And the Winner Is... 2010

So – who is the new Miss America? Why it’s Caressa Cameron, Miss Virginia!!!!

Miss Virginia won talent the first night by singing Beyonce’s “Listen” from the movie Dreamgirls (she’s the one who looks like Vivica Fox). Upon seeing a few interviews of her after the event – you quickly see why she was chosen --- she’s very sharp and obviously talented! She worked 4 years to become Miss Virginia... Finishing at the 2nd runner up twice, 1st runner up and finally winning the title this year. Her father owns a business and is a musician – her mama is just so stinkin’ proud of her daughter you wanna hug her all over! In a couple of different interviews, I learned that her father had a drug problem years ago and she was made fun of at an early age because of her hand-me down clothing and ‘uni-brow’. Today – she’s Miss America! What a great country :)

In case you didn’t get to see the event... Here’s how the rest of the Top 5 broke out...

4th runner up – Kentucky (or as I liked to call her – Spunky Blonde)
3rd runner up – Louisiana (daughter of a Methodist minister... So sweet)
2nd runner up – Tennessee (this year’s sleeper in my opinion – gorgeous, but very ‘pageant looking’)
1st runner up – California (Jimmy thought she had a ‘weird look’ and told me over and over she wouldn’t win because Miss America couldn’t be weird looking)
Winner – Virginia :)

For the record – when they went to commercial break... I picked 5 states to be in the top 5 no (I didn’t pick the order)... The only one I missed was Tennessee — I chose Hawaii instead (so sorry she didn’t place Cori – I know how much you liked her!). Guess I’m not so awful once I know what the judges are looking for. :)

And now – for my thoughts on the show overall....

Where that Top 15 came from I have no clue. My first list had 9 of the Top 15, but my second list only had 7 of the 15. Ouch.

Colorado and Nebraska are perfect examples of what I said last year when Florida finally hit it out of the park with her Broadway style dance. Get a good choreographer – make a few high kicks – use a few props and voila! You too can dance, as a finalist, on the Miss America stage :)

The opening number was L – O – N – G . . . With a TON of dance moves that personally, I would be annoyed to have to remember. Just sayin...

The 15th finalist being chosen by the girls???? WOW! DOUBLE WOW!!! Makes me wonder if Miss America is trying to get rid of the ‘mean girls’ and make sure everyone plays nice in the future.

Guess the judges didn’t have a problem with blondes after all --- this makes me believe that many of the preliminary winners had to have ‘split’ the judges votes... Meaning, half the judges thought contestant A won prelim talent and contestant B came in second, while the other judges thought contestant C won prelim talent but contestant B still came in second... When votes spit – that means contestant B wins talent.

GO TO VEGASDELUXE.com to see photos of the winner AND an interview with her... You’ll start to see how and why she ran away with this competition. If you’re super curious, you can become a fan of the Miss America Organization on Facebook (seriously SF Amy – you need to join Facebook) and then watch the winner’s first press conference just 45 minutes after winning the title. She has the crowd laughing and gives a wonderfully well-spoken intro thanking the sponsors of Miss America. This girl’s gonna be a hit. :)

And there you go! Another year down and another Miss America crowned! As always, I hope you had a grand old time participating in my crazy-obsession... Next year will make the 90th anniversary of Miss America and I’m toying with the idea of actually going! I figure the older I get, the less likely I’m going to want to go – so perhaps next year would be a fun time to experience the whole thing live. If you’re up for a girls weekend in Vegas and feel like buying your own Fabulous Purple dress between now and then, please let me know!!! I’ll be the one using the stair-master DAILY between now and then (lol) and searching for the most amazing pair of ‘lucky shoes’ :)

Until Next Year.... Sing Along With Me Everyone.... “There She Is.... Miss America.... “

Love to all -

crl