HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE!!!!

What a wonderful week to be watching “Miss America Reality Check”!!! Hopefully you caught last week’s episode — All I can say is WOW! What a REVEALING look at these girls!!!

In case you missed it (although I think almost everyone’s officially addicted as of last week) — the girls all came out in their competition swimsuits, makeup, hair and heels. Only to be asked questions that would show who was “Smarter than a Miss USA Girl”! They were forced to jump into the pool if they didn’t answer the trivia question correctly… hence cleansing them of their hair and makeup. Once the competition was over, the girls were in their “natural state” (ha) and the fabulous makeover mavens swooped in to give their opinion’s about how to fix each girls’ look.

The biggest drama came when Miss Illinois REFUSED to take part in the makeover session… opting instead NOT to have 3 inches cut off her hair as the makeover men suggested (I still can’t believe she said no!). And can I just say… that after these makeovers, some of those girls looked TOTALLY DIFFERENT (check out Miss Rhode Island’s new pics at the Miss Rhode Island site! AMAZING!). At the end of the day – the ‘expert panel’ once again chose a top 3 and a bottom 3. Here are their selections:

Top 3 = Washington DC, Indiana and ILLINOIS (seriously – what kind of message is that? Selecting the girl who said “NO” to their help? C-Mon! I’d be super-confused if I were the rest of the girls!)

Bottom 3 = Washington, Alaska and Utah (yes – Utah went from the Top 3 to the Bottom 3 in one week. If she doesn’t learn how to get into the Fashion Groove she won’t make it beyond the top 10! Just my opinion.).

I had picked out Washington to make my top 10 before seeing any of these episodes…and I’m sticking with her for now. I’m telling you – I think there’s a little reverse psychology going on here. For the states that typically do well (Georgia, Texas, California, Alabama) – I’m still seeing them in the top 15 at least (yes – this year there’s a top 15… more on that later)… only because these girls are come from amazing state programs where they are going to make whatever adjustments necessary to succeed. Further – I’m counting on their competitive juices to kick in and be “on their game” come competition week.

Plus – I just don’t know how convinced I am that Miss America is going to go for this whole new-image-thing. I remember when Ericka Dunlap from Florida won Miss America 2004… She was the only one maintaining her composure on stage and looking like a “lady” when several of the other girls were “raising the roof” and acknowledging the crowd after answering a current events question correctly on stage (during the short-lived “casual wear” competition they used to have). I just don’t know if Miss America has it in her to crown an actual “It-Girl”…. I think they just want their appearance/hair and makeup to be more “up to date” – essentially crowning the same kind of girl, just giving her a “new and improved” outer appearance.

But we shall see… I’ve certainly been wrong before (heck, I hardly knew the current Miss America was even on stage last year. She never struck me as having any charisma whatsoever – so what do I know anyway?).

OK – So – There’s one more episode THIS FRIDAY NIGHT (dates and times are the same as reported last week – or check out TLC’s website for yourself)… I think this might be the one where Miss Colorado cries… but then again, maybe they just aired that for promotional purposes. Looks like the girls are going to be walking down the ramp doing their best “America’s Next Top Model” impersonation… AND – I think they’re going to tell us who the winners are for the whole stinking week. I’m considering it my last shot at getting to know the girls’ personalities before competition week and using such information for my Top 10 list.

THAT MEANS NEXT WEEK YOU’LL BE GETTING DAILY EMAILS FROM ME as we prepare for the Finals on Saturday night, January 26th. As always – you can get the full scoop at www.tlc.com , www.missamerica.org and www.tftj.com . You might want to make some notes as you watch Friday’s episode – you’ll need them come next week as we announce preliminary winners in each category. 🙂 Plus – I don’t know how long each state’s video will be up at tlc.com… so you might want to pay attention to those as well!!!

It’s so close I’m almost giddy about it!!! Just think! In less than 9 days we’ll have ourselves a NEW MISS AMERICA!!!!!!! Whooooooo Hooooooo!

Miss You All! Take Care!

crl

Hey Everyone!

Here we are… One week closer to a new Miss America!!! If you didn’t get the chance to see the “Reality Show” on TLC last Friday – do yourselves a favor and make a date for tomorrow night! I’m telling you – it’s worth it!

Here’s a brief summary of what happened last week – all the girls live in the same house and did a couple of different contests, which in my personal, humble opinion, really don’t matter at all.

What mattered, were the three “celebrity judges”… A stylist, a photographer and an editor of OK Magazine. Apparently, these three people, who know absolutely nothing about pageants, are in charge of finding the new Miss America. At the end of the show, they chose a “Top 3” and a “Bottom 3”. Here’s who they chose:

Top 3 = Pennsylvania, Utah and South Carolina
Bottom 3 = Vermont, Idaho and Oklahoma (and if you remember, the last 2 Miss America’s have come from Oklahoma!!! I think they did it on purpose — saying “This is no longer what we will crown”. Geesh!)

They made these decisions based on the girls’ ability to communicate and lead – as well as their fashion sense, hair and makeup. Those with big hair and makeup were in the bottom 3 (except for Vermont, who had little to no fashion sense whatsoever). As for the Top 3 – my money says both South Carolina and Utah will make the top 10, not sure yet about Pennsylvania.

However – the best part from last week — are the promos for this week!!!

THEY’RE ACTUALLY GOING TO CUT HAIR!!!!! We’re talking Total Makeovers for some – I’m sure a little less radical for others. Now – you may not think this is a big deal.. But as I told Jimmy – You can’t hardly change your shampoo without your state director’s permission!!! I can’t believe some of them are going to come home with brand-new, “trendy” hair-cuts!!! Plus – I understand Miss Nebraska goes from a Blonde to a Brunette!!! Can you hear my laughter coming out of the computer??? This is really dramatic stuff for Miss America!!!

Which leads me to believe that the new Miss America will be more stylish, more charismatic and down-right “Hollywood”. Don’t count on Talent to save anyone – this is going to be decided by who looks good on camera and who can be “engaging” in a crowd of people. Look for the one that the other girl’s are drawn to… that’s likely going to be someone that “regular people” will be drawn to.

OH! I almost forgot! I found this link on Facebook — it’s an interview with Miss Utah on the CBS Morning Show. She has her “new hair” and lots of pictures from her former days in Afghanistan as an army medic…. Very Captivating!

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1341017747

Hope you get to see it – she’s definitely got personality… just depends how the new “modern judges” want to look at the “war issue” in her life (because I’m guessing that Hollywood types aren’t going to to think that any war is “cool” and cerntainly not very modern).

Otherwise – Here are the times that you can catch “Miss America Reality Check” on TLC:

Friday Night at 9pm central, 8pm mountain
Friday Night/Saturday morning at midnight central, 11pm mountain
Saturday Afternoon at 2pm central, 1pm mountain
Monday Night at 9pm central, 8pm mountain
Monday Night/Saturday morning at midnight central, 11pm mountain

I’m telling you – TIVO is a great thing! You won’t want to miss this episode! They’ll once again be choosing a top 3 and a bottom 3… and we’ll get to see what the “New” Miss America is supposed to look like. 🙂

You can also visit www.tlc.com and click on “get to know the contestants” to see home-videos of the girls… I’m looking for the most spontaneous one (or at least someone who can be spontaneous) rather than give the most “predictable, pageant girl” answers.

Whooooooo Hooooooooo! What a year it’s going to be!!!!!!!!!

Love Y’All!

crl

Ladies and Gentlemen…

Everyone’s favorite time of year is just around the corner… That special time when we all unite around a common purpose and love for all things that sparkle! Yes – it’s time to Crown a NEW MISS AMERICA!!!

In multiple years past, I’ve compiled emails for friends and family which I’ve sent out daily. But this year, rather than bothering your inbox with my silly, but exceptionally thoughtful emails, I decided to officially begin this blog. Just for fun, I’m going to post some of my emails from previous years (kinda like a high-light reel for pageant people) so we can re-live some of the bright spots as well as the big upsets (can we say, Vermont and “Talent Winner” in the same sentence?). Might be a bit confusing, but I’ll do my best!

Also – This year, I’m THRILLED to report that I’ll be making the trip to Las Vegas, to watch the 90th Anniversary of Miss America Live and IN PERSON! Not only that, but I’ll be reporting live for my radio station – which means I’m hoping to get even more inside scoop than normal! Perfect time to launch a blog — I’m sure you’ll never be the same! 🙂

So – get ready! The big day is January 15th on ABC!

Now… back to hunting down my tiara… 🙂

crl