RESULTS: Miss Vacationland

Miss Vacationland: Allison Goodwin

1st Runner-up: Alyssa Phillips

2nd RUnner-up: Maria Minnick

Interview: Allison Goodwin

Talent: Rachel Jones

Swimsuit: Elizabeth Adamescu

Best of Luck to the Miss Vacationland Program Tonight!

Right now in Port Clinton eight area women are vying for the title Miss Vacationland, one of only a handful of local pageants in the country run by a former Miss America. Executive Director Jacqueline Mayer was the first to hold this title and with it went on to be named Miss Ohio 1962 and Miss America 1963. Mayer resurrected the pageant last year and Jacquelyn Nichols, a former Miss Ohio USA contestant, was crowned. Nichols will be joined onstage tonight by the reigning Miss Ohio, Becky Minger.

According to THIS article, the winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship in addition to entrance to Miss Ohio this summer. Miss Vacationland is a "closed" program, meaning the following participants have to live, work and/or attend school in Erie, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Lucas, Wood, Wyandot, Huron, Lorain, Cuyahoga or Wayne counties.

The contestants:

Allison Goodwin

Education: Ohio University / Dietetics

Platform:

Talent: jazz dance

Pageant Past: competed at Mansfield/NCO, MV/AAC/FT, CO, Clayland, NC; 1st RU at GC/CC; Miss North Royalton 2009 (non-MAO)

Alyssa Phillips

Education: Bowling Green State University / Apparel Merchandising

Platform: Ending Domestic Violence

Talent: jazz dance "My New Philosophy"

Pageant Past: Congeniality at Mansfield/NCO; 1st RU recently at Miss NWO; competed at Miss MV/AAC/FT

*She was 2nd RU at this pageant last season!

Christina Muha

Education: University of Toledo / Nursing

Platform: Heart to Heart: Be Smart

Talent: vocal "Don't Rain on my Parade"

Pageant Past: Has competed for a couple years.

* She competed at this pageant last season.

Elizabeth Adamescu

Education: Kent State University / Theatre & Dance

Platform:

Talent: lyrical dance "Bluebird"

Pageant Past: none found

* She is the college roommate of a current local titleholder!

Heather Isbell

Education: New York Institute of Photography

Platform:

Talent: vocal "My Immortal"

Pageant Past: none found

* She is the only "hometown girl."

Maria Minnick

Education: Owens College / Special Education

Talent: dance "Baby"

Platform: Think Ability before Disability

Pageant Past: competed at Miss MV/AAC/FT and for the past couple years

* She competed at this pageant last season.

Jessica Nelson

Education: University of Toledo / Biology & Pre-Vet

Talent: lyrical ballet en-point "Alice"

Platform: P.E.T.S.

Pageant Past: 4th RU at Miss NWO; competed at Miss MV/AAC/FT, 2nd RU at Miss GC/CC and 4th RU at North Coast

* She competed at this pageant last season.

Rachel Jones

Education: Baldwin-Wallace / Musical Theatre

Talent: vocal "Somebody Somewhere"

Platform:

Pageant Past: Jr. Miss experience

** HUGE THANKS TO MY SPECIAL INFORMANT WHO GAVE ME MUCH OF THIS INFORMATION! **

As always, email or leave a comment with corrections, updates and new headshots. pageantblogger@yahoo.com

Pageant Poll: The "Joy" of Judging?

When comedian and television host Joy Behar was named to the 2011 Miss America judging panel some Rush Limbaugh fans were appalled by her selection and her politics. To that I roll my eyes and say at least she doesn't have a record! Others questioned if she was appropriate for the position based on her cynicism. But during the pageant she spoke positively about her experience. She joked, certainly, but overall she seemed to be impressed by the young women she was judging.

Joy skypes into The View from Las Vegas

"I have a renewed respect for Miss America... These girls are very smart, they're all educated, they're very articulate, they have talent. They know how to wear a dress and a bathing suit, I mean, they're toned. It's an incredible thing that they are able to do."

At the post-pageant press conference Behar said, "I came into this the unlikely judge; I think people were thinking I'd be hostile to it or something but I found it to be charming. I found it to be incredibly interesting... (minute 10, here).

