The victor of the Miss America talent competition last night was Miss Tennessee, Grace Burgess.
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Contestants compete in the evening gown portion of the Miss America pageant on Tuesday.
Burgess said that she was thrilled to win the talent competition because she had worked on the piece with her uncle, who passed away from lung cancer while she was finishing her arrangement.
(AP Photo/Wayne Parry). Contestants take the stage for the swimsuit competition during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America pageant on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in Atlantic City. The final night of the competition will be September 11 at 9 p.m. EST.
Earlier in the day, the Miss America Organization unveiled the shoes that the contestants will be wearing at the annual “Show us your Shoes” parade on Saturday on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. “I’m ready to go to Miss America, and I’m really happy to have made history”, O’Flaherty said on “Entertainment Tonight.” She came out as a lesbian in 2014.
The Miss America competition has been around for more than 95 years, but 2017 will mark the first year that the first openly gay contestant will compete for the crown. Tuesday night is the first of three nights of preliminary compet.
Jackson called her swimsuit win “a blessing”.
‘One piano can create 1,000 musicians, ‘ she said.
Miss Nebraska, Aleah Peters, wowed the audience with her baton twirling skills, and Miss Connecticut, Alyssa Rae Taglia, impressed with her high kicks. But even making it as far as the Miss America stage is a historical moment in itself.
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Bullying, suicide prevention, support for the military and helping children and the elderly figured prominently in the onstage interviews some of the contestants gave.
