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Date Posted: 13:51:06 12/13/22 Tue
Night 1 is over, it really does fly by. Lots of great competition, so let’s break it down! A few housekeeping notes about the competition:
Contestants are seated onstage off to the side to see the other contestants. I am guessing it will be that way for final night as well. I remember the outrage over contestants being offered a donut when that happened years ago. I like this setup, they are not right there in view of the performing contestant but they can still enjoy the competition.
This is not meant as an affront to either Arianna or Emma, but whoever wrote that banter for them should be fired. When I was a child I organized Christmas Eve plays with me and my cousins for our gathering, and even I was more talented as a child than the banter back and forth. It was pretty bad. They are doing a nice job, just the obviously staged banter is not good.
There is a closing number where the contestants dress in their evening gowns and are grouped according to the color. We see this at USA and also saw it at Volunteer. Very well done. I wasn’t wild about the opening number, but that one was a pleasure to see.
And that’s that! Overall, the production level is not that great, but at least there is a pageant. Sometimes I worry that all that negative press the pageant got last year got it kicked off of Peacock, but I am sure there is more to the story than that.
I will run down each competition and how I would have scored each contestant. The MAO scoring used to be, anyway:
TALENT
It is important to note that some of the contestants announced what they would be performing, but it was not announced by the hostesses. The contestants recorded their own videos describing their talent, which was a nice touch. But some neglected to state their selections. Some I did not recognize, and I have noted that.
Group A
MO-She did a violin medley of Pachelbel’s Canon and the Europe 80s song The Final Countdown. It was an interesting blend of songs, that’s for sure. It was entertaining, although it did not blow you away. I would give it a 6.5 overall, between average and slightly above.
HI-Did you ever watch a performance where you simply did not know what to make of it? She sang and half-danced to Cabaret. At first, it was pretty cheesy. Very pageanty, sort of silly. Her singing was forgettable. And then at the end, she hit some very powerful notes and you kind of forgot that she was so forgettable. Whoever advised her on this was way off, I would say that much. She does have a good voice and probably could have sang something better. I would give it anywhere from a 5 to 7. If they were judging overall performance I would say 5. If they judged the last part of it for entertainment value I would say 7.
MO-Lyrical dance to Impossible Dream. She was very pretty, I thought. Nice movements, a beautiful sky blue costume that looked very good on her. It was a very nice, memorable performance. Probably among the better dancers of the night. I gave it a solid 7.
DC-I do not know the name of the song she danced a ballet to. What I would say is that the tempo seemed too quick for her slower performance. It just lacked energy, along with the fast tempo. It wasn’t terrible, just nothing that would have stood out. 5
SD-sang Bring Him Home. It is apparent that she has a good voice, especially for Broadway type songs. She had some pitch problems and some flat notes, but some of it was really good. It was one of those where you expected the contestant to break through and have that big performance but it did not quite work out that way. It was nice, though. I gave it a 6.5 and would have scored it higher had she not had some of the problems.
DE-Electric violin, Smooth Criminal. Her costume was cute, but it was a very amateurish performance. It wasn’t terrible by any means, just amateurish. 4-5
LA-Clogging to Blue Suede Shoes. Overall, this was a good performance. It was the kind that won talent preliminaries in the past. It was costumed well, and it had a lot of energy. Gracie does seem to be a good performer and it was very entertaining. 7.5 to 8.
ID-Played a medley of Pirates of the Caribbean on the piano. It was decent, had some good energy. 6
MD-Sang I Dreamed a Dream. It was also a decent performance, she had some nice notes. I would put her in the same category as SD. 6.5.
Group 2
AR-Tap dance to Respect. I thought it was good overall, not to the level of LA, but good enough. She did have some good moves, some good energy. I would have given in a 6.5 to 7.
IA-Sorry, I did not recognize the song. It was a show vocal. It wasn’t anything noteworthy. Usually IA sends stronger talent, but this was an off year for them. It wasn’t terrible, but she did seem to have some off notes. 5
NV-The Laughing Song. She clearly is a trained opera singer, and it was good. It wasn’t the best version I have ever heard of this song at a pageant, but she certainly stood out last night. 7.75
NH-Tap dance to Think. She seemed to be having a great time. It didn’t have the energy of some of the others, but I enjoyed her clear happiness and free spirit. 6
NE-A baton dance to Salute. This I really liked. Most baton performances are very high energy and just seem to be about the fast pace. This song had a fast tempo, but I really liked that she really danced to the whole song and did not just twirl for theatrics. Very well done, one of the top of the night for me. 7.75.
WA-Lyrical dance to Keep Bleeding Love. It was pretty, decent. I would have given in a 6.
AK-Acrobatic dance to a song something about No Regrets/I Was Here. It lacked a lot of energy, but she looked nice and it was a nice attempt. 5
OH-Classical piano piece. Etude something. I thought it was far and above, the quality of the piece was really there. Technically sound, very fast-paced and she kept up well. A reminder of talents of yesteryear. A solid 8.5 from me.
