Burgess’s talent was singing, and she performed 1973 Eagles hit “Desperado”, reported the Star-Ledger.
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The preliminaries continue Thursday night.
Contestants compete in the evening gown portion of the Miss America pageant on Tuesday. She is a senior at the University of Arkansas where she is majoring in Art with a minor in Business.
The 2017 Miss America pageant kicked off in Atlantic City Monday night with the talent and swimsuit competitions. In picking up the award for Arkansas, Moses shared her platform story.
It was the first night of preliminary competition at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City Tuesday night.
The 2017 Miss America will be crowned during Sunday night’s nationally televised finale on ABC.
She wore a black Irene West swimsuit during the competition.
Shields said she thinks she made a connection with the judges during her dance performance to the “Smash” song – a television show about a Broadway production that was canceled after two seasons, leaving many fans, including her, in mourning.
“From the state with the highest number of lightning strikes in the nation, I’m comin’ in hot!” said Miss Florida, Courtney Sexton.
“I felt it was up to me to try my best to carry on his legacy”, she said.
But it wasn’t all quips: Each contestant also offered up a deeper cause that they hoped to promote if they were declared Miss America.
“One piano can create 1,000 musicians”, she said.
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It includes contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
