Shandi Finnessey: 2011 Miss Universe Pageant Commentator

Shandi Finnessey said it plainly: "The reason I think that Miss USA and Miss Universe still work is because they're so relevant. We change with the times —…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Shandi Finnessey joined the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant as commentator alongside STYLE Network's Jeannie Mai. Crowned Miss USA 2004 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre before a live audience of 13 million viewers, Shandi drew from her experience as Miss USA and first runner-up at the 2004 Miss Universe Pageant. She spoke with Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton from São Paulo ahead of the broadcast.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Miss Colombia made the news recently for being photographed not wearing underwear. What would your advice be to her for this pageant?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: Oh, that's funny — I had not heard that. Well, I think that if it doesn't work for her at Miss Universe she could always move to Hollywood, because that's what Paris did and Britney, and it worked pretty well for them.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Why do you think pageants still work and are so popular?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: I don't think it always does. If you look at Miss America, which continues to lose ratings, they obviously are missing something. The reason I think that Miss USA and Miss Universe still work is because they're so relevant. We change with the times, and so you see a girl who wins Miss USA or becomes Miss Universe and she's not only someone who's obviously very striking and beautiful — she has a message to talk about. As soon as a girl wins Miss USA she becomes a national spokesperson for breast and ovarian cancer, and as soon as a woman is chosen as Miss Universe she becomes an advocate for AIDS and HIV Awareness. So not only is she making a difference, but she's very relevant. She's a girl that you would want to see somewhere and want to be friends with and want to hang out with — and she's sexy, she's opinionated, and she embraces all of that. Last year Miss USA's photos that they took just at the pageant, there was so much controversy because they were so sexy. But that's relevant, that's for the times, and I think that's why it still works.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: As a commentator, what tips would you offer the ladies?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: The number one thing that gives a girl the 'it' factor and makes her stand out is confidence. Obviously all these girls are beautiful — they've already won their pageant in their home country and they're considered the icon of beauty from wherever they're from. So it's the girl who's really confident in her own skin who stands out because of that. And I don't think personally that the final question matters too much, because by that point you've already seen the girl compete in so many different phases of competition that you already know who probably could handle the job of being Miss Universe to the best of their ability. I think the final question only comes into play when you're really torn between two girls. Obviously if one girl completely flubs the last question she could fall in her ranking, but otherwise I don't think it weighs as much as people think.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: In this stage of the pageant, what do the women do to calm their nerves?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: It's different for everyone. I ate a bunch of candy — for the interview I ate a bunch of peppermint candies because I wanted the peppermint to calm my nerves but the sugar to give me a little rush so that I had a lot of energy. But I also did a lot of deep breathing, and on the nights before I went to bed I would do some meditation just to calm myself. But it's like a sisterhood — it's almost like a sorority with all the girls, a very elite sorority, and so you just sort of bond with them and laugh it out, and that kind of helps with the nerves.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How do you recover from a pageant faux pas?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: We've had two Miss USAs that have fallen on stage during the competition, and I think they both handled it really well. One girl took a really strong fall and it looked like it actually hurt, and she just got up and smiled and laughed at the situation. If something like that happens it's really out of your control and all you can do is just have grace through the situation. But I think a faux pas that some girls often make is that they want to be really edgy with their wardrobe and they want a gown that stands out. And instead of doing something simple where you see the girl's beauty, you end up seeing tons of material or sequins or tassels hanging from their garment and it's distracting. I think that's probably the biggest faux pas that we often see.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What would you suggest in terms of wardrobe choices for the ladies?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: It varies depending on who you ask. I had just arrived in São Paulo a few hours ago and I was looking through a huge binder they gave me full of the girls' bios and photos — it's got a picture of them in swimsuit and in their gowns. So I'm already able to see kind of what their gowns look like and it's a really wide variety. Some pretty basic and simple, some very elegant, some more high fashion and runway, and then some that are just really trying to make a statement with a crazy design or cutout materials — and it's going to be really beautiful to watch. I like simple with a great fit. Nothing beats a really great fit on a dress or any wardrobe. As long as it's simple, you don't want a girl to come out and go, "Wow, look at that dress." You want her to come out and you want to say, "Wow, look at that girl." Something that just compliments her — and usually that means going a little bit more simple.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What do you think of the questions that the contestants are being asked?

SHANDI FINNESSEY: The past few years we've been on a trend of just really tough, shocker questions, which is really great. A lot of people say, "Oh, Miss USA, that's just pretty girls — Miss America's the one with the substance." And it's great to show them wrong. The Miss USA girls and Miss Universe girls, we not only look amazing in the swimsuit and gown but we have a brain to go along with it and we are college educated. So it's all over the board — everything from shocking questions, political questions, the faux pas questions that no one wants to even really talk about. And that's actually become one of the more interesting parts of the pageant to watch, because we've seen the mix-ups that have happened in the past — we've heard the South Carolina answer and then the Carrie Prejean answer — so it's going to be really interesting to see what the girls say.

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