Other videos:

The Judges Press Conference

Joy talks to fellow judges Marc Cherry and Marilu Henner on her show

But then, after the crown went on one woman and the the stilettos came off 52 others, the truth seemed to come out and ABC just couldn't resist posting this headline: JOY BEHAR BLASTS MISS AMERICA PAGEANT

In short, during this Hot Topics session on The Veiw Elizabeth said she hates everything about the competition. (I didn't watch her season of Survivor, but I have to imagine she was probably also running around on national TV, in a swimsuit, for a COMPETITION!) Barbara seems to love everything about Miss America and I agree with other fans that they should ask her to judge next year. From this clip, I find it a little difficult to decipher if Joy dislikes the whole thing, or just swimsuit...?

According to Twitter, Joy was going to further talk about the Miss America swimsuit competition on her CNN show on January 24th. I held off on posting this topic, in hopes of finding a clip from that, but I can not. If you have a link or watched and know what she said, please leave a comment.

So the question remains... Did Joy enjoy her Miss America judging experience and was she a good judge?

Miss America 2011: Based on comments during and after the pageant, was Joy Behar a good judge?Market Research

***

Here are my thoughts:

I actually think having a skeptical outsider is a good thing! Miss Whoever needs to be able to go out to all sorts of events and be liked by Joe Public. That's the point of having novice judges on the panel at the state and local level. Sure, pageant types know if the gown is an outdated knock-off and roll our eyes when we hear "Orange Colored Sky" for the millionth time, but it doesn't take a pageant enthusiast to know if a woman is personable or beautiful or talented. Furthermore, I don't think you have to love every aspect of your hobby. I know a lot of football fans who can't stand the new coaches reviews and automatic video reviews and bla, bla, bla, but they still enjoy the game! So who cares if Joy Behar doesn't like the swimsuit competition, she spoke highly of the interviews and talents.

There are plenty of strong feminist who follow the Miss America organization; they're contestants, former contestants and volunteers who could take or leave the swimsuit competition, but in general, they love Miss America. Swimsuit will always be a hot topic (pun intended!) Speaking out about it doesn't make Joy Behar a bad judge; if anything, pageant fans should thank her for keeping Miss America in the headlines a few extra days.

That's what this blogger thinks, how about you? Leave a comment! (Anonymous commenting is an option, but I approve or decline them before they're posted.)

Upcoming Fundraiser: Miss WCO

On Saturday, February 12th the Miss West Central Ohio program (and sister titles) will hold a fundraiser at the Howard Johnson in Lima; 7:30 p.m. Miss West Central Ohio, Miss Lima Square Fair, Miss Crystal Lake and Teens will all be on hand for the event which includes a silent auction. "3 Blonde Moms" will headline; they are clean comedy for the whole family.

** Attention local titleholders! If you would like to attend and be introduced and possibly perform email funnyles@aol.com ASAP! **

$20 cover; contact a Miss WCO titleholder, the email above or get tickets at the door.

Miss America 2011: Press Junket

Foreign Press Interview

The Ad Council

The Wendy Williams Show

Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, was on the Wendy Williams Show Tuesday, January 18th. If you go to the show's WEBSITE you can currently watch the video, but it looks like it will probably disappear soon.

Opening the NASDAQ

The View

I can't find a code to embed the video, so CLICK HERE to watch it. Teresa joins the ladies at about the seventh minute.

FOX & Friends

FOX & Friends "After the Show"

This year Miss America got an impressive amount of national attention! Obviously The View and Joy Behar Show promoted the pageant since Joy was a judge. Miss America was also mentioned in SNL's Weekend Update, The Soup, The Chelsea Handler show, Jay Leno's monologue (boo!) and David Letterman did a Miss America Top 10 list and is has 1st Runner-up, Miss Arkansas, on his show tonight. Click here for a list of video links from Miss America week.

All the photos in this post were copied from Miss America's Facebook page.

Miss America 2011: Media Tour

The newly crowned Miss America, Teresa Scanlan is now in New York City for her media tour! Tune in to see her on The View on ABC and FOX and Friends on cable Monday morning, January 17. She'll open the stock market Tuesday and visit The Wendy Williams Show. The Joy Behar Show is in there somewhere as well; in years past Miss America has done Regis & Kelly but I haven't heard about that yet this year.

Miss America 2011: Meet Teresa!

