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Date Posted: 14:01:09 12/19/19 Thu
Hooray! The big day is here! I am excited about tonight. It was a different week, believe me, but despite how this is going to go down, we will at least get to meet some great young women tonight, even if for a little bit. Congratulations to all of the great contestants, the class of 2019. They put up with a lot of uncertainty, adjusted to the changes, and did their best.
As for tonight's competition, I think uncertainty IS the certainty of the night. I said this last year, and I mean it even more this year. If your favorite does not end up in the top 15/7/whatever, don't be disappointed. No one was judged fairly or competently this year. You can't have two panels of judges with a total of 6 judges to be coherent. I do think the cream always rises to the top, and there are always likely on a few true competitors. My big question this year is: what kind of factor will talent be? There was some good talent this year, but there are contestants like SC with good everything else but are weak at talent. The same as the two preliminary winner interviews, MI and OR. How will interview factor?
Unfortunately, we can't speculate too much because it's near impossible to guess what will happen because the judging so convoluted. I suspect that there will at least be some contestants with weaker talents in the top 15, although how it gets whittled down to the top 7, I don't know. But, here is my stab at what is going to happen:
Of the preliminary winners, with their strengths and drawbacks:
GA-Strong talent and very outgoing personality. She has the classic Miss America personality. She’s the kind of person you think of on a talk show meeting hosts like Kelly Ripa and immediately hitting it off. Victoria is also compassionate and is passionate about her platform. I think she checks all of the boxes. The only drawback I see with her is that she may come across as a little more “mature”, and even though she’s obviously a young woman, it may hurt her with younger judges. Her platform might not bring in a lot of money or appearances. I hate to say that, but let’s face it-they’re looking to get any money they can right now.
VA-Camille is also very personable and extremely well-spoken. She has a contagious energy about her, and even though her talent is controversial, she sells it. Like with Kira’s talent, I could see judges saying that kids would really like it. I could see Camille with corporate sponsors (if there are some) and being able to converse and relate to those in the business world as well. My drawback is that like GA, she might seem a little more mature. She doesn’t quite have the it factor of GA, either. With her opiod platform and a national crisis, I think she could get some good press and appearances.
NJ-Jade is cute as a doll. She is young and I think of all of the preliminary winners, the most possibly relatable. I think she would relate very well to the young women in the program, would be good to speak to college aged women and her peers as well as children. She really believes in her latform and finds a way to make it relevant. I believe she could also align with some great health organizations, and she might get a lot of appearances. The drawback is that she likely does not have the higher composite scores that maybe GA or VA have, and we don’t know how she did in other categories.
MI and OR-The two preliminary interview winners. Let’s face it, interview does go a long way in this organization. Both of these young ladies bested 25 other well-spoken women in their individual groups and won big. I would say that of the two, MI has the more outgoing personality. Neither have good talent, and that’s where I wonder how they fall. I would say possibly one gets into the top 7. I like them both, and I could make a strong case for OR as a Miss America, minus the talent. (more on that later) But I just don’t know with either of these. It’s hard to say how influential interview will be this year.
Now, out of the non-winners (at least onstage)
SC-If this were 1.0, I would say that there is a very strong possibility that SC is our next Miss America. She has a great presence, she looks good, and she speaks very well. Also, she cleaned up in the competitions this week. That to me signifies that she is doing well in this system and can do well. I am not writing her off for Miss America at this point despite her talent. It’s not Kristi Glakas bad, but it’s not good. I think if the judges liked her enough, they would forgive her talent. And she would still likely get called for Star Spangled Banners in baseball season. She does have an it factor about her, and at very least, I could see her as the Gabby T of this year’s pageant. And I do think there is an outside chance that she wins. I just think they could forgive her talent if everything else was there.
TX-Better talent than SC, and I just think her story is going to resonate. Her talent was entertaining and far worse has won. She speaks confidently and with conviction, and I do think her message gets across to people. I know she seems to rub people the wrong way, but I didn’t get a lot of that this week. I didn’t think she was over the top or obnoxious. There have been some obnoxious contestants over the years like Kristi Glakas, and the one who really rubbed me the wrong way-Lisette Gonzalez, Miss FL 98. She was so over the top, overdramatic, overconfident. I was afraid she was going to win, and the other contestants looked relieved when she didn't win. I don't see TX as like that. Truthfully, she didn’t come across as outstanding to me in any category, but good in speaking. And I do think she may be a factor, although I’m not sure.
AL-has been very consistent all week with very good talent, especially for Miss America standards of late. She is polished, well-spoken, and I do remember her all week. She looks good, she comes from a state with a great track record.
CA-Phenomenal talent, and she has a lot going for her. I would say one of her strengths is that she really does present herself as a young woman of today, not afraid to speak about her own difficult and challenging journey. Being from a large state, she is already used to all different kinds of people from different cultures, religions, political beliefs, ages. She does really strike me like an accepting and relatable person.
The most consistent other contestants would be for me Hawaii, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Minnesota. I also think Iowa and Rhode Island have been consistent. Then I do think there are ones like Arkansas who might not have the best talent ever, but they do come across well, polished, and could likely make the top 15.
I am going to take a stab at the top 15: AL, AR, CA, GA, HI, MI, MN, NJ, OK, OR, SC, TX, VA, and two others from anyone I said is a possibility. It’s hard to say who, and I could see some of the ones I noted, mainly like AR (hate to say) or maybe MN not in the top 15 for some who have done well. There are so many factors this year. And there is always the one that comes in and surprises everyone out of nowhere.
Who is my Miss America?
I still think that the woman I am choosing has the it factor, the talent, and the personality to back it up. She is compassionate, would do well with people and be the ambassador that the MAO needs right now. I think Victoria Hill will become our new Miss America.
If not her, then I would possibly say NJ or even SC. I don’t think VA has enough of the it factor, but I could see it coming down to her and GA as 1 and 2. I do think she is an outstanding contestant and will be very strong all night. Or, it could be someone flying below the radar right now. We will find out soon enough!
I never heard of Lauren Ash and I really don't know anything about her, but I loved Karamo on DWTS. I voted for him as long as he was in. I thought he actually was a better dancer than he was given credit for. I think he and Kelly Rowland will add a youth factor to the panel, and that's why I think someone like NJ could sneak in and win. If there is any bright spot in all of this, we desperately needed a young panel. We needed more judges, but I do think we have to have younger judges overall.
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