Miss USA Prepares to Pass on the Crown

By CHEVEL JOHNSON, Associated Press 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Miss USA Erin Brady can't believe her yearlong reign is coming to an end while a new journey for one of the 51 women seeking to replace her is just beginning.

"It's less than a week away now," Brady said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The countdown has begun." Brady, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, relinquishes her crown Sunday when the 2014 pageant competition being held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, selects a new Miss USA. Preliminary competitions in swimsuit and evening gown were scheduled for Wednesday at the Baton Rouge River Center. On Thursday, all 51 contestants will interview with judges to complete the preliminary competition. The top 20 will be chosen following the preliminary events and announced on Sunday. During her tenure, Brady said she's worked hard to break stereotypes about pageants and the women who compete in them. A graduate of Central Connecticut State University in finance, Brady said after her reign ends she plans to return to New York and pursue a job that can use her knowledge to serve a global market.

"We're very intelligent women with great personalities," she said. The women have been in Louisiana's capital city for more than a week, preparing for the contest that will propel one of them to the Miss Universe pageant later this year. They've visited a few of south Louisiana's plantations and other landmarks, including the old state capitol and governor's mansion, tasted some of the state's cuisine and cut loose a little at a karaoke bar. 
"I'm so blessed and so happy to be here," said Miss Idaho Yvette Bennett. "It's been so magical and amazing. Everyone's been so nice and welcoming." NBC will broadcast Sunday's competition at 7 p.m. CDT in a three-hour show that will include musical performances by country music hit-makers Florida-Georgia Line, rapper Nelly and Louisiana native Marc Broussard, whose set will include an appearance by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Fans also will have the chance to save their favorite contestant during the evening gown competition through Twitter, using #SaveTheQueen along with a keyword that will be provided on screen during the live telecast.

Bennett, an art and communications graduate of Boise State, said if she wins the title, she hopes her success would help to inspire and motivate young girls. "I want to make sure they know that they can pursue their dreams no matter what and to remind them that they can make their dreams a reality," she said.

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Kamryn Blackwood prepares for Miss USA competition

By Hannah Grover The Daily Times

FARMINGTON — Kamryn Blackwood first decided she wanted to be Miss USA in 2012. After years of hard work, her dreams are on the verge of coming true. Blackwood, the current Miss New Mexico USA, will compete in the preliminary Miss USA competition on Wednesday and in the finals on Sunday. The final competition will be broadcast live on NBC.

Blackwood has spent the last week in Louisiana where she has been making daily appearances and gotten to know the other competitors. "It's my fourth day and I'm having the time of my life," Blackwood said when reached by phone on Thursday. She said the competitors are all nice and want the best for each other.

"We're really just kind of learning what we need to do," she said. She has been mentally preparing for the preliminaries — which consists of a personal interview and gown and swimming suit previews. While preparing, she is also trying to stay relaxed. "It can get really stressful quickly," she said.

Blackwood said being an athlete and having an athlete's mind-set has given her an advantage because she can compartmentalize and understand that "when I step on the court, it's court time and when I'm in a classroom its class time." Because of this, she said she is able to give all of herself to whatever she is doing.

Blackwood's athletic career recently ended with her final collegiate tennis tournament in April. She described the experience as sort of surreal. As she played in her last game, she said she thought back to the day when she decided to put in the practice time to get onto a college tennis team. She also thought about when she received the tennis scholarship to play at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

"Time really flew by," Blackwood said. She says her time as Miss New Mexico USA has taught her about staying true to who she is. "With all of the publicity that comes with it, people can lose themselves really quickly," she said.

She said she is anxious about Wednesday's preliminaries. "It really is in God's hands," she said.

Menifee Home Town Beauty to compete in Miss USA Contest

by Cynthia Nemelka

Former Menifee resident, Nia Sanchez, will be representing Nevada in the Miss USA Beauty Pageant as the reigning Miss Nevada USA 2014. Nia won the Miss Nevada title in January and is determined to be the first Nevada contestant to win the Miss USA title.Nia, who was born in Sacramento, California, moved to Menifee when she was eight years old with her father, David Sanchez and younger brother, “Little” David Sanchez, Jr. She graduated from Paloma Valley High School in 2008, where she won her first Crown as Paloma Valley’s Homecoming Queen. Since then, Nia has won several other titles including: Miss Citrus Valley, Miss Hollywood USA, and she was Second Runner Up in the Miss California Pageant.

As a pageant contestant, of course you have to be a well versed public speaker. Helping to hone her public speaking skills came from teaching groups of up to thirty students at her parents’ martial arts studio, Menifee Martial Arts Academy. Nia is a Certified Instructor and has a Forth Degree Black Belt.Since graduating from high school, Nia has been a regular globe trotter. She has been to twelve different countries ranging from Dubai to the Great Wall of China. When Nia finally landed from all of her travels in 2012, she touched down in Las Vegas, Nevada. Be sure not to miss cheering on Menifee’s very own Nia Sanchez on The Miss USA Contest which will be televised from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 8th2014 at 8pm on NBC. ALL OUR BEST NIA!!!!!

Miss Montana Hopes to Break Past Top 15 Barrier in Miss USA Pagent

By Jon King

Flathead Valley resident Kadie Latimer is Miss Montana 2014, and she’s hoping to be the first Montanan to be crowned Miss USA. Before she takes the big prize though, she’ll have to break through some barriers that Montana contestants have never been able to best. “There’s never been a Montana contestant break top 15,” Latimer said. “So I’m hoping that I’ve worked hard enough to make top 15 this year and make history, for Montana.” Latimer says she has had to practice wearing high heels a lot, something she doesn’t do all that often. In fact, she doesn’t compete in pageants much at all. The Miss Montana competition she recently won was her first foray into the pageant world.

