? But then the Chinese character says sung? I thought she looked a bit like either Fiona Leung or Alvina Kong sister?