TELECAST STARTS
So I grabbed a bucket of chicken and sat down to enjoy the “Miss USA 2009″ pageant. I did not even know it was going to be aired so early (it was actually 6:00 pm in my time zone) so it was a little weird, but then I am used to keep odd hours when it comes to watching Miss World and Miss International live, or whatever.
They call me Her! They call me Stacey! That's not my Name!
Good music, good camera direction and good stage managing is what I get from the show. From the production point of view, it was really good… The timing, the script, the outtakes, the effects. The audience…. not so much. Too flat for my taste. I am used to a more vibrant croud (think MTV awards or Eurovision).
The opening to the sounds of Katy Perry and The Ting Tings was very upbeat and appropiate… It made everything look amazing, fast paced, and the girls looked really beautiful. Thumbs Up.
Billy Bush / Nadine: Mmmmmm. I don’t mind them. Billy Bush is already a standard MUO emcee, and he does the job, not that good, but not bad either, I guess that viewers are just used to seeing him there. Nadine Velasquez really needs some serious TV coaching if she intends to host Universe. Where is Nancy O’Dell?
TWEET, TWEET, TWEET AWAY!
OK, so I’ve had Twitter since last December, but never got around to using it. Just about 2 weeks before the pageant took place, I started twittering a little… but most friends of mine did not know what it was.
Whether it was a case of sponsorship or simply “getting on with the times”, the Twitter exposure during the telecast opened a whole new world to the pageant fans. Now everyone is twitting. And the funny thing is, thanks to Twitter, you learn the results of a pageant before they take place.
“Girl, it’s ok, you didn’t make the 10″ are some of the messages the contestants get backstage.
We also got to see Dayana (Miss Universe) and Stevi (Teen USA) twittering their hearts away.. but of course, these are very standard, diplomatic tweets you’ll see… When people rather read stuff like “How did that bitch get into the top 15!!!” LOL.
In any case, no one can argue that Twittering is “a looot of fun”. LOL
THE TOP 15
OK, so the exclusions of ultimate favorite HAWAII and FLORIDA nearly shut down my nervous system. I remember telling a friend earlier that day, that Hawaii was simply one of the girls to beat. Competition? Probably California and NC… but experience has taught me… never, never try to predict these things. Just sit down, chill and watch the telecast and see the MUO come up with some big surprises ala IDAHO!
While some members of the audience get excited over their favorites, others disagree. "HER?? EW!"
So I am still recovering from the whole HAWAII exclusion (similar to the shock of PANAMA and INDIA being shut out in Miss Universe 2008 for the likes of… never mind) and then I decide that I like the Top 15 after all. Idaho and Connecticut looked really surprised and happy and I guess that’s what’s it about. Seeing family and friends happy, proudly waving their banners is priceless. I feel for the families of those who did not place… But hey, I have been there so many, many times… You get over it.
At this point, I am already tired of that Top 15 elevator music. Or more like Supermarket music.. Sort of the music you listen to while dropping Cheerios into the cart… and the new brand of mayonnaise to replace that horrible horrible one you bought last week… OK missing the point here. Back to the porn Top 15 music: It was cute when it was premiered in 2003. But it’s 2009 and they keep using that… I don’t know why I even care about this… It’s only used twice a year… Whatever, shoot me.
Put your hands together for Miss Conneticut!
SWIMSUIT ROUND
Good concept, I happen to love the Kevin Rudolf song, but it was not as good live. However the Top 15 put on a good parade… and the background effects were cool, specially when Miss Connecticut USA came out on stage and her graphic displayed “CONNETICUT”…
Maybe it was the same person who made the “Phillippines” and “Kosava” sashes during the last MU.
GOWN COMPETITION (WTF!)
The Veronicas, as usual, were simply amazing, and their hit Untouched added an atmosphere of “chicness” to the pageant. However, the tacky pageant gowns and hair were not a very nice mix to the whole concept… It looked a little bit forced. I am all for innovative gown competitions. Anything that takes away from the usual chandelier and pling plings of a piano.
Everyone loves their gown, no matter what
Soooo the girls started describing their gowns in a manner that was predictable and tiring. You will not hear Miss X saying “Ugh, I hate my gown. It’s purple and green, and was made with banana peels”. They all loooooved their gowns.
“I loooove my gown. I saw it in a window and couldn’t resist it! It is soooo beautiful, it has drapes, lots of rope and a huge-ass RAIL going through my neck!”
Arizona… Don’t they have a mirror backstage? Who let such a lovely girl come out on stage with hair flatter than day-old champagne? Something weird was going on there. Maybe the drier ran out of batteries.
I would like to know where the PEEP were the judges (my guess is… the Bar) when stunning, spectacular Miss Tennessee USA came out in her black mermaid number. Come on! That girl was a friggin’ 10. A total 10.00. Yet she gets like what, a 8.57 or something which prevented her from making it to the top 5??
VA-VA-VOOOOOOOOM!
Who in their right mind -unless influenced by bouts of constipation and diarrhea- would give 8.5 to such a spectacular woman?
Nothing against the eventual winner, Miss NC USA, who I happen to like.
As someone who has worked in pageant grooming, whoever trained Miss Tennessee… Congratulations. Amazing, amazing job. She looked perfect, from head to toe, very Hollywood, very Oscar-like. I guess the judges wanted more of the typical pageant look.
BTW Arkansas was also smashing. I noticed that the girls who looked different, or “modern” were punished with low scores.
TOP 5 AND INTERVIEW ROUND:
Here is one pet peeve I have about the format… It was 7:28 pm and they HAD ALREADY SELECTED THE TOP 5! How boring. I mean, devoting an entire half hour just for the top 5? I thought maybe they would introduce a new competition, like pole dancing or walking barefoot over shattered glass.
I miss all those swimsuit/gown videos that featured all contestants… we were able to see them all and not just the 15/10 (I think it should be 15/5 but that’s just me)
So these were the hardest questions I’ve ever seen asked in a beauty pageant… The MUO wanted a new YouTube moment and boyyyy did they get it. The whole Miss California debacle has been talked so much that I will not even get into it. Needless to say that California was one of my picks for the crown (with Tennessee and Utah), flawless, beautiful girls.
Arizona will be my special mention, because this is for me, an issue of integrity, such as, integrity, and whatever I say, it might compromise my integrity, but I won’t because I have integrity. Capisce, Alicia? I must give her the thumbs up because she delivered all that nonsense in a secure, convincing way. (Right out of the Caitlin Upton Academy of YouTube Sciences – and God knows I love me some Caitlin Upton).
It’s sad to think that the girls from the top 5 do not represent the country internationally… Miss Utah, Laura Kirilova (who looked like one of those bombshells who usually compete in Miss Universe Canada) would make waves in Miss International, Miss Earth or Miss TQI; to set an example.
Like I said before, I won’t get into the whole Miss California answer (we have another blog for that), but Perez Hilton’s face… PRICELESS (not even Mastercard could come up with that)
Oh, the luxurious life of the blogger...
RESULTS:
It was bit surprising seeing how the girls were ranked after the QA round… I guess most people expected California in 5th place, but she did so strongly during the night that I had the gut she’d be the 1st runner-up. Or even win. North Carolina’s win, after being leading all night, was not surprising. I did not agree with my Utah being 3rd runner-up.
So we have Carrie Prejean (CA) and Kristen Dalton (NC) holding hands, which I am sure made for a last-minute high rated moment (though E! reports say otherwise).
Maybe the MUO should go back to basics. Instead of showing all those boring photos and top 10 videos, have a brief interview with the 15 finalists. Many many YouTube moments can come out of those earlier in the show… giving time to build a bigger audience.
POST PAGEANT
So the contest has taken a lot of heat with Miss California USA; that has been discussed. But I really enjoyed the Podcast of Miss Delaware USA, Kate Banaszak (which can be found here). It was fun and real… Girl, get into stand-up comedy because you are a natural. I wish more beauty queens were like you. Most of them lack personality. (And we should totally hang out)
Production-wise, great telecast. Excellent TV show. The new website, still kind of confusing but it’s glad to see them take a new direction (except for the unmoderated comments… don’t agree at all). There are a lot (and I mean a LOT) of pageant psychos out there.
I really hope to see them do the confessionals in Universe and use a translator (or subtitles). Should be amazing. After all, in the age of TMZ, Perez Hilton, Extra and YouTube… this is what people want. Backstage gossip, juice, backstabbing, even if it’s fake (or not)… Give us the girls insulting each other in 40 different languages!
Crystle Stewart, I met you in Vietnam… and you are a class-act. And in all my years covering pageants, I can easily say that you are the decade’s favorite titleholder among fans. I wish you great luck in your future projects.
Kristen Dalton should do great in Universe. Not the tallest girl, but she has the basics… Beauty. And very well prepared. She can make the Top 5 if she looks smashing enough. Heck, she can even win. When it comes to pageants, anything happens when no one is expecting it.
And as far as Kristen Motil (Tennessee) goes… Girl, get your fashion photos together, update your book and fly off to New York! You are total Fashion Week material and by the love of God, attend that casting call to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. You have the goods. I’m proud of you.
Posted by Ed Dominguez
Miss North Carolina got the crown. Miss California got the gay-marriage question. Perez Hilton got some nice pub for asking the latter. And the Miss USA Pageant got? Well, it got its smallest audience ever.