“Everything’s happening so fast,” Aiasha said when she spoke with the STAR this week from London. “It’s like a dream! I’m just thankful to my friends, family and all the beautiful people who supported me and most of all to the Most High!”
Aiasha was eager to sum up her Miss World experience and shared what it felt like to leave small Caribbean island and travel halfway across the globe to places she thought she’d only ever see on television.
“I learnt so much about people, their customs, their lifestyles and more so I learnt things about myself that I hadn’t discovered,” she said. “To have friends from all over the world is beyond amazing. All the girls were absolutely beautiful and unique in their own way and although there were language barriers we still managed to communicate through actions and feelings.”
Now that its over, Aiasha says her experience was ‘indescribable.’ She said traveling to faraway country into the hands of strangers and learning to embrace different cultures was scary but at the same time extremely exciting. One of the most amazing parts of her Miss World journey was a visit to the Great Wall of China where the 18-year-old says she really got a chance to appreciate the spectacular view and more so the work that was put into making “such a mind blowing structure.”
“Shanghai was also one of my favourite places,” she said. “It was so modern, chic and advanced that it was like another world. I made friends and got along with as many of the 120 girls as I could.”
When asked Aiasha couldn’t pick just one memorable moment from her experience, but she said one of the moments that stood out was a shared surprise 18th birthday celebration with Miss Paraguay after a welcome dinner in Ordos (Inner Mongolia).
“Everybody sang Happy Birthday in as many as four different languages,” she said. “Then two little, sweet local boys came up and sang Happy Birthday directly to us in Mandarin which was so cute!”
Aiasha said she felt a twinge of sadness added to the excitement on the final day of the competition when she thought of having to say good-bye to the girls she’d been living with for an entire month.
“It was really hard,” she related. “There were many tears, hugs, swapping of numbers and email addresses. The dressing room was filled with music from different cultures and conversations in different languages; it was fabulous to hear! You were hearing Gyptian and Vybz Kartel from the Caribbean and African girls, Katy Perry from the Europeans and Yolanda Be Cool from the Eastern Europeans; it was hilarious!”
Before getting on stage Aiasha said she’d always have a rush of nerves, even for rehearsals, but says the rush added to her excitement and energy on stage.
“The crowd was supportive of every single girl, especially the African supporters who screamed for everyone. All the Caribbean people in the crowd supported each other as well as the Africans. I also had supporters from Europe and East Europe because of the online voting on the Missosology site. To hear people cheer me on and give me love from the crowd brought a burst of excitement and a rush of determination for me which really helped.”
For the talent segment Aiasha says she wanted to do something fun and different, that showcased her Caribbean roots. She sang the Calypso Hot, Hot, Hot in memory of the late Arrow, wearing a shiny red carnival costume.
“The crowd loved it!” she related. “I got everyone singing and dancing along to it and was even asked to perform it again at the family dinner afterwards. I made the top 10 finals from 25 which was a huge achievement.”
At the end of the competition not only did Aiasha earn the Miss World Caribbean title in the Continental Beauty category, she made the top 20 listing of the 120 competing girls.
“I was actually laughing at a joke my mother was giving when I was being announced Miss World Caribbean!” Aiasha revealed. “At first I didn’t even hear it. I thought they were just calling out the names of people who made top 20 and then everyone was like “Aiasha they’re calling you!” So I ran up not knowing why, and realized I was a winner for the Continental Beauty, which was fantastic! I was actually a bit shocked! I was so proud of finally doing it for St Lucia and when I got the award I said, “this is for my country!”
Of her musical path Aiasha says she trying to create a sound that will make people happy. “Something fun just to make people smile.” She says the pageant definitely opened doors for her future, but recognizes that pageantry and music are worlds apart.
The 18-year-old feels she still has a lot to prove musically. Nevertheless, Aiasha is certainly one to watch as she explores the international world of music. She recently hooked up with a top notch management and branding company that has worked with stars like Keri Hilson, Kelly Rowland, Kelis, Kimberley Wyatt, David Guetta and Barbadian model Leah Marville. “I am currently developing my style and developing my talents,” Aiasha said. “I am taking baby steps in the music industry as I want to understand everything I am doing. I am just very lucky to have found the right team. I will never forget my people and that will be clear in my music. I love recording and the songs are sounding great. I’m also exploring modeling avenues. I am currently meeting a few commercial model agencies and I’ve been doing a lot of photoshoots for various magazines. It’s all very exciting. I can’t wait to see what happens next!”
