But can they karaoke a tune? – Ranking the Miss USA contestants’ singing skills
All 51 contestants in this year’s Miss USA pageant—held at L’Auberge Casino in Baton Rouge and televised on Sunday, June 8—descended upon Third Street downtown last Friday for an old school karaoke battle.
The bar was slammed. The contestants were dancing. Mayor Kip Holden wove his way through the crowd in a full LSU baseball uniform.
Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady emceed, as 12 current Miss USA contestants performed in teams of two, singing vocals with a live band. The rest of the ladies were content to take photos with locals, Snapchat and cheer their sash-emblazoned sisterhood on.
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“This really is the most fun night we’ve had here in Baton Rouge,” said Erica Sturdefant, Miss Missouri 2014. “We’re all together, so that’s cool, and we can just relax and have some fun.”
In a week filled with photo and video shoots, excursions to plantation homes, Cajun restaurants and cultural attractions of all kinds, a little karaoke, a little nonsense, is just what these contestants needed.
“We’ve sort of had this crash course on Louisiana culture,” said Miss Rhode Island, Christina Palavra. “And everyone has been so nice.”
Inside the downtown bar, the camaraderie among these pageant queens—many sporting feathered Mardi Gras masks—was palpable, if unexpected. That’s because these young women are focusing on the right things, Palavra said.
“If you just think about the competition only you’ll go crazy,” Palavra said. “This whole experience is two weeks long, not one night, and that’s what it’s all about. And it’s amazing.”
Below, 225 ranks the Miss USA karaoke performances:
6. MISS IDAHO and MISS ILLINOIS
“Party in the U.S.A.” (Miley Cyrus)
There’s something to be said for having fun on stage, because that’s what karaoke is all about. But Yvette Bennett and Lexi Atkins had a little too much fun while laughing their whole way through the verses, only to get things together for “And a Jay-Z song was on, and a Jay-Z song was on…” At least Bey might approve.
5. MISS NEW YORK and MISS NORTH DAKOTA
“Fresh Prince of Bel Air (Theme Song)” (Will Smith)
While their unconventional choice of a TV theme song is both admirable and really kind of awesome, Candance Kendall and Audra Mari just couldn’t keep up with the Fresh Prince’s breakneck flow on this tongue-twisting 1990s classic, and the audience ended up singing along to help out.
4. MISS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA and MISS FLORIDA
“Killing Me Softly” (Roberta Flack)
Probably channeling the Fugees version more than the original, Clara Nicole Butts and Brittany Oldehoff used distraction tactics, impressing the crowd with their killer dance moves more so than their soulful, Lauryn Hill-like vocals.
3. MISS NEVADA and MISS NEW HAMPSHIRE
“Ice Ice Baby” (Vanilla Ice)
A well-worn karaoke battleaxe at this point, Nia Sanchez and Bridget Brunet knew (most of) the lyrics and got the crowd in a frenzy by bringing a ton of energy and admirable conviction to this one-hit-wonder.
2. MISS TEXAS and MISS WASHINGTON
“Give Me One Reason” (Tracy Chapman)
A rather left-field choice, Allyson Rowe introduced this song like a bar band regular saying, “We’re going to take things down a notch,” before she and Lauren Guzman showed some decent vocal chops on a bluesy version of this mid-1990s staple.
1. MISS TENNESSEE and MISS PENNSYLVANIA
“Ignition (remix)” (R. Kelly)
With the edgiest selection of the night and by far the best stage presence—multiple shout-outs to Baton Rouge, some clutch Mardi Gras bead tossing as well as Pennsylvania’s announcement that she had learned to pronounce “y’all” correctly went a very long way—Kristy Landers Niedenfuer and Valerie Gatto were clearly the crowd-pleasers to beat this night as they bipped-and-bopped R. Kelly’s auto-fueled jam all the way to a raucous girls’ night out.
And Miss Missouri agreed. “Pennsylvania rocked it,” Sturdefant said moments after Niedenfuer’s performance. “She really worked the crowd, and that’s what you have to do.”
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