In Starmometer’s 2nd Hot Picks for the ongoing 65th Miss Universe pageant, we picked the 6 ladies who are crowd favorites, most photographed and who all made an impact in previous events. We will call them the “Front Runners” and I’d love to see any of them in the Final 3 come coronation night on January 29, 2017 (Jan. 30 in the morning, Manila time).

1. Miss Venezuela – Mariam Habach is getting everyone’s attention lately. With or without sash factor, she’s well prepared to compete and she exudes confidence in her walk. Let’s see if she can maintain the top position of our Hot Picks list after the preliminary competition.

2. Miss Philippines – In a group of similar pretty faces, Maxine Medina’s beauty stands out. She’s very charismatic and her walk exudes elegance. But here’s the sitch: she can only make it to the Top 3 if she can hurdle the Question and Answer portion in the Top 6 round of the competition.

3. Miss Colombia – Andrea Tover, our previous leader, is still Top 3 material despite the controversial video of her mocking the Mexican accent and criticizing the food given by one of the sponsors went viral last week. She embodies the Miss Universe tagline “Confidently Beautiful.”

4. Miss Brazil – Raisa Santana has a captivating beauty and her likeability factor is very high. Her signature big hair makes her a stand out and over the weekend, she proved that she can also don a different hair style. She’s in our Top 5 before and she still is now.

5. Miss Thailand – The no. 1 threat to Maxine is the Pinay-looking Chalita Suansane. If there’s a Miss Photogenic award this year, she is the winner, hands down.

6. Miss Australia – Just like the Philippines, Australia is also doing very well in Miss Universe in the last 5 years. And Caris Tiivel has all the qualities to keep this momentum for her country. If she can make it to Top 6, she can easily earn a Top 3 spot because of her interview skills.

We will release our 3rd and final Hot Picks this weekend. This will reflect the contestants’ performance in the Swimsuit and Evening Gown competition this Thursday.