Amanda Fallon Smith.

Junkies didn’t correctly choose Amanda on our “Here’s Who to Watch” list last year… Mainly because we couldn’t find her!  Ever tried googling “Amanda Smith”? LOL!  A ZILLION results come up – and even with all the crazy tricks we employ, we still couldn’t find her.  However, Amanda *Fallon* Smith…?  Now THAT’S a name COMPLETELY google-worthy!

All excuses aside, Amanda has been a spectacular Miss PA – Proved by her Preliminary Talent Win at Miss America.  Her incredible performance can be seen here!!!

Told ‘ya she was Fab!  Junkies were only fooled once… Although we missed her as Miss PA, we chose her as one of our potential prelim winners for Miss America and were not disappointed!

Junkies also learned how lovely Amanda Fallon Smith truly is when we interviewed her during our Pageant Junkies Podcast – which you can catch here…

Amanda’s incredible performance at Miss America certainly won’t be her last… As a musical theater student at Carnegie Mellon, she was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid at the Gretna Theater this July!  It’s a busy Disney Summer for Amanda – and we know it’s just the beginning of many more wonderful things to come! 🙂

Who do Junkies think will be crowned Miss Pennsylvania 2015?  That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 5pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!! JUNKIES LOVE PENNSYLVANIA!!!

#BigJunkieLove

Miss Illinois 2014, Marisa Buchheit is an uber-talented opera singer.

From her own website, her performance highlights include: National Premier Tour of Romance of the Western Chamber Chinese Musical (portraying the soprano lead role of Ying-ying); Invited guest soprano for the Foreign Ministry of Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand; Performance of Puccini’s La bohème in his hometown of Lucca, Italy; Special concerts in churches and castles in Austria, France, and Italy; and a world music vocal performance with Nation Beat at Severance Hall in Cleveland, OH, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Marisa also sings in 7 languages and has performed in has performed in Italian, German, French, Czech, Chinese, Thai, and English.

Marisa has been very visible this year – attending numerous red carpet events as Miss Illinois as well as “Dancing with Chicago Celebrities (a Dancing with the Stars-esq competition in Chicago), Fashion Shows and more.  She was also able to influence numerous students with her platform of “From STEM to STEAM – Keeping the Arts in Education”.

Junkies wish Marisa all the best in her future endeavors – You never know what the future might hold for this aspiring soprano in the years to come!  GOOD LUCK MARISA!!! 🙂

And now – who do we predict has the best chance at Miss Illinois 2015? That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 3pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE ILLINOIS!!!

#BigJunkieLove

JUNKIES LOVE MINNESOTA!!!

And it was our distinct honor to attend the Miss Minnesota pageant in 2014 and see the lovely Savannah Cole be named the winner!!!

Savannah was the 1st RU at Miss Minnesota in 2013 and then came back to take it all.  Impressive, considering she won the Miss Minnesota title the day after her 19th birthday!

But that’s not even my favorite part of Savannah’s story!  Savannah says she never even owned a dress before she started competing for the tile of Miss Minnesota!  LOL!  And the reason she decided to leave her tomboy-with-no-makeup days behind, is because Savannah’s violin teacher, was none other than Miss Minnesota 2013 – Rebecca Yeh!

But hold it – Didn’t Savannah sing for her talent?  Yup!  And she explains why in an article at ParkRapidsEnterprise.com…

“I chose vocal as my talent because I’ve been performing in theater since age 4,” said Cole. “Singing in front of an audience is something I am used to. I get nervous playing violin in front of people. Singing comes more natural to me.”

And sing she did!  Savannah sang “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals – Not what you might call, a typical pageant song… But Savannah’s got the pipes to pull it off!

And what did Savannah’s violin teacher (Rebecca Yeh) have to say about her performance at Miss America?

“Savannah is an extremely impressive woman who stayed true to herself the entire competition. She’s not your typical pageant girl and that’s what I really love about her. She boldly breaks the mold with her unique talents, presence and style.

Couldn’t have said it any better.  Good Luck Savannah – We know big things are in store for you!

Now – who’s most likely to carry the torch as Miss Minnesota 2015?

Check out this awesome video of each contestant – and tell us your favorites!  SO HARD TO CHOOSE THIS YEAR!!! That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 3pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES SIMPLY LOVE MINNESOTA!!!

#BIGJunkieLove

Miss Alaska 2014, Malie Delgado, just has “it”.

Considering she’s already made it on the X-Factor, The Price is Right (where she won a new Camero!) and the Miss America stage – I think you’d be hard-pressed to argue otherwise!

For now, Malie is finishing her duties as Miss Alaska while serving as a co-host on Alaska’s #1 rated radio station, KGOT!  That’s a significant platform from which she can promote the Miss Alaska and Miss America Organization – let alone have a great time just being her goofy self!

Malie is one of those contestants Junkies will follow in the coming years… You never know where a girl with that much talent and personality will eventually end up – But it’s sure gonna be fun to watch!

And now – this year’s Miss Alaska competition features 12 lovely contestants – and we have the difficult task of narrowing it down to only 5!  Who have we chosen on our prediction list this year?

That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions as soon as we can – Due to the high number of sign-ups, we send one bulk email by 3pm EST every day!

ALL THE BEST LADIES!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

#JunkiesLoveAlaska

In the four years that I’ve been blogging about contestants, Amanda Sasek is probably the most level-headed and steady contestant I’ve come across.  If you don’t know Amanda’s story, you can hear her interview on the Pageant Junkies Podcast by clicking here…

Amanda’s had her fair share of family struggles, personal demons and economic woes.  But she defied the odds and refused to be another statistic – instead, she’s become an over-comer.  And her personal platform of “Find Your Strength – Engage to Empower” encourages others to overcome obstacles in their lives and pursue their dreams.  And in her podcast linked above, you’ll hear Amanda say her ‘defining moment’ was allowing herself to talk about her story.  How freeing and liberating it was – and how it truly gave her the chance to impact others.

Like I said… The girl has gone through a lot of stuff/junk/crap.  But she’s not bitter about it – Not at all.  She’s genuine.  She’s authentic.  And she has a bright future ahead of her thanks to her amazing attitude.

And some incredible doors have opened for Amanda because of her time as Miss Kansas… Wanna know more???  Check out this video where she reveals her big announcement!

http://m.kwch.com/news/2015-miss-kansas-pageant-this-week/33340746

Who do Junkies think will be lucky enough to hear their name announced as Miss Kansas 2015?  That information was released on Sunday in the Junkies Newsletter!  Click here to sign up for the Junkies Newsletter and we’ll send you our latest predictions!  The latest newsletter is sent by 3pm EST every day – So have patience!  It’s worth the wait!

GOOD LUCK LADIES!!!  JUNKIES LOVE KANSAS!!!

#BigJunkieLove