I'll be honest, I was disappointed that some of the more talented women were excluded from the top five and after the onstage questions I though the placement would go like this: Hawaii, Oklahoma and/or Washington, Nebraska and then Arkansas as Miss America. When it came to the final two Miss Arkansas looked more like the winner and my viewing party was a little underwhelmed with the crowning. I wasn't excited about and did not closely follow the reigns of either Miss America or Miss USA in 2010 and was sad that 2011 would be another lackluster year... However, my opinion was immediately changed as soon as I started watching Teresa Scanlan's post-pageant interviews!

She is warm, charming, well-spoken, intelligent and obviously wise beyond her years!

She is the middle of seven children from a small town in Nebraska. Her mother is a first generation citizen; her grandparents escaped communist Yugoslavia. Teresa began pageants when she was 13, but was always told she was "too mature" for the teen programs. As soon as she turned 17 she entered and won her first Miss local pageant, obviously she won her first time at Miss Nebraska, and now is the youngest Miss America (since the first pageant in 1921). She aspires to be a politician, has played the piano for 11 years and advocated eating disorder awareness. Does she have a boyfriend? "No. Seventeen year old boys... enough said!" Watch the press conference below to see the face she made to go along with this answer!

At this press conference each judge spoke briefly about the new Miss America. Dancer Tony Dovolani dipped her and said she is everything he wants his daughter to grow up to be like. Former Miss America Debbye Turner Bell's admission speaks volumes, "I remember asking her, 'convince me you're not too young to do this job' and I will tell you, by the time she finished answering that question, I was embarrassed for having asked it."

I think if you watch just a few moments of this press conference you will be impressed, or at the very least be surprised that she is only 17!

Teresa as Miss Nebraska:
Teresa at Miss America:

Tune into The View on ABC and FOX and Friends on cable Monday morning, January 17,

to see more of Teresa!

Miss America 2011: COMPLETE RESULTS!

CONGRATULATIONS TO MISS AMERICA 2011,

NEBRASKA'S TERESA SCANLAN!

Miss America ($50,000) - Miss Nebraska
Teresa Scanlan

1st RU ($25,000)- Miss Arkansas - Alyse Eady

2nd RU ($20,000) - Miss Hawaii - Jalee Fuselier

3rd RU ($15,000)- Miss Washington - Jacquie Brown

4th RU ($10,000) - Miss Oklahoma - Emoly West

Remaining Top 10 ($ ??)

Miss Arizona - Kathryn Bulkley

Miss Virginia - Caitlin Uze

Miss California - Arianna Afsar

Miss Delaware - Kayla Martell (America's Choice)

Miss Kentucky - Djuan Trent (Contestant's Choice)

Remaining Top 12 ($ ??)

Miss Texas - Ashley Melnick

Miss New York - Claire Buffie (America's Choice)

Remaining Top 15 ($ ??)

Miss Rhode Island - Deborah Saint-Vil

Miss Utah - Christina Lowe

Miss Oregon - Stephenie Steers (Contestant's Choice)

Nonfinalist Interview ($ ??)

Miss Iowa

Nonfinalist Talents ($1000)

Miss Indiana

Miss North Carolina

Miss Mississippi

Miss Minnesota

Miss Congeniality ($ ??) - Miss Michigan

Quality of Life

Winner ($6000) - Miss Michigan

1st RU ($4000) - Miss Delaware

2nd RU ($2000) -Miss New Jersey

Semifinalist ($ ??) - Miss Georgia

Semifinalist ($ ??) - Miss Maryland

Semifinalist ($ ??) - Miss Minnesota

Semifinalist ($ ??) - Miss Virginia

FourPoints Scholarship ($2000)

Miss District of Columbia

Preliminary Talent ($2000)

Miss North Carolina

Miss Rhode Island

Miss Nebraska

Preliminary Swimsuit ($1000)

Miss Hawaii

Miss Alabama

Miss Oklahoma

EACH NONFINALIST RECEIVES $3000

CLICK HERE for a great Las Vegas Sun article

and more pictures!

Crowning moment:

Post-Pageant Interviews:

Miss America 2011: TONIGHT!!!

Tonight is finally the night!!!

The 90th Miss America will be crowned live on ABC!

Well, not "live" for everyone... :(

It's live at 9 p.m. Eastern, which is actually 6 p.m. in Las Vegas where it's happening, as well as here in L.A. where I am. It doesn't air until 9 p.m. here, which is an hour after the entire thing is actually over.

