Pageant week is upon us my Miss America friends! The contestants have arrived in Las Vegas and begun all sorts of cleverly constructed photo ops and MAO events. Autographs at the Grand Venetian! Photos by the canal! Quality of Life finalists chosen! And Planet Claire will cover it all! Join us for our original blog postings as we crown America's Sweetheart, 2007.
I gotta hand it to CMT. This protege of VH-1 is no country bumpkin. They've managed to pull a Houdini and just might have saved America's Queen of Femininity from a fate not unlike Cinderella at the stroke of midnight.
Admittedly, 2005 was a tough year for our beauty queen. The MAO had hit hard times, slashing budgets -- including Miss America's salary by $20,000 -- and handing over its beloved Atlantic City-based tradition to Sin City. They gambled and, begrudgingly, it seems to have paid off. Viewership on CMT was up, up, up, and with repeat showings, our competition became the most watched telecast in CMT's history. They outta change the name from CMT to PT. Pageant TV. Just think of the crowns...the gowns... OK, the ratings.
Anyhoo -- got my Miss America pageant magazine (and yes, we are back to calling it a pageant, instead of the wishful "competition") and the good news gets better.
Miss America 2006 Jennifer Huffman (Ooops, did I write that? I mean BERRY, heh heh)is featured wearing her crown NUMEROUS times! Not just holding it but ACTUALLY PERCHED ON HER HEAD!! You all know what this means to me. Seems the MAO has come to its senses. They know we want the glitz, the glamour, the old school pageantry. And the crown. Right on MAO!
Within the magazine, each contestant has the ubiquitous glamour shot complete with getting-to-know-you fun facts. Many seem to want to work on camera eventually, favorite accessories include chandelier earrings or flip flops, and many mention myspace.com, their "faith" and chocolate as other influences. Gotta love these twenty-somethings and their cellulite-free bodies.
Miss America 2007 also gets her salary back as the MAO reinstates her award to the previously paid $50,000. Can you imagine Miss A 2006's response? She is the only winner since I have been counting NOT to receive the full $50K. Sorry, Jen. You took one for the team, I'd say. MAO chairman said it best by thanking Miss Berry for "a year of service when the organization truly needed it most." That's as close as any MAO official will get to admitting 2006 was do-or-die.
Back to 2007!
Preliminary competition begins Wednesday, January 24. I'll be scouring the web for results and post my annual top 10 on Sunday, with review and commentary on Tuesday.
If you're planning on watching and can find your way with your remote to CMT (somewhere in the low 300's I believe), tune in starting Friday for a raft of Miss A programming, including "Pageant School" and the Main Event, Monday night,possibly live at 5pm or tape delayed for the West Coast at 7pm.
All you titleholders out there -- and each of you is in your own way -- put on those crowns, sit down and get ready -- here she comes, Miss America 2007.
Until then, I remain,
Jennifer
Miss Cherryview Court
P.S. Planet Claire settings have been changed. You no longer need to be registered on blogger to leave a comment. So start tappin' those keys. :)
Additional Planet Claire Miss America coverage:
Super Mario
No comments:
Post a Comment