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This page is still being compiled.
 May 2007 (October 2007 in print)
Making more than music
by Jack Yan, Lucire
MISS NEW ZEALAND—or more accurately, to give its full title, Miss
Universe New Zealand—was not controversial, at least from the
judges’ room. It was probably the most clear-cut process one could
imagine as Hilary Timmins, Megan Alatini, May Davis, Yvonne Brownlie and
I got together and judged the ladies on criteria such as deportment
and fluency.
After Christchurch’s Laural Barrett was crowned
on the night of March 31, the back-stabbing began. Rumours appearing on
one website indicated conspiracies and how Barrett, 20, was the anointed
winner. The judges, it was alleged, did not do a thing but confirm the
rankings of Val Lott, the pageant director.
It was, of course, all fiction, but it showed how catty
pageantry can get in the age of the blogosphere.
Then, the Fairfax Press decided to publish what I regarded
as a biased story against Barrett, its tall-poppy motives clear to all
involved.
Above all this was Laural Barrett herself, maintaining
a ladylike dignity and commenting in the most correct terms—something
you’d expect a beauty queen to do. In fact, it’s something you’d
expect Miss Universe to do. Her press interviews were poised, and you
get the feeling she has seen all of this before.
It’s not too far from the truth. Barrett has lived
a good deal of her life in the public eye, but I was surprised to learn
just how much her life—and that of her twin sister Sharaine—had
been leading up to her win. continued
online
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About Laural
Laural and her identical twin sister Sharaine
have been singing since their childhoods, and came to national attention
when each competed in the Miss Universe New Zealand pageant. Sharaine
came runner-up in 2006, while Laural won the pageant the following year.
By that time, the sisters had already lived in three countries—New
Zealand, Australia and the United States—pursuing their musical careers.
Laural’s win in 2007 brought international attention, and an album
is in the offing. The pair have made numerous television and magazine
appearances since 2007, increasing their profile each year.
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