I've decided I'm going to read online to find out who makes the Top 15, but then I'm padlocking my laptop and hiding my iPhone in the freezer! Pageants just aren't as fun to watch when you know the results, so please don't text me the winner or expect any live updates here. Follow the links in the sidebar for immediate pictures; your best bet is Miss America's Facebook page.

GOOD LUCK BECKY!!!

Miss America 2011: My Predictions!

After cross referencing my preliminary comments and doing some whittling, I've come up with the following Top 15! I'm usually awful at this, but we shall see!

Alabama * Arizona * California * Delaware * Florida * Kentucky * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * North Carolina * Ohio * Oklahoma * Tennessee * Utah * Virginia

On the bubble:

Arkansas * Indiana * Louisiana

I was really rooting for New York because I love her platform so much, but I just don't think it's going to happen for her. I also left two of the preliminary winners off my list, Rhode Island and Hawaii. I just didn't see "it" with either of them.

Miss America 2011: Watch Prelim Night Three!

1 of 3 - Intros galore and some of the Mu talents:

2 of 3 - some Mu Talent, Alpha Swimsuit and most Sigma Onstage Questions:

3 of 3 - last two Sigma Onstage Questions, second half of Mu Talents and Alpha Evening gown:

Oh no! Why does the video quality seem even lower than the two previous nights?! It's so wonderful that it's online at all, but it's really difficult to form an informed without being able to see the details...

Talent - Mu group

Kansas (ballet en point) - Ugh! This video is killing it for me! It seems like this was probably wonderful, but it's so hard to tell...

Kentucky (vocal) - Her voice sounds great; less nerves than other vocalist. I think this was a great, soulful song selection that suits her well! Great job!

Oregon (vocal) - When I first heard "Bonnie Raitt" I was surprised because Miss Oregon has had such a sweet vibe to me... She does have the right deep quality in her voice for this song and I love this outfit, but overall she's just not pulling off the high notes. It sounds like karaoke at a bar! I really wanted to put her in my Top 15, but this performance may have just pulled her back out. :(

Oh my, this host is DREADFUL!

Alaska (piano) - Yay! Finally a pianist that stood while being introduced and was able to flip her own dress over the seat; I think it looks much better that way. Wait, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is normally so recognizable, I do not like this rendition. Her accompaniment track is WAY to loud and involved, you can't hear her playing.

Virgin Island (dance) - I LOVE this song! It's the contemporary Alexandra Burke version of "Hallelujah." I'm suddenly thinking this would be a fantastic song from Ohio's Becky Minger to sing! As for Miss VI, I thought it was alright until she started rolling around the stage like a four year old... NEXT!

Arizona (opera) - Her gown is lovely, but this video quality is getting worse... "Nessun Dorma" is extremely difficult; she seemed to handle it pretty well. Her end notes were a bit pinched, it was good, but she's no Leslie Ondry! ;)

Wyoming (jazz dance) - Another great song selection, "Ain't No Sunshine." I'm pretty dance ignorant, but this looks much more like lyrical than jazz...? Let's hope she had a lot of emotion in person because on the video its lacking energy.

Colorado (tap dance) - Haha! She's using Dolly Pardon's "Nine to Five" and is tapping on a suitcase. It's cute, but doesn't add enough to justify the distraction of a prop. I'm so underwhelmed with tonights dancers, but I think its just because of the awful video quality...

Wisconsin (opera) - Zzzzzz...!!! I found that to be a poor operatic song selection for Miss America and her high notes were screetchy. Am I in a really bad mood, or is this a weak talent group?

Nebraska (piano) - Very nice! She performed "White Water Chop Sticks," which was a nice combination of a familiar melody with pageant showiness.

Virginia (river dance tap) - I love her sparkly black costume, as opposed to the usual heavier looking river dance outfits. Her dance was energetic, entertaining and seemed technically sound. Great job!

Washington (vocal) - She's trying to do a soulful version of the Temptation's "Papa was a Rolling Stone." Much like Oregon, the song just doesn't seem to fit; it was probably better live but seemed a bit shouty on the video.

New Jersey (tap dance) - Hey, look, she borrowed a Vegas showgirls feathers for her booty! I hate her music and the routine has a little girls dance recital vibe to me.

Nevada (vocal) - Oh my, it's karaoke night! Singing Heart's "Alone," she's in the same boat as Oregon and Washington. Cute outfit, weak vocals.

Alabama (vocal) - I'm holding my breath as I watch her sing "If I had my way." I absolutely love this girl in all the other phases and I'm so hoping her talent doesn't ruin her for me... Okay, it's certainly not great, but not awful. It's a Linda Eder version and thus, very pageanty, as we expect from the south. Had this been amazing, I think she would have been most people's hands down favorite, but it's not. I don't think it's bad enough to hurt her, but it didn't exactly help either...

Connecticut (vocal) - "Journey to the Past" from Anastasia. Beautiful gown but I feel like I'm suddenly watching a local pageant. Is she allowed to perform at the end of the runway? Oh well, weak vocals, it doesn't matter.

Maryland (vocal) - Another beautiful gown! Her rendition of "A Change in Me" was good, among a very weak flight.

A good rule of thumb is to hide your weakest phase of competition, so not surprisingly, this, the last group of talents, was lackluster to say the least!

I did like Arizona, Virginia, Kentucky and can certainly see why Nebraska won.

Swimsuit - Alpha group

Based on what I could make out, my favorite walks were Arkansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico and Tennessee

Compared to last night, Arkansas was wonderfully slow and controlled, Minnesota seemed sassy and Michigan had a weird thing going on with her arm but otherwise looked confident. Oklahoma had the best turn I think I've seen and was very sassy and confident; based on this video, her win was obvious. Puerto Rico did well and seemed sexy. Tennessee also did a wonderful job.

Sadly, New Mexico and New York didn't handle the turn well. Georgia manipulated the steps the best of anyone, but had an awkward prance the rest of the time. North Carolina disappointed and Hew Hampshire was awkward.

Onstage Question - Sigma Group

Ohio - Great job! I really like the juxtaposition of her very serious, well spoken answer with her sassy, fashion forward outfit. She was the only contestant to wear pants instead of a cocktail dress.

Q: In an ideal world we would put an end to bullying, but in this one for the time being we might have to settle for teaching kids to deal with it. How can we help victims conquer the self image and self respect issues that often steam from bullying?

A: I think the most important thing that we need to focus on is that there's a breakdown in the communication infrastructure in our schools and in the lives of our children. I think we need to make sure that kids, ah, understand that they need to communicate with their peers, the bystanders, the teachers and their parents. And we need to make sure that we're giving all those people the tools they need to help our kids with the difficult situation of bullying because bullying is no longer just a fist fight on the play ground; bullying is now guns in schools and cyber bullying to the point of suicide.

In addition to Ohio I thought Montana, Illinois, Florida and Utah spoke well.

On the other hand Massachusetts and Idaho struggled. Unfortunately South Dakota's answer was cut off, so was Indiana's question; her answer was a bit over dramatic to me.

"Thank you Brad, you did a good job." Stop lying, Kimberly Aiken!

Evening Gown - Alpha group

Is it just me or did ALL the slits in the pageant end up in this group?! I found most of them very distracting! My favorite gown presentations were from Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Not surprisingly, Puerto Rico proved she's a confident model tonight. Tennessee was great, but I wish she would have flown her train with both hands, not just one; either go for it or don't! Oklahoma looked stunning! I think she wore the gown better than Florida, not that we should compare, but we do... However, I wish she would not touch her hips and booty so much!

Did you notice, New Hampshire was wearing a gown worn at state by Ohio's Miss Lake Festival, Devon Stansbury and I believe Miss West Virginia's gown is the same as Ohio's Miss Lima Square Fair, Elissa McCracken won in.

And now... time to cross reference three nights of my snarky comments and make a Top 15 list! Off the top of my head I like Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, California and Alabama!

***

[Insert announcer voice here!]

The preceding was unpaid. The claims and opinions expressed are those of MISScellanea and its one and only writer/editor/chief of staff, formulated after viewing a low quality YouTube video. If you are offended by the views expressed here longer than two-and-a-half seconds, please consult a therapist immediately and stop being a fan of the SUBJECTIVE sport of pageantry.

Thank you!

Miss America 2011: Prelim Winners in Review

I have a feeling NOT all six of this years preliminary winners will be making the Top 15 at Miss America tomorrow night! Take a closer look at them and tell me what you think!

CLICK HERE!

Miss America 2011: 43 Former Miss Americas Celebrate its 90th

To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of Miss America the largest gathering of former titleholders are in Las Vegas! Several have participated as hosts during the preliminary competition and today they walked in the Show Us Your Shoes parade and had a press conference:

Miss America 2011: Show Us Your Shoes

This morning in Las Vegas the traditional "Show Us Your Shoes" Parade returned to Miss America!

