Ask a random sample of 10 people who they think is the most beautiful woman in the world, and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. And as inconsequential as global beauty rankings are, it’s still admittedly nice to see an Indonesian rank among the top.
Lyodra Ginting, who goes by her first name, has become a household name in the Indonesian music scene after winning Indonesian Idol in 2020 and releasing hit singles such as Pesan Terakhir (The Last Message). On the beauty front, the 18-year-old singer was recently placed eighth in an annual poll by TC Candler called “The 100 Most Beautiful Faces 2021.”
Though somewhat enigmatic as a figure, TC Candler’s annual list (as well as The Most Handsome Faces poll for men) is hugely popular in Indonesia as local celebrities have made previous years’ rankings to much media coverage. The 2021 lists were published in late December, with TC Candler saying that 2.5 million votes came in to determine the most beautiful faces of the year.
Aside from Lyodra, other Indonesian entertainers in the 2021 list are singer/actress Maudy Ayunda at 52nd, K-pop girl group Secret Number member Dita Karang at 74th, dangdut singer Ayu Ting Ting at 81st, and teen actress Sandrinna Michelle at 94th.
Highlighting Indonesians’ obsession with K-pop, local media outlets couldn’t resist pointing out that Lyodra beat out three BLACKPINK members who are not Lisa, who topped this year’s list. At times, local media coverage came across as a putdown of Lyodra — as if she wasn’t deserving of the accolade — while others were more celebratory, as if beating three-quarters of BLACKPINK was an ultimate achievement.
Congratulations are in order to Lyodra, we suppose, even though the singer herself clearly takes more pride in her musical achievements judging by her social media posts. There is no mention whatsoever of her TC Candler ranking on her feed, and her singular focus on her musical career is, to us, just beautiful to see.
