Prelminary Night Number One!!!

HERE WE GO!!!! IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!! We're SO EXCITED because TUESDAY means we actually get to see On-Stage Competitions now!!!

Here's where the fun of this blog began... Several years ago, i started guessing who would win the preliminaries each night and much like a stupid-human-trick, I could 'wow' my friends and family with my predictions. This year is no different, just more people holding me accountable! :)

Here are the rules:
1. Two awards are given each night... one for Swimsuit and one for Talent (no on-stage awards for Evening Gown or On-Stage Question). Three nights of prelims means 6 awards total.
2. I'll select 4 states out of the 17-18 girls who could possibly win. I usually give commentary as well (but of course).
3. The last few years, I've pushed myself to see if I can finish 5/6, but it hasn't happened. A good year is 4/6 and I'm completely annoyed when I finish 3/6. I mean, nearly anyone can do that! :)

Before we begin, I need a small soapbox moment.

I'm really, really surprised to see SO MANY DANCERS at Miss America this year! Out of 53 girls (50 states plus Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and DC), there are 25 dancers! Six are ballet dancers, 4 are Irish Step Dancers, 2 Tap Dancers, 1 Jump Roper (I know, not really dance, but where else are you gonna classify the girl?) and the rest are 'lyrical dancers' or 'jazz dancers' or 'theater dancers' or 'contemporary dancers'. For the record, I'm VERY GLAD Mark Ballas is judging for this reason... I think he'll be able to separate the wannabies from the girls with actual dancing Talent. But honestly, unless your dance looks like this one from Miss Michigan 2011 Katie LaRoche, I'm not super confident in your ability to become Miss America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8CresiwuBE&feature=related

Katie won the Preliminary Talent Award last year and in my humble opinion, this is probably the best non-ballet dance I've ever seen. Yes, there are LOTS AND LOTS of talented dancers in the Miss America system... I hope we see more of them. I credit Sierra Minott (Florida 2008 and 4th runner up) with bringing 'non-ballet dance' back as a viable Talent for Miss America contestants. Prior to that, I could tell you numerous girls who 'danced' for their Talent because they had nothing else they could do (and plenty of them finished in the Top 5 because they were fabulous in interview, swimsuit and evening gown, but had little to no Talent... Molly Hazlett TX, Jennifer Dupont LA, Amanda Kozak GA)!

We need a Miss America with true Talent (dancing or otherwise). To have a Miss America without any Talent means we've given up on one of the biggest distinctions between Miss USA and Miss America. Talent Counts.

Whew! Glad that's over. Now, on to tonight's picks!

Swimsuit = Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, Oklahoma
LOTS of girls won Preliminary Swimsuit at their own state competitions this summer... I could easily miss this one... guess we'll see...

Talent = Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Alabama
I'm going with 3 vocalists and a Tap Dancer... Indiana may surprise me as well... hmmm...

Once we hear the results, we'll update the results on our Facebook page first, then tomorrow we'll give you the results of Tuesday's winners along with our picks for Wednesday's winners.

You're welcome to give us your picks too! Who do you think will win Swimsuit and Talent tonight?