Miss Ohio, Becky Minger, honored both our troops and Ohio's history of aviation:

Her escort is a soldier she met while visiting a veterans hospital; I believe her website will be updated later today with the touching story. Also scroll down Shannon O'Neill's blog to find photos of several other contestants in their parade costumes.

Ohio's Outstanding Teen, Cecili Weber also participated as Miss America 1967, Jane Jayroe's escort!

Miss America 2011: Quality of Life Winners

Although there's no competition, today is full of activities! A press conference following the parade announced the following scholarship recipients:

Quality of Life Winner ($6000) - Miss Michigan

QofL 1st Runner-up ($4000) - Miss Delaware

QofL 2nd Runner-up ($2000) Miss New Jersey

Eight Quality of Life semifinalists were selected based on an application and essay; these women then had interviews (separate from the private competition interviews) to determine the winners above.

The first ever FourPoints Magazine Scholarship ($2000) went to Miss DC.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the pageant the largest gathering of former Miss Americas also met today! 42 in total! Surely photos from the event will surface later...

Miss America 2011: Prelim Night Three Results

Swimsuit - $1000 - Miss Oklahoma

Emoly West

Talent - $2000 - Miss Nebraska

Teresa Scanlan

Miss Nebraska played "White Water Chopped Sticks."

So. Much. Content!!!

Scroll, scroll, scroll below to find a Mu group Favorite Gown poll, competition photos of Miss Ohio in every phase so far and Night Two results and pictures!

Click here for updated video and photo links!

And Mr. Delaware says Delaware, Michigan and New Jersey are the Quality of Life finalists!

Miss America 2011: Prelim Night Two Videos

1 of 3 - Opening, 1st half of Sigma Talents and Mu Swimsuit:

2 of 3 - Teen Introductions, Alpha Onstage Question, 2nd half of Sigma Talent and Mu Evening Gown:

3 of 3 - Awards:

First of all former NFL player Reggie Rivers was a great host! Not all his jokes landed, but he was charming and you could tell the audience enjoyed him! As for the contestants, here are my thoughts...

Talent - Sigma group

Ohio (vocal) - Becky performed a soulful rendition of "A House is not a Home" in a sparkling gown. After the contrived pageant power ballads last night, it was refreshing to hear a song manage to tell a story in only 90 seconds and not just screech the same line over and over! Her vocals were solid! Great job!

Maine (tap dance) - Her dance included tons of very typical, expected tap-looking moves, not that I, a nondancer knows what any of them are. It was cutsy and I wasn't a fan of the fringy costume.

South Carolina (tap dance) - She is dancing a cappella. I don't know about dance, but when people sing a cappella it's just a gimmick! People assume it's more difficult, but for vocalists it's actually easier! Therefore, I'm indifferent to this performance.

Montana (vocal) - She's doing a very old-school pageant song, "Don't Rain on my Parade," making this very easy to pick on. However, her vocals were spot on! It was fantastic, making the song selection forgivable! Second best vocalist so far behind Miss California last night.

Illinois(tap dance) - I like the contemporary club music and citchy flame costume, but it looks like she's really working at it; it was more labored than energetic, if that makes sense...

Vermont (vocal) - I LOVE this song selection! Berlin is classic Broadway, yet it's not a song that's been overdone by beauty queens. However, her performance leaves a lot to be desired; I wish she were more jazz with a red costume and handheld mic and less Laurence Welk. I mean really, aqua feathers?!

Iowa (vocal) - That looks like it's probably a sexy little dress (low video quality) but her vocals are extremely weak and she doesn't have much stage presence.

Florida (vocal) - Oh look, she literally borrowed one of Stephen Tyler's old outfits to sing "Don't wanna miss a thing!" :) I am not a fan of her performance but it's better than the previous two singers.

Delaware (dance) - Okay, there has been so much publicity about this girls wig, how do I keep from watching for it to fly off!? :0 I know that's crass, but seriously?! She was cute and entertaining.

Massachusetts (piano) - I'm finding it a bit odd that all the pianist are getting preset; is this to save time? Her beautiful white gown is absolutely perfect for this soothing piano piece! This is my favorite pianist so far because it's so pleasant to listen to, but I doubt it scored as well as the previous showier arrangements.