According to Latimer, her family has been the secret to her success. “My family have been so supportive through this whole, entire thing,” Latimer said. “My older sister is basically my manager through this entire thing. She’s kept me organized, she’s made posters for me, she’s made autograph cards for me, so she’s really helped me out. [My little sister] has basically been my personal trainer throughout this whole experience, she’s really pushed me to be in the best shape of my entire life, so hopefully that shows on state. My parents have just helped me immensely. They live here in Kalispell, and they help me every night with mock interviews, they ask me questions every night, they really keep me on top of things. It’s just really been a family affair.”

The preliminary competition is on Wednesday, June 4 and can be viewed on the Miss USA website. Latimer hopes all Montanans will be able to catch the finals on Sunday, June 8 when the top 15 contestants will be decided. The broadcast will be carried on NBC.

MISS USA 2014 TALENT AND HOSTS ANNOUNCED!

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, NELLY, MARC BROUSSARD AND THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND HORNS SET TO PERFORM DURING THE 2014 MISS USA® COMPETITION AIRING JUNE 8 ON NBC (8-11 P.M. ET)

GIULIANA RANCIC (“E! NEWS”) AND THOMAS ROBERTS (MSNBC’S “WAY TOO EARLY”) TO HOST SHOW WITH NEW THREE-HOUR FORMAT

NEW YORK — May 28, 2014 — NBC, Donald J. Trump and Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, announced today that Florida Georgia Line, with special guest Nelly, and Marc Broussard will perform during the 63rd annual MISS USA® Competition airing Sunday, June 8 (8-11 p.m. ET) from The Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, La. Giuliana Rancic and Thomas Roberts team up to host the competition for the first time together as the show expands to three hours. The sharp contemporary country sounds of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley create Florida Georgia Line and have become the biggest country sensation of the decade. The superstar duo has skyrocketed since releasing four consecutive, multi-week #1 smashes in the US and Canada including the 6X PLATINUM “Cruise” which FGL will perform with music superstar Nelly during the MISS USA® swimsuit competition. “Cruise,” became an unstoppable crossover hit in 2013 and, eventually, the biggest selling digital country single of all time. The talented twosome will also perform their latest PLATINUM-certified hit, “This Is How We Roll” (featuring Luke Bryan), from their chart-topping Republic Nashville debut album HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIMES.

Joining the musical line-up is singer-songwriter and Louisiana native, Marc Broussard. Since his critical breakthrough album ‘Carencro’, Broussard has been hailed as an old-school Southern soul singer with a rarefied gift and innate stylistic and emotional authenticity. The trademark “Bayou Soul” of Broussard will bring a mix of funk, blues, rock and pop which will match the distinct cultural Louisiana roots the MISS USA® show will feature. Additionally, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns will add even more excitement to Broussard’s opening set when the group joins him for an ultimate high energy mashup and Mardi Gras party on stage. Broussard will release his new album, “A Life Worth Living” on July 29th.

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Miss Tennessee USA to compete for title of Miss USA

by Robin Burton

CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — It’s just a matter of days before Miss Tennessee USA 2014, Nashville’s Kristy Landers Niedenfuer, 22, will be on stage in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to compete for the title of Miss USA 2014.

The 63rd annual Miss USA Pageant will be telecast live from the Baton Rouge River Center in Louisiana on June 8 at 7 p.m. Central on NBC. The daughter of World Series-winning pitcher Tom Niedenfuer and ’80s TV icon Judy Landers, Kristy is known for her Nashville-based charity event planning business and as a singer, songwriter and model.

Kristy is an avid supporter of several notable causes, including the Wounded Warrior Project, Breast and Ovarian Cancer Awareness, the Humane Society and the Boys and Girls Club. She is also a lifelong vegetarian and animal lover who has adopted several rescue dogs. She is also the first female spokesperson for Operation Troop Aid, an organization designed to honor and provide for American heroes protecting our nation. She also sits as a board member for the organization. “Kristy is an excellent example of the young women we have had the honor of sending to the Miss USA Pageant to represent our state and organization,” said pageant director Kim Greenwood. “She embodies poise, intelligence, class and beauty, and those qualities will take her far.”

Emily Shah to Represent NJ at Miss USA

EDISON, NJ – Emily Shah will represent the Garden State at the 2014 Miss USA pageant next month in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on June 8.

Emily first immersed herself into acting and dancing at a young age, studying at prestigious institutes in NYC, LA, and India such as; Lee Strasburg, NYFA, Madumati's Bollywood, and Princeton Ballet, to name a few.
After graduating from Edison High School, Emily landed several opportunities in the entertainment industry. She was Clint Eastwood’s assistant on the set of Jersey Boysafter working with the stunt team on Captain America 2. Emily then moved on to working with the stunt team on Liam Neeson's, Run all Night. Her last two projects included Fast and Furious 7 and Monster Trucks as an assistant to the stunt director. She plans on working on action films in the future and says her dream job would to become a James Bond Girl or the next Agent Salt.

However, Emily, able to speak Hindi and Gujarati fluently, wouldn't mind a crossover in Bollywood and Hollywood. Emily is the youngest Miss New Jersey USA and hopes to bring the crown home to New Jersey for the first time.

Watch Emily Shah represent New Jersey on June 8 at 8 p.m. on NBC in the Miss USA pageant.
Follow Emily on Instagram @Emshah and Twitter @Emshah124. To support Emily for Miss USA donation can be made by clicking Emily Shah for Miss USA.

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