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!
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