Hawaii (vocal) - Sorry, but I'm just not getting the Hawaii hype this year. In fact, I think she may be the prelim winner who doesn't make the cut! Her vocals are extremely weak; you can hear how nervous she is. Also, it's NEVER a good idea to sit during short performances; it kills your energy and in her case the "big reveal" of the short dress when she stood up seriously lacked pay-off. NEXT!

Rhode Island (vocal) - All I can hear is Randy Jackson saying "Pitchy, dog, a little pitchy." It wasn't horrid, but I'm shocked by her Preliminary Talent win. It must have been substantially better live in the theatre.

Idaho (opera) - She was lovely, but neither the dress nor the song selection seemed to be Miss America caliber, I mean, that's what you see from strong local contestants. You could hear some nerves a bit, but overall the vocal quality sounded much better than Rhode Island to me!

Missouri (lyrical dance) - Wow! I really love this! She has all the grace of a ballerina with the energy of the tappers. I can't judge her technique, but I am completely captivated! Great song, beautiful costume, totally enjoyable!

DC (vocal) - "This is my now" by Jordan Sparks was not a great selection because we all know what it should sound like. While she looks sexy in a short sparkling number, her vocals aren't strong enough.

South Dakota (gymnastic dance) - When I hear "gymnastic" I expect a LOT more energy and entertainment value. It seemed like perhaps she was prohibited by the dimensions of the stage.

Indiana (vocal) - BEAUTIFUL! That was a lovely operatic performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone." I feel badly for her because her type of talented probably would have been scored higher a decade ago. An emotional performance with outstanding vocal quality!

Utah (vocal) - It's so refreshing to hear a contemporary performance that actually sits in womans vocal range! Her voice sounds very pure, unlike a lot of the pushed ballads you hear on pageant stages. There's a twang in her tone which makes me wonder if a song by a country vocalist would have been better than this Leona Lewis number. Great job!

I have to say, I'm surprised by Rhode Islands Preliminary Talent win... She would not have even been on my radar! Based on the YouTube video, I thought Montana, Missouri and Indiana were all better. Ohio, Delaware and Utah also performed well.

Swimsuit - Mu group

Is it just me, or did it seem like they sped the pace up and shrunk the swimsuit bottoms tonight?! Much like last night when this group answered their Onstage Question it started off weak, but got progressively better. Again, because of the low video quality it's difficult to see physical and facial details, but that doesn't keeping me from picking hits and misses!

I liked Oregon, Arizona, Virginia and Alabama.

You could tell Arizona literally believed she was working a high fashion catwalk! Even with the lacking video quality you could see Virginia's rock hard body and she was very confident. This group lacked personality, making that what totally set Alabama apart in this video, not to mention the fabulous muscle tone we've seen in pictures. She strutted with snakelike confidence; seriously, did anyone else see her body moving like an S? Alabama deserved the second Preliminary Swimsuit win, but Virginia must have been close!

On the other hand Alaska, Wyoming, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Nevada did not impress.

Onstage Question - Alpha group

I felt the strongest ladies in this group were Pennsylvania, New York, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee!

Among a group of ramblers Pennsylvania was refreshingly concise! I LOVED Miss New Yorks eloquent description of her gay rights platform as a HUMAN issue. Often statistics sound contrived but Mississippi used her in a wonderfully powerful way. Oklahoma was perfectly empowering and well spoken!

Evening Gown - Mu group

I think this group looked lovely in their gowns; several were wonderful! Although I didn't like Kentucky or Arizona's gown styles in pictures, they both had confident onstage walks. Virginia was also very poised and I loved Colorado, was her gown like Massachusetts' but with a slit? In my opinion the gown of the night was, hands down, Alabama!!! Stunning!!!

***

[Insert announcer voice here!]

The preceding was unpaid. The claims and opinions expressed are those of MISScellanea and its one and only writer/editor/chief of staff, formulated after viewing a low quality YouTube video. If you are offended by the views expressed here longer than two-and-a-half seconds, please consult a therapist immediately and stop being a fan of the SUBJECTIVE sport of pageantry.

Thank you!

Miss America 2011 Poll: Favorite Mu Group Evening Gown

View the Mu Group Evening Gowns HERE then vote for your favorite!

Miss America 2011: Favorite Mu group Evening Gown!Market Research

Miss America 2011: Becky in Competition!

Wednesday night Talent:

Tuesday night Evening Gown:
Tuesday night Swimsuit: