Miss America 2016 is about to kick off and here is a breakdown of all the essentials for this year's hunt for America's most beautiful female.
A new Miss America will be crowned on Sunday at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and while waiting to see who will take home the title for 2016, NJ.com shared some interesting bits from the arrival ceremony down to the preliminary competition.
This year's batch of contestants are proving to be a really smart bunch as evidenced in Miss Colorado's talent offering in the prelims. Kelley Johnson works as an ICU nurse and instead of doing something traditional like singing or dancing, she opted to share her skills as a medical professional via a story about how she cared for a patient named Joe who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
In the same report by NJ.com, the song "There She Is" by Bernie Wayne is going to be used as part of Miss America's music theme once again. The song was a regular fixture in the pageant since 1955 but was removed in 2012. Former pageant host Bert Parks sang the iconic song. But it's not just the song making a comeback for Miss America 2016. Former title holder Vanessa Williams is back and this time she will be the head judge of the pageant that both catapulted her to fame and some level of shame. It can be remembered that Williams was crowned Miss America in 1984 but was immediately stripped of her title after racy photos of her came out on a popular adult men's magazine.
According to Mashable, reacting to comments about beauty pageants setting "unfair" beauty standards for women, Miss America Organization COO Josh Randle said that critics easily dismiss the pageant. He explains that the candidates are not simply judged on physical appearance alone. They have to pass the four categories the pageant has set; personal interview, talent, fitness and lifestyle, and the evening wear.