OR-Don’t Rain on My Parade. She does have a solid voice, it was a good performance. You could really hear her powerful voice towards the end. 7.5
Group 3
NM-Lyrical dance to Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Carol of the Bells. Good choice for this time of year. Her energy really did not match the dynamic pace of the song. 5
IL-violin performance, it seemed like a classical piece. It was a decent performance, had some good notes and technical skill. 6
IN-Defying Gravity. I wrote it down as “one of the better performances.” She did have a solid voice, and the overall performance was entertaining. I would have given in a 7.75 on par with someone like NE. I hate the song personally, but it is about how the performance was sold. It would have been in my top 5 for the night, so I wasn’t totally surprised at the win.
ME-for me, this was the best in this group. She sang Bohemian Rhapsody in a singer/songwriter style. She has a really strong, powerful voice. It was original and unique, combined with a great performance. I gave it a strong 7.75, I had her ahead of Indiana. I would look for NFT for this if the judges had any sense.
AL-Jazz dance to Bossa Nova (the Elvis Presley song) I liked the arrangement, it was fun. It wasn’t anything that was memorable but it was solid and entertaining. 6
VA-dance to Swan Lake, same as at Miss VA if you have seen it. It was an interesting performance. Sometimes it had a lot of energy, other times it did not. She did a costume change and changed into the Black Swan character. I would give it a 7 for originality, though sometimes the dancing did not match the tempo of the song.
CO-sang a country song, I did not recognize it. This was the weakest of the night. She was really off key and flat. 3-4
NJ-lyrical dance to “Fame” not the late and great Irene Cara’s version. It was okay, somewhat forgettable, especially for the last talent of the night. 5.5
RED CARPET
It dawned on me that everyone enjoys hearing about the evening gowns, so I will have to make a note of who wore what this week. I remember some of them, but I will make sure and make more notes on each of them. If any of you are interested in a particular contestant I can make sure and pay attention and let you know.
Red Carpet group 1
ND-She wore a paler blue long-sleeved sequin gown. Her walk and presentation wasn’t that memorable, but she was a very good speaker and answered the question well.
MA-very nice presence in a yellow gown. She also had a good, solid answer. I would give her an 8 for both.
CT-She just didn’t stand out in either category, although I do appreciate her focus on abuse.
AZ-black long-sleeved gown. She didn’t stand out in either category to me, but she did look nice.
WY-I LOVED her gown. It was unique, young, and modern. She looked really cute and I like her style. She gave a decent answer to her question. I would have given her a 6 for both, presentation and answer.
NY-One of the better gown presentations of the night, she has a lot of stage presence. Basic white gown with slits. Her answer, though, was not very good. She seemed to be caught off guard, she rambled a bit and her eyes were wide open as if she seemed a bit nervous. I would have scored her high for gown and lower for the answer.
MS-Consistent with gown and answer. She is not jumping out as extremely strong to me but she is also consistent and does seem to be one of the better ones in the group. I thought she did well enough in gown and question.
UT-One of the better presentations in the group with gown, a lovely yellow long-sleeved gown with silver accents. Her answer was decent.
Red Carpet group 2
WV-She was one of my pleasant surprises last night, and this was one of the reasons. She looked nice in her gown, and she also answered her question well.
KS-pretty gold strapless gown, she looked very nice in it, had a nice stage presence. Her answer was a bit like her SII pitch, I will address that later.
MT-her gown was very pretty, the presentation lacked energy. Her question was decent.
FL-tall and statuesque in a gold sequined gown, great walk. She had to have scored high. Her question was consistent with what said earlier. She had to be one of the better scores in this competition last night.
NC-Her gown presentation lacked energy, but the answer to her question was very solid. She was very articulate.
SC-Nice in gown, she had a strong answer. She encouraged people to take pictures of her and post them to show she was a sexual abuse survivor.
PA-Pretty in a gold, strapless sequined gown, decent presentation. Also a very good speaker, she was one of the consistent in the group last night.
CA-Nice presentation in gown, it reminded me of Crystal Lee-a basic, long-sleeved lavender gown. Her answer was very articulate. I would have put her behind FL.
Red Carpet Group 3
Overall, this was the strongest group. Lots of nice gown presentations and good answers.
RI-Very pretty in red. Good presentation in gown and she also gave a solid answer. One of the better in this group.
VT-Very pretty in an emerald gown with silver accents. She is very articulate and answered her question very well, probably the best in this group.
OK-Seriously, this is about perfection in gown. If they were giving out 10s just in presentation it would be her. She wore a simple white gown but her overall look was like an old Hollywood glamourous starlet. Her answer was decent but she was so striking in gown that you probably didn’t care what she said. Just based on look and presentation alone, she won the night.
KY-gown was good, but the answer to her question was very good, very intelligent.
TN-very nice gown presentation, her answer was good enough
MN-I love her gown, it was the same she wore to win Miss MN. Very unique apricot color with beading, very original. Her answer was good, too, very intelligent and passionate.
WI-Tall and statuesque in a white gown, presentation was decent. She reminds me a bit of Erin Andrews. Her question was answered well regarding nuclear energy.
TX-Gown was same as at Miss TX, and she has a very good presentation. She was asked about how Elon Musk was handling Twitter. She started by saying that she owned her own business and would not treat her employees like Musk did, which is very understandable. However, then she said Elon should learn how to handle a business like she did. It sounded a bit lofty and kind of self-important. It just wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have scored it well. The first part yes, I agreed with her. But the second part was just a bit off.
GA-Very pretty silver gown, nice presentation. She gave a good, solid answer. She was very consistent.
SII review next!
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