HELLO JUNKIES!!!

OH. MY. FREAKING. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS!

You’d think this whole “pageant thing” would get old… After all, I have been watching since Debra Maffet won Miss America 1983 (at least that’s the first pageant I can remember)… And every time… I mean – EVERY TIME – My heart starts pounding, the anticipation mounts, and I get anxious every time we announce the Top 5! EVERY STINKING TIME!!! LOL!

Obviously, last night was no exception – And in many respects, the whole pageant was pretty “heart pounding”…

Just in case you missed it – Here’s the final results…

Top 10: Wisconsin, North Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida

America’s Choice : Pennsylvania

Notables on this list…

• Big Junkie Congrats to IDAHO who makes the Top 10 for the first time EVER at MAOTeen! Super Exciting to see new states break through!
• Oklahoma has made the cut at MAOTeen 9 out of the 11 years the pageant has taken place. WOWZERS!
• 5 Prelims Winners and 5 Non-Prelim Winners made the cut

Then – we were supposed to cut it to a Top 8… which they did… But then, the realized a tabulation error, so they allowed the entire Top 11 to perform Talent, rather than just the Top 8. That way, “nobody would know” who made it and who shouldn’t have made it (quick tangent here – Kudos to those who figured it out and allowed each lady to perform – Perfect decision – Very well done).

So – we went from the Top 11 to the Top 5 – And here’s how it worked out from there…

4th RU – Louisiana
3rd RU – Florida
2nd RU – Georgia
1st RU – North Carolina
Winner – Oklahoma

A few additional awards were given out at the after-party… Here’s hoping I’ve included the full list…

Non-Finalist Interview Award – Nebraska
Non-Finalist Evening Gown Award – Nebraska
Non-Finalist Vocal Award – Maine (Yes Maine – Who can absolutely sing like nobody’s business)

Non-Finalist Dancer Award – Massachusetts
Non-Finalist Instrumental Award – Kentucky

Top Vocalist Awards – Georgia and Maine
Top Dancer Awards – Florida and Massachusetts
Top Instrumental Awards – Oklahoma and Kentucky

Miss Congeniality – Texas
Teens in Action Award (for community service) – Arkansas
Highest GPA and Talent Award – Wisconsin

For the record, several additional awards were handed out during the week – These are just the ones announced on Saturday night. 🙂

Whew! See??? I told you it was freaking amazing!!! 🙂

So – Now it’s time for the accountability factor… How did Junkies do in respect to the above placements???

Well – We went 8 for 11 (if you include people’s choice)… accurately identifying WI, NC, AL, TS, OK, ID, GA and FL.  We listed NE inside our Top 11, and considering she won Non-Finalist Interview and Non-Finalist Gown, I’m guessing she was pretty darn close to making the cut.

We then went on to identify 2 of the Top 5 – correctly picking North Carolina and Georgia.

Now – For the record, this totally doesn’t count – but it makes me feel better… And I’m the one publicly making predictions – so I’m going to include it (lol!).  Feel free to skip down to the bottom if you don’t care…

So – On Wednesday, after the prelim competition, I sent my mom a text… Which you can see right here…

Here’s the deal… I was so impressed with Oklahoma on Wednesday – that I was ready to crown her on that night (see text above)! But she ended up not winning Talent on Wednesday night (Wisconsin did)… And then I looked for her to win Gown the next night… And she didn’t win prelim Gown/OSQ either (Idaho did)… So – at that point, I began to doubt myself and my impression of her. Therefore – when it was time to choose my Top 5, I began over-thinking things. Instead of going with who I thought would be a strong competitor for the Top 5, I asked myself, “What are the judges looking for?”

Big Mistake.

Just because you don’t win a Prelim, it doesn’t mean you can’t win the title (or finish in the Top 5). And that’s exactly what Nicole Jia, Miss Oklahoma did. She didn’t win a Prelim – But she absolutely knocked it OUT OF THE PARK on Saturday night! She was completely deserving of the win – and I couldn’t be happier for her!

So – It doesn’t count regarding my predictions, but let’s just call this my little “lesson learned” before Atlantic City 🙂

OK – A few “random thoughts” in no particular order…

– My favorite “fun fact” of the week actually came from Oklahoma… I’m paraphrasing… Her parents lived 2 miles apart from each other in China, but never met until they were in the United States (so cool!)

– It was GREAT FUN hanging out at the autograph party and meeting 37 of our Miss Contestants! I’m even MORE excited to go to Atlantic City in just a few weeks to watch all of them vie for the crown of Miss America 2017! Less than a month! AAHHHH!!!

– Unfortunately, Nicole’s “big sister” Sarah Klein (Miss Oklahoma 2016) wasn’t able to attend MAOTeen in Orlando… But she watched the live stream… And filmed her reaction (which is PRICELESS!!!). Check it out on Sarah’s Facebook page right here… LOL! Love It!!!

– If you’re a Junkie and we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before, I hope I got to hug you sometime this week 🙂 There are some really incredible people in the pageant world… And I’m grateful for each and every one of you. 🙂

– If you’re a relatively new Junkie and just discovered us, I hope you enjoyed following along in the crazy world of pageant predictions! I’m certainly not the only person who makes predictions, I guess I’m just one of the only ones silly enough to put my thoughts out there for the whole world to see 🙂 Know that I always love meeting new Junkies and I do hope that our paths cross again in the future 🙂

– Finally – May I just say… I know not everyone is on board with the Outstanding Teen program… And if you’re one of those people who’s been holding out, I would say you’re missing something pretty special 🙂

The ladies who are being crowned Miss America’s Outstanding Teen are phenomenal young women – And when you consider the fact that SEVENTEEN of THIS YEAR’S Miss America contestants were once former Teen State Titleholders, I think it’s time to dive in the deep end of Teen and splash around in the awesome waters! After all, we’re already in Orlando in August – which means we’re all suffering from “humidity hair” and super steamy skin… Why not jump in the deep end of the pageant pool and say hello! We’ll gladly welcome you with open arms 🙂

And there you have it! Congratulations to all the ladies who competed at Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2017 – I greatly enjoyed meeting several of you and I continue to wish you all the best in your home states this year!

In the meantime, I’m sharpening my skills for Miss America predictions (which will be here in just a few weeks!)! Can’t wait to hear my heart pounding again! It’s bound to happen – because I know it already happens – EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!

Congrats Again Ladies!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Carrie Lakey

To see more “weekend wrap ups” like this one, just click here…

Carrie Lakey is kind of obsessed with Miss America…
So are 18,000 of her closest friends.

As an avid fan of the Miss America Organization, Carrie began
publicly predicting pageant winners over 10 years ago.
Now, she’s galvanizing an online movement of fans
known as “Pageant Junkies”.
Learn more about the Junkie Nation
by